athy Gibson Ep. 17 - Some women fought and advocated for equality and inclusion over the years for women today to enjoy. Cathy is one of those women who began protecting LGBTQ rights early on in her life. Cathy Gibson is a woman who is happy that many things she had advocated for, including LGBTQ rights, she got to see in her lifetime. Cathy left east Texas at age 18 to enter a Virginia girls college in the early 1960s as an "outspoken bigot" and graduated a Big 10 University four years later with a degree in Urban Education committed to increasing the literacy rates of inner-city youth and subsequently becoming a champion for adult literacy as the Executive Director of the Marion County (Indianapolis) Central Library, credited with launching what would become a statewide literacy program titled, Read Indiana!
Top Takeaways:
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- How things have changed over the years allowing more diversity and inclusion in society
- The importance of advocating for representation and equality for all communities
- Learn the rules so you know how to break them because forgiveness is much easier to obtain than permission
Listen in to learn how to advocate for what you believe will bring change in your community.
"I learned the rules to know how-best to break the rules ("forgiveness" beats permission!)" - Cathy Gibson
How Can I Get a Black Friend, Too?
Cathy Gibson was Chair of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union where she fought for equal rights for LGBTQ status. She was aware of the Indianapolis Gay/Lesbian Coalition (IGLC) and was only involved from the standpoint of her role with the Indiana Civil Liberties Union as a board member and providing energy and the backing of the ICLU for this coalition. She was the driving force between the ICLU filing the marriage equality suit in the early 90s.
Learn why as a young woman seeking forgiveness is in a much better position than asking for permission.
Key Moments:
Cathy Gibson talks about the influence she had from the woman who was her housekeeper and the life of segregation she lived before going off to college [2:25]
She describes how she went from a teacher to a librarian and how she advanced that career [6:29]
How she got involved with activism activities and initiatives that focused on black history and art [12:49]
How Cathy and many more represented the LGBTQ community by contributing to advancing for marriage equality [20:02]
The challenges that faced the marriage equality bill before its signing in Indiana [28:54]
She talks about the high level of inclusion in the community she lives in now [33:18]
Cathy advises young women to always know the rules and use laughter as medicine [36:12]
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