Joan Gibbs

Joan Gibbs (January 17, 1953 – March 14, 2024) was a lawyer, activist, and a founding editor of Azalea, within the United States. She helped craft a political campaign that led to passage of New York City Council Resolution 0285,

In her youth, Gibbs was a member of left organizations; she was later 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 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. Gibbs also represented the Haitian American Anti-Defamation League after the CDC labeled them a high-risk category for AIDS. Along with Margaret Ratner, she sued DOCS for improper training of guards at Rikers. She also served as project director of the CLSJ Immigration Law Program. 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. Gibbs was a writer for the Liberation News Service, the activist news agency.

Gibbs was the founding editor of Azalea: A Magazine by Third World Lesbians which published fiction, poetry, and other forms by writers including Audre Lorde, Sapphire, and Jewelle Gomez. In 1980, Gibbs co-edited the anthology Top Ranking: A Collection of Articles on Racism and Classism in the Lesbian Community.

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

In 2010, Gibbs spoke at the CLAGS conference on lesbian organizing in the 1970s, "In Amerika They Call Us Dykes: Lesbian Lives in the 1970s." Gibbs spoke at the plenary event "Defining the Boundaries of Lesbian Identity."

Political Activist and Organizer Gibbs co-founded an anti-racist organization called Dykes Against Racism Everywhere (DARE). Gibbs played a role in numerous international campaigns, including the U.S. anti-apartheid movement. For decades, Gibbs was active in the Jericho Movement for Recognition and Amnesty for U.S. Political Prisoners.

Until 2014, Gibbs was co-chair of the board of the Brecht Forum. which in 2022 called 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. In recognition of Gibbs' work, Ambassador Yuri A. Gala López, Deputy Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, addressed her memorial on June 8, 2024.

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.

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