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Interpreting the Evidence

Campaign Flyer for Tom Duane

  • Documents in this Activity:
  • Historical Eras:

    Contemporary United States (1965 - present)

  • Thinking Skill:

    Historical Analysis & Interpretation

  • Grade Level:

    Middle School
    High School

  • Topics:

    Civil Rights
    Elections
    LGBTQ+

  • Primary Source Types:

    Broadside

  • Regions:

    New York State

  • Creator:

    NYS Archives Partnership Trust Education Team

  1. Load Campaign flyer, Tom Duane in Main Image Viewer

Suggested Teaching Instructions

As members of the LGBTQ+ community sought various protections under the law, they realized the importance of representation in government. The 1980s and 1990s saw greater political organizing and the campaigns of several openly LGBTQ+ candidates, including Deborah Glick, the first open lesbian legislator in NYS when she was elected to the assembly in 1990, and Tom Duane, who became the first openly HIV-positive state legislator in 1998. // Tom Duane ran for New York City Council in 1989 and 1991 and served for the third district from 1992 to 1998. He announced that he was HIV positive during his 1991 campaign. In 1999, he was elected to the New York Senate from the 29th district. He was the first openly gay member of the New York Senate, and the first openly HIV positive elected official in New York State government, where he served until 2012. In this role, Duane was a lead sponsor of same-sex union legislation, the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA, 2002), and the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA, which was passed in 2019, after Duane's tenure).

Learning Activities:
11.10 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGE/DOMESTIC ISSUES (1945 – present): Racial, gender, and socioeconomic inequalities were addressed by individuals, groups, and organizations. Varying political philosophies prompted debates over the role of the federal government in regulating the economy and providing a social safety net. (Standards: 1, 4, 5; Themes: ID, TCC, SOC, GOV, CIV, ECO)
11.10b Individuals, diverse groups, and organizations have sought to bring about change in American society through a variety of methods.
Gay Rights and the LGBT movement (e.g., Stonewall Inn riots [1969], efforts for equal legal rights)

8.9 DOMESTIC POLITICS AND REFORM: The civil rights movement and the Great Society were attempts by people and the government to address major social, legal, economic, and environmental problems. Subsequent economic recession called for a new economic program. (Standards: 1, 4, 5; Themes: TCC, SOC, CIV, ECO)
8.9b The civil rights movement prompted renewed efforts for equality by women and other groups.
Students will examine struggles for equality and factors that enabled or limited success on behalf of women, farm workers, Native Americans, the disabled, and the LGBT community.