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Joan Gibbs was an attorney and activist noted for significant contributions to Black politics, especially the intersection of civil rights and civil liberties, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive justice, lesbian feminism, AIDS activism, the antiwar movement, solidarity with Cuba and South Africa, and many other 20th and 21st century social movements.

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. Gibbs attended the Bronx High School of Science and graduated from SUNY Empire State.

LESBIAN ACTIVISM
Gibbs has an impressive literary legacy as the founding editor of “Azalea: A Magazine by Third World Lesbians,” which presented fiction, poetry, and other forms by writers who included Audre Lorde, Sapphire, and Jewelle Gomez. It was published between 1977 and 1983, and is an early example of lesbians of color claiming their space in literature in a public way.

In 1980, Gibbs co-edited the anthology “Top Ranking: A Collection of Articles on Racism and Classism in the Lesbian Community.”

Before attending law school, Gibbs was a core member of Liberation News Service, the activist news agency. She went on to work at the National Lawyers Guild’s Grand Jury Project during times of intense grand jury abuse.

LEGAL TRAINING AND CAREER
Gibbs 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.

She was a Marvin Karpatkin Fellow in the National Office of the ACLU, and, 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.

Gibbs was also a long-term member of the National Conference of Black Lawyers’ International Affairs Section and a board member of the Brecht Forum.

Gibbs’s law career was an extension of her near life-long activism, which began during the 1960s, when she was a high school student. She was influenced by the movements of the day, including the Civil Rights Movement, anti-war movement, and women’s movement. She was a member of the Young Socialists Alliance and later was an active participant in the fledgling LGBTQIA+ movement. As staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, not only did she litigate cases involving gender and racial justice, she represented organizations and political activists such as ACT UP and Herman Ferguson, respectively. As an independent attorney, she also represented members of the Black Panther Party.

Gibbs served as general counsel for the Center for Law and Social Justice (CLSJ) of Medgar Evers College, a position she held for approximately 28 years. She also served as project director of the CLSJ Immigration Law Program.

Gibbs was appointed to the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s Voter Assistance Advisory Committee by the mayor, the comptroller, the New York City Council, and all five of the New York City borough presidents.

POLITICAL ACTIVIST
Gibbs played a pivotal role in numerous international campaigns, including the U.S. anti-apartheid movement. In addition to her support of Palestine, she also played a key role in the 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 due to the unjust harm it causes the Cuban people.

Gibbs’s sustained ethos of freedom, democracy, and equity was always clearly evident whether she was working 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; immigrants seeking to become citizens; or Black voters in New York City challenging discriminatory voting practices.

LATER YEARS
Gibbs underwent a series of surgeries related to cardiovascular disease in 2023.

Gibbs died on March 14, 2024 at her home in Brooklyn.