Draft:Joan Gibbs

Joan Gibbs was a lawyer and activist in many US and transnational social movements between 1967 and 2024. Gibbs was founding editor of Azalea, the first literary journal for Black lesbians, and co-founded Dykes Against Racism Everywhere, the first anti-racist lesbian organization in the United States. She achieved legal victories on behalf of organizations and activists within the United States, while organizing U.S. solidarity with Cuba and the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.

Early life and education
Gibbs was born in Harlem on January 17, 1953, and raised in Swan Quarter, N.C., returning to New York City at the age of 14.

In her youth, Gibbs was a member of the Young Socialists Alliance and later was an active participant in the fledgling LGBTQIA+ movement.

Gibbs attended the Bronx High School of Science and received her bachelor's degree from SUNY Empire State. She graduated from Rutgers Law School in 1985, where she studied constitutional and civil rights law. She was admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, the New York State Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Law career
Gibbs was a Marvin Karpatkin Fellow in the National Office of the ACLU. As staff attorney for its Women’s Rights Project, she litigated sex discrimination cases under the 14th Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

As staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, she litigated cases involving gender and racial justice and represented political activists such Herman Ferguson. Gibbs was lead counsel in a CCR case that proved New York Police Department surveillance of civil rights organizers. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gibbs represented many of those arrested in ACT UP demonstrations.

Gibbs served as general counsel for the Center for Law and Social Justice (CLSJ) of Medgar Evers College for approximately 28 years, working on redistricting cases. She also served as project director of the CLSJ Immigration Law Program. She was appointed to the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s Voter Assistance Advisory Committee, interviewed in media and contributed to academic journals.

As an independent attorney, Gibbs also represented political activists, including members of the Black Panther Party such as Sundiata Acoli and Mumia Abu Jamal. Abu Jamal devoted an episode of his radio show to an obituary for Gibbs. Gibbs was also a long-term member of the National Conference of Black Lawyers’ International Affairs Section.

Poet, Editor, and Organizer
Gibbs was the founding editor of “Azalea: A Magazine by Third World Lesbians,” which presented fiction, poetry, and other forms by writers including Audre Lorde, Sapphire, and Jewelle Gomez. Azalea was published between 1977 and 1983.

Gibbs' poetry was published in the Iowa Review. She also published a book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

In 1980, Gibbs co-edited the anthology “Top Ranking: A Collection of Articles on Racism and Classism in the Lesbian Community” and co-founded an anti-racist organization called Dykes Against Racism Everywhere (DARE).

International Solidarity Movement Efforts
Gibbs played a role in numerous international campaigns, including the U.S. anti-apartheid movement. She helped craft a campaign that eventually led to passage of New York City Council Resolution 0285, which calls on the U.S. Congress and President Joe Biden to end the U.S. embargo against Cuba and the restrictive travel ban on U.S. citizens. The resolution also called for removing Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

Ambassador Yuri A. Gala López, Deputy Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, addressed Gibbs's memorial on June 8, 2024.

New York City Local Activism
Gibbs worked on behalf of People United for Children, a group advocating for children in foster care, headed by Sharonne Salaam, mother of Councilmember Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five. She was also co-chair of the board of the Brecht Forum.

New Left Activity
Gibbs was a member of Liberation News Service, the activist news agency, and worked at the National Lawyers Guild’s Grand Jury Project.

Later Years and Death
Gibbs underwent a series of surgeries related to cardiovascular disease in 2023 and died on March 14, 2024 at her home in Brooklyn.