Bay Area celebrates life of Leslie Feinberg

Gloria Verdieu pays tribute to Leslie Feinberg.
WW photo: Terri Kay

Activists from across the Bay Area turned out on May 31 in Oakland, Calif., to join in the celebration of the life of Workers World Party leader Leslie Feinberg.

For over 40 years, Leslie Feinberg, revolutionary activist and transgender warrior in the LGBTQ community fought for justice. Leslie, who identified as an anti-racist white, working-class, secular Jewish, transgender, lesbian, female, revolutionary communist, died on Nov. 15 last year at age 65. She succumbed to complications from multiple tick-borne co-infections, including Lyme disease, after decades of illness.

There were people who had never met her, but were touched by her writings and revolutionary activism, and there were those who had been in the struggle with her at various points in her life.

The meeting was opened by a beautiful song performed by Tina Shauf from the Filipino women’s group, GABRIELA USA. Speakers included Irma Bajar of GABRIELA; Bob McCubbin, author of “The Roots of Gay and Lesbian Oppression” and a representative of the San Diego branch of Workers World Party; and Gloria Verdieu from the San Diego Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Patricia Jackson of the Gray Panthers organization and Zoe Kastl did readings from Feinberg’s universally acclaimed novel, “Stone Butch Blues,” and hir groundbreaking theoretical and autobiographical book, “Transgender Warriors.” Deeg Gold, of LAGAI-Queer Insurrection and Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism, and Judy Greenspan from WWP, co-chaired the meeting.  Solidarity messages came from the Freedom Socialist Party and Party for Socialism and Liberation.

The event was convened by Workers World Party, LAGAI-Queer Insurrection, QUIT!, the SF Gray Panthers and GABRIELA USA.