Howard Wallace

Howard L. Wallace's sisters and brothers in the queer, labor, elder, and human rights movements have the sad duty to report his death on Wednesday, 14 November 2012 at Buena Vista Manor in San Francisco. A veteran of social movements since his high school years, Howard was an activist up until a year before his death. He was born to Edna Horton Wallace and H. Milo Wallace in Philadelphia and raised in Denver, where he became politically active at age 16. Howard joined the NAACP, ACLU, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and the Socialist Workers Party, and he worked as a Teamster there. Moving to San Francisco in 1967, Howard continued his anti-war work, and was part of the successful effort to bring the Northern California Labor Councils into the movement as the first in the nation to oppose the Vietnam War. Howard knew that he was gay at a very young age. He founded Bay Area Gay Liberation in 1975. That year, he also began a gay boycott of Coors beer, which all San Francisco LGBT bars observed. Howard co-founded the Lesbian Gay Labor Alliance in the mid-1980s. That evolved into Pride at Work, an LGBT labor organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO. Howard was on the staff of SEIU Local 250 for fourteen years as an organizer and community representative. He retired in 2001. Howard served as Vice President of Community Affairs of the San Francisco Labor Council until shortly before his death. He was also active in the Senior Action Network. He is preceded in death by his parents and his older brother John of Denver, CO. He is survived by sister Barbara Eastburg of Albuquerque, NM, nieces Linda Eastburg and Gwen Lowery of Albuquerque, NM, nieces Wendy Gossett and Laurie Ames of Denver, CO, and nephew Randy Eastburg of Highland Village, TX. The social movements that Howard led and those who continue the struggle also survive him. There will be a memorial on January 6 at ILWU Local 34 (next to Giants Ballpark) from 2-4 pm. Please join us. To remember Howard, please send donations to the following organizations at his request: NAACP; ACLU, Northern CA Chapter; Pride at Work, KPFA, Senior and Disability Action, and Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club. Please note ¿in memory of Howard Wallace.¿