George Bakan was an American organizer for

LGBT movements Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Some focus on equal rights, such as the ongoing movement for same-sex marriage, while others focus on liberation, as in the ...

and the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

Seattle Gay News The ''Seattle Gay News'' is a weekly newspaper aimed at the Seattle and Puget Sound area LGBT community in the U.S. state of Washington. History ''Seattle Gay News'' was founded in 1974 by Jim Tully and Jim Anderson. As of 2022, the SGN is dist ...

''. He died in 2020 at age 78.

Early life

Rudolph George Bakan was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. He grew up in rural

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

, then moved with his family to

Pasco, Washington Pasco ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 59,781 at the 2010 census, and 75,432 as of the July 1, 2019 Census Bureau estimate. Pasco is one of three cities (the others b ...

around 1960. He attended

Columbia Basin College Columbia Basin College (CBC) is a public community college in Pasco, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. The college offers English as a second language and General Educational Development (GED) ...

in fall 1960 where he was president of the Columbia Basin Young Democrats.

''Seattle Gay News''

Bakan was the editor of ''

'' from 1983 until his death in 2020.

Activism

Speaking of Bakan's death, former

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-lar ...

member

Tom Rasmussen Thomas M. Rasmussen is a retired member of the Seattle City Council. He was first elected in 2003 and elected for a second term in 2007. From 2004 to 2007, he was chair of the Housing, Human Services & Health Committee, vice chair of the Urban Dev ...

said that Bakan may have been Seattle's most influential advocate for LGBT rights. noted Bakan's activities in favor of

women’s rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

, addressing

Homelessness Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

, and

Prisoners' rights The rights of civilian and military prisoners are governed by both national and international law. International conventions include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the United Nations' Minimum Rules for the Treatment ...

. Bakan was an organizer of

Seattle Pride Seattle Pride refers to a series of events which are held annually in late June to celebrate LGBT Pride in Seattle, Washington. History From June 24 to June 30, 1974, Seattle’s lesbians and gays celebrated the city’s first Gay Pride Week. T ...

, an

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

activist, and an advocate for LGBT

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple i ...

availability. He was a regional coordinator for the 1987

Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C., on October 11, 1987. Its success, size, scope, and historical importance have led to it being called, "The Great Ma ...

and the 1993

March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 1993. Organizers estimated that 1,000,000 attended the March. The D.C. Police Department put ...

. With Marsha C. Botzer of the

Ingersoll Gender Center Ingersoll Gender Center is an American non-profit organization based in Seattle that provides peer-led support groups, advocacy and community organization for transgender and gender non-conforming people in the Puget Sound region. It is one of ...

, Bakan was an advocate for including bisexual and transgender people in

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

activism, during the time when it was not certain that everyone would do activism together. In 2013 Neighbors bar held a party in honor of Bakan's activism.

Death

Bakan died at his desk surrounded by ''Seattle Gay News'' issues. Bakan had arranged that his daughter Angela Cragin take over role as owner and publisher of ''Seattle Gay News'', which she did. At his memorial Seattle Mayor

Jenny Durkan Jenny Anne Durkan (born May 19, 1958) is an American attorney, former federal prosecutor, and politician who served as the 56th mayor of Seattle, Washington. She is the daughter of Martin Durkan. Durkan is a member of the Democratic Party. Afte ...

described him a legendary gay activist in Seattle. The city dedicated November 13, 2021 as "George Bakan Day".

References

Further consideration

*Legacy project video series ** ** * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakan, George 20th-century births 2020 deaths American LGBT journalists LGBT people from Washington (state) American LGBT rights activists Activists from Seattle Editors of Washington (state) newspapers