Rodney N. Powell

Rodney Norman Powell (born 1935) is a former civil rights leader in the Nashville Student Movement and an activist for LGBTQ rights.

Early life and education Born to Raymond and Norma Powell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rodney spent his childhood in poverty. His father circled through chauffeuring, carpentry, and laboring jobs while his mother was prohibited from doing any domestic jobs. She took up seamstressing to help with the household income. Later in their marriage, Powell came out as gay which his children accepted, but Johnson expressed trouble adjusting to this information. They divorced five years later in 1975. Afterwards, Powell left for Hawaii, so he could live as an openly gay man and was able to meet his current partner Bob Eddinger, a zoologist. He worked at John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Powell continues to advocate for LGBTQ rights, but has taken a more relaxed role in his activism. Powell is now retired from medicine, living in Honolulu with Eddinger.