ID Number: 34015
Maker: Artist Unknown
Technique: offset
Date Made: 1996
Place Made: United States: California, Greater Los Angeles
Measurements: 48.3 cm x 32.9 cm; 19 in x 12 15/16 in
Main Subject: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) Rights; HIV/AIDS
Materials: paper (fiber product)
Digitized: Y

Full Text:
Connie Norman AIDS Diva 1949-1996 [Text on shirt in photograph] Act Up Long Beach Silencio = Death

Acquisition Number: 2010-168
Production Notes: Reproduction produced from digitized loaned poster. Original dimensions: 114.4 cm x 91.5 cm; 45 1/16 in x 36 in

Copyright Status:
Copyright status unknown; may be protected by copyright law.

Exhibition Annotation:
"I often tell people that I am an ex-drag queen, ex-hooker, ex-IV drug user, ex-high risk youth, and current postoperative transsexual woman who is HIV-positive." – Connie Norman Born in Texas, Connie Norman fled to Hollywood at the age of 14. Having recovered from drug addiction, Norman underwent therapy and then a sex-change operation in 1976. She began her political life as an AIDS and Queer activist with the Los Angeles chapter of ACT UP. In 1991 she transformed the media landscape by becoming the first openly queer host of a commercial talk radio show. “The Connie Norman Show” aired daily on XEK-AM where she was able to share her views on LGBTQ and human rights issues. In 1993 Norman became the first transgender Director of Public Policy at AIDS Service Center in Pasadena, a California non-profit agency. Norman’s reach was broad, as she also co-hosted an LGBTQ Cable TV program and was a newspaper columnist for a San Diego publication. Because of her unyielding activism, she was honored with awards from various groups including the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, California State Senate and California Assembly. ACT UP/LA never gave an award or honor to anyone except Norman. Just before her passing they made official her self-proclaimed status as “AIDS Diva.” Her ashes were scattered on the lawn of the Clinton White House as part of the national ACT UP "Ashes Action" on October 13, 1996. Her legacy is sustained by Christopher Street West who established the Connie Norman Award to honor an individual or organization for outstanding achievement in fostering racial, ethnic, religious, and gender unity within the LGBT community.