Pat Norman is a member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma. She's also African-American. And lesbian.
So it may not be surprising that her campaign for public office in San Francisco in 1984 wasn't successful. Neither were her subsequent runs in 1986 and 1988.
"Can you pick up a common theme?" Norman asked The Bay Area Reporter. "Black lesbians apparently are really very frightening to people."
Norman said she encountered opposition from the gay community. "I sat in one of the Castro restaurants during the '86 or '88 campaign next to these gay white men. They were talking to each other and one guy said, 'I am not voting for any nigger lesbian,'" she recalls.
She also didn't find much support from the African-American community. "I won't say everybody in the black community, but there were certain people who were leaders at that time who made my life pretty uncomfortable," he says.
But the hostility hasn't stopped Norman, 66, from public life. She has served as president of the fire and police commissions, and currently sits on the Human Rights Commission.
Get the Story:Black gays seek political voice (The Bay Area Reporter 3/1) Relevant Links:
Dine Coalition for Cultural Preservation - http://www.dinecoalition.com
Navajo Nation Council - http://www.navajonationcouncil.org
Navajo Nation - http://www.navajo.org Related Stories:
In United Kingdom, 'Navajo' means gay-friendly (01/08)
Navajo Nation Council overrides marriage veto (06/06)
Dine Coalition opposes ban on same-sex marriages (6/3)
Democracy Now: Gay Marriage in Native America (5/31)
Navajo same-sex marriage ban up for vote again (5/25)
Shirley cites major opposition to gay marriage ban (5/17)
Override of Navajo same-sex marriage bill sought (5/16)
Navajo president explains view on gay marriage ban (05/04)
Same-sex marriage before top Cherokee Nation court (05/19)
Shirley cites major opposition to gay marriage ban (5/17)
Override of Navajo same-sex marriage bill sought (5/16)
Navajo president explains view on gay marriage ban (05/04)
Navajo president calls gay marriage ban intrusive (5/3)
Navajo president vetoes bill to ban gay marriage (5/2)
Navajo president weighs bill to ban gay marriage (4/26)
Navajo Nation Council votes to ban same-sex marriage (4/25)
Navajo Nation Council takes up same-sex marriage (4/22)
Tim Giago: Gay marriage debate killed Democrats (4/19)
Navajo Nation Council to take up same-sex marriage (4/18)
Blackfeet man says homosexuals unnatural (03/17)
Vote scheduled on tribal same-sex marriage ban (01/18)
Navajo Nation bill would ban same-sex marriages (07/15)
Giago: Gays were highly respected by Sioux Nation (09/22)
