Name/TitleBadge: Elect Elaine Noble
About this objectRound pin badge with hot pink background bearing the slogan 'Elect elaine Noble' in white lettering. Given to the donor at a 1974 campaign fundraiser by Elaine herself, who was the first openly gay candidate elected to a state office.
Date Made1974
Period1970s
Place MadeUSA, Massachusetts
Medium and MaterialsInorganic, metal and plastic
MeasurementsDia: 38 mm
Subject and Association KeywordsLGBTQ+
Subject and Association KeywordsParty politics
Subject and Association Keywordscivil rights
Subject and Association KeywordsEqual rights
Subject and Association Descriptionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Noble:
Elaine Noble (born January 22, 1944) is an American politician and LGBT activist who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for two terms starting in January 1975. She was the first openly lesbian or gay candidate elected to a state legislature. She served two terms as representative for the Fenway-Kenmore and Back Bay neighborhoods of Boston.
Massachusetts House of Representatives:
In 1974, Noble was elected to the state House of Representatives for the 6th Suffolk district with 59% of the vote. She has described the campaign as "very ugly," including "shooting through my windows, destroying my car, breaking windows at my campaign headquarters, [and] serious harassment." Her election made her the first openly LGBT candidate elected to a state-level office in the United States. She was sworn into office on New Year's Day 1975 by governor Michael Dukakis.
As an educator, Noble supported desegregation of Boston public schools. She encouraged her campaigners to oversee school pick-ups and drop-offs for children in her district. She was the only white member of the Boston delegation that rode school busses with the children. Her support angered her constituents, both conservative as well as gay and lesbian, who expected her to focus solely on gay and lesbian issues. Her house was vandalized and she was threatened with a gun. She also felt burdened and frustrated by the demands of gay men and lesbians who seemed to expect that she speak for all of them. She said, "The gay community expected me to be on call 24 hours a day. It was like they felt they owned me." Noble was an early critic of Father Paul Shanley, a Catholic priest who was ultimately convicted of sex crimes in 2005. She reported Shanley's comments and behavior to Boston officials on several occasions in the 1970s to no avail.
Noble was re-elected in 1976 with almost 90% of the vote, and her second two-year term started on January 1, 1977. In March 1977, Noble was part of the first delegation of gay men and lesbians invited to the White House under President Jimmy Carter to discuss issues important to the LGBT community.
Object TypeBadge
Object numberGWL-2023-20-5
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved