Dennis deLeon (July 16, 1948December 14, 2009) was an American human rights lawyer, HIV/AIDS activist and Latino community leader. He served as New York City human rights commissioner and later became president of the

Latino Commission on AIDS The Latino Commission on AIDS () is an advocacy and service nonprofit membership organization formed in 1990 with a mission to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Latino community in the United States of America including its territories. It is ...

Early life and education

Dennis Lawrence deLeon was born on July 16, 1948, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. His parents, Jess, a schoolteacher, and Josephine Munoz deLeon, were of Mexican descent. He was graduated Bachelor of Arts by

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

in 1970 and had been student body president. He was graduated Juris Doctor by

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1974 after his studies at

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

. He had served on the

Stanford Law Review The ''Stanford Law Review'' (SLR) is a legal journal produced independently by Stanford Law School students. The journal was established in 1948 with future U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as its first president. The review produces six ...

Career

He worked as a law clerk for a judge of the

California Court of Appeals The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts.

then became an associate at a private Los Angeles law firm, Kadison, Pfaelzer, Woodward, Quinn & Rossi. He moved to Washington, D.C., when recruited as a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice. He moved back to California to become regional counsel to

California Rural Legal Assistance California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal service and political advocacy organization created to help California's low-income individuals and communities. CRLA represents all types of individuals and communiti ...

New York City

In 1982, New York City Mayor,

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was may ...

appointed deLeon senior assistant corporation counsel on the recommendation of Frederick A. O. Schwarz Jr., New York City's corporation counsel. In 1986,

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enterin ...

, the Manhattan borough president, named deLeon as his deputy borough president. When Dinkins became mayor in 1990, he appointed deLeon the city's human rights commissioner.

''The New York Times'' op-ed

In 1993, deLeon became one of the first New York city officials to disclose publicly his HIV status when he wrote ''My Hopes, My Fears, My Disease'' published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

President, Latino Commission on AIDS

After briefly returning to private practice, deLeon was selected as president of the Latino Commission on AIDS in September 1994 and remained in that post until a few months before his death. Under his leadership, the organization grew from a staff of two into a national organization with a staff of 45, annual budget of $5 million and working in partnership with 380 other organizations around the United States including its territories. During his time, the Latino Commission on AIDS brought into being a national Spanish-language clearinghouse for AIDS information, worked with Spanish-speaking churches to build a network of AIDS prevention programs. It also provided structures for the mobilization of gay Latinos, immigrants, women and inmates living with AIDS. In 2003, it sponsored the first

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) () takes place in the United States of America and its territories on October 15, the last day of National Hispanic Heritage Month, and aims to increase awareness of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired ...

Illness and death

He was diagnosed with HIV in 1986. On December 14, 2009, Dennis deLeon died in Manhattan. He was survived by his partner of 32 years, Bruce Kiernan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:deLeon, Dennis Occidental College alumni Stanford Law School alumni HIV/AIDS activists LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people 1948 births 2009 deaths 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people