Tag Archives: Edie Windsor

President Barack Obama Pays Tribute To Edith Windsor

In her life-time, Edie Windsor changed history, and everyone from LGBT citizens and allies, to past presidents and celebrities were grateful for her courage.

Her 2013 lawsuit against the federal government prompted the Supreme Court to strike down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA.

The suit, United States v. Windsor, was integral to the 2015 high court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

Barak Obama was quick to pay tribute, writing on his facebook page;

America’s long journey towards equality has been guided by countless small acts of persistence, and fueled by the stubborn willingness of quiet heroes to speak out for what’s right. Few were as small in stature as Edie Windsor – and few made as big a difference to America.”

https://www.facebook.com/barackobama/photos/a.53081056748.66806.6815841748/10155249874881749

The former president touted Windsor’s role in the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling on marriage equality, which he called “a victory for human decency, equality, freedom, and justice.”

I thought about all the millions of quiet heroes across the decades whose countless small acts of courage slowly made an entire country realize that love is love – and who, in the process, made us all more free. They deserve our gratitude. And so does Edie.”

Hillary Clinton also offered her condolences on Windsor’s passing, along with many others.

https://twitter.com/ColeLedford11/status/907696439735848960

Lesbians Who Tech‘s Edie Windsor Coding Scholarship Looks To Have More Queer Women Shaping The Future Of Technology

According to a study, only 26% of computing jobs in the United Stated were held by women — down dramatically from 36% in 1990.

Lesbians Who Tech is looking to break that statistic, and challenging the straight male-dominated landscape of technology.

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This week they launched a Kickstarter campaign  that will allow 12 or more lesbian and queer-identified women to go to the coding school of their choice.

Lesbians Who Tech‘s Edie Windsor Coding Scholarship Fund is part of a larger push to have more women — especially queer-identified women — shaping the future of code.

 

Vanessa Newman of Lesbians Who Tech told The Huffington Post,

Imagine what apps and software would look like if they were made by women, queer women, women of color. Imagine how integrating that kind of inclusivity into [tech] would create a more inclusive, accessible society and tech industry for all of us. That’s why being able to fund and provide this type of opportunity for queer women to attend coding school is so important, if not vital. We literally have the power to change the face of tech, if we can lift each other up, over the privileges and barriers to entry that come with learning the essential skills.”

Following the completion of the Kickstarter, the twelve or more lesbian and queer-identified women to receive the funding will be chosen by a committee of advisors after an application process.

Interested parties can apply after the Kickstarter campaign has been completed by checking out the Lesbians Who Tech website.


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DOMA Conqueror Edie Windsor Was an ‘Ignorant Middle Class Lady’ Before Stonewall

Flashback to June, 2013 and one of the leading fights in the path for LGBTQ right was won triumphantly by those in favour of same gender marriage. DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) was a stifling piece of United States legislation that meant that marriages between those of the same gender would not be recognised by the government.

And that even if you were legally married, you wouldn’t be entitled to healthcare and social security benefits that opposite gender married couples were free to enjoy.

However, DOMA’s oppressive power was swiftly dismantled and destroyed after widow Edie Windsor sued the US government after they billed her for $363,053 in estate taxes after Windsor’s wife, Thea Spyer, passed away in 2009. But she wasn’t always such a prominent activist.

In Windsor’s own words, the 84-year old describes herself as being an “ignorant middle class lady” around the time that the famous Stonewall riots happened in 1969 as she didn’t think she “identified with those queens”.

Stonewall was a series of protests by members of the LGBTQ community after police raided the Stonewall Inn (a gay bar in New York City which was then owned by the Mafia) and although the movement spawned the pride parades that we know and enjoy today, back then the anti-gay epithet of the times saw it get a bad rep. The fact that the Stonewall Inn was frequented by some of the poorest people in the LGBTQ community is likely also a factor as to why Windsor didn’t identify with those who took part in the riots.

However, Windsor soon recognised just how big of a deal the Stonewall riots are, telling Marriage Equality USA that

“I mean those queens changed my life and I saw them and I loved what I saw. It was the beginning of my sense of community.”

Edie Windsor

As for the own landmark decision in LGBTQ rights that she herself was part of, she added,

“Suddenly the self-esteem is just flowing – I mean even these judges are saying we’re respectable. So we were coming out in droves and the more we came out, the more we saw each other and the more we loved and then more of us came out until we’re just this huge, joyous, loving community and I live in the middle of it and its great.”

Edie Windsor