Maxine Wolfe

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Maxine Wolfe (born April, 1941) is an American activist for AIDS, civil rights, lesbian rights, and reproductive rights, among other related areas.

Education[]

Education was not a priority in the working-class Jewish immigrant household of Wolfe's childhood. She attended Brooklyn College in the late 1950s and early 1960s, starting at age 16 and graduating at age 19. It was here that her political interest was sparked, and she worked on economic and civil rights issues with the Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (Brooklyn CORE). Wolfe went on to obtain her masters and PhD in psychology.^[1] Wolfe is Professor Emerita in Psychology from the Graduate Center, CUNY.

Personal life[]

Wolfe first considered herself a lesbian in the 1970s. This realization resulted in her leaving her husband, whom she had married at the age of 19. She describes that she experimented with men and when she was unsatisfied, delved deeper into the feminist movement. Wolfe created the Consciousness Raising or “CR group”, which consisted of other women she was working with at a university as a graduate professor along with other women from her neighborhood. Due to lack of interest and publicity the group dissolved shortly after.^[1]

Activism[]

In the late 1970s, Wolfe joined the and subsequently got involved in the national committee that pushed for the creation of the . Wolfe became a part of that committee as well. She demonstrated against Joseph Califano, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1977-1979 (SITE) over reproductive rights among other related topics. Wolfe then joined the , finding great difficulty in recruiting other women who had not yet “come out.” They began with educational information and demonstrations which immediately had been perceived as the committee trying to “turn everyone lesbian.” As the Lesbian Action Committee evolved, they wanted to work with the Reproductive Rights National Network presenting information about lesbian focused material. Despite their intentions, some people in CARASA didn't want this type of publicity, distancing themselves from Wolfe and the Lesbian Action Committee committee. Because the Human Life Amendment was being considered by Congress, some members of the group participated in civil disobedience by disrupting the hearings in Washington, which resulted in arrests and convictions.^[1]

As the Family Protection Act bill was released in 1980, the coalition named (CRASH), was born consisting of Maxine Wolfe from CARASA, Joan Gibbs representing , Laurie Morton representing Radical Women, Naomi Brussel representing the and other organizations include Lavender Left and Black and White Men Together. This coalition held a conference over the Family Protection Act and began doing demonstrations about the Human Life Amendment and many other things. There was not a mass movement at the time, yet CRASH demonstrated at the Neighborhood Church where 500 people showed up, setting the stage for future traditions within the gay, feminist and later AIDS movements.

In 1985, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) was created and Wolfe attended the first public event in an interest with the AIDS crisis. This same year, Wolfe was arrested for sitting in on the hearing for the Gay Rights Bill with a “Lesbian Liberation, We Won’t Go Away” sign, refusing to leave after the hearing was over and they didn't vote. As well in 1985, Wolfe got involved with ACT UP and attended the 24-hour picket of Sloan Kettering as well as the March on Washington in October 1987. Because of Wolfe's previous political experience, she led the way in getting ACT UP involved in policy instead of just advocacy to continue this mass movement. She also coordinated Woman and AIDS, an event at Shea Stadium where the METS played. Around 60 men and woman from ACT UP went to the game with signs to be televised across America and reach the large crowd of fans at the game. She was also involved with Stop the Church and organized the campaign to change the CDC definition of AIDS. In addition, Wolfe worked on campaigns and committees for AIDS research, pharmaceuticals, and more access to care and education.^[1]

In Let The Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993, Sarah Schulman writes, "Scanning the interviews I conducted with a wide range and demographic of ACT UPers, the two names that emerge most often in reference to internal leadership are clearly Maxine Wolfe and Mark Harrington...these two were repeatedly named as profound influences."^[2] Schulman also writes, "These are the two people most often blamed with ACT UP's downfall and self-defeat, and the two most frequently named at the center of ACT UP's victories and strengths."

Wolfe left ACT UP in 1997. As of 2004, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.^[1]

References[]