Aimee Stephens
{{Short description|American civil rights activist (1960–2020)}}
{{About|the trans funeral director and US Supreme Court litigant|the Colorado politician and lawyer|Amy Stephens}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Aimee Stephens
| image = Aimee stephens scotus oct 8 2019.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1960|12|7}}
| birth_place = Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|05|12|1960|07|12}}
| death_place = Redford, Michigan, United States
| alma_mater = Mars Hill University, Fayetteville Technical Community College
| employer =
}}
Aimee Stephens (December 7, 1960 – May 12, 2020) was an American funeral director known for her fight for civil rights for transgender people.{{Cite news|last=Ortiz|first=Aimee|date=2020-05-12|title=Aimee Stephens, Plaintiff in Transgender Case, Dies at 59|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/us/aimee-stephens-supreme-court-dead.html|access-date=2020-06-16|issn=0362-4331}} She worked as a funeral director in Detroit and was fired for being transgender. Based on her court case, in a historic 2020 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex.{{Cite web|title=Supreme Court Delivers Major Victory To LGBTQ Employees|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/06/15/863498848/supreme-court-delivers-major-victory-to-lgbtq-employees|access-date=2020-06-16|website=NPR.org|date=15 June 2020 |language=en|last1=Totenberg |first1=Nina }}
Early life and education
Aimee Stephens was born on December 7, 1960, in Fayetteville, N.C. She graduated from Mars Hill University in 1984 with a degree in religious education and obtained a degree in mortuary science from Fayetteville Technical Community College in 1988.
''R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission''
{{Main|R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission}}
{{see also|Bostock v. Clayton County}}
Stephens was fired from her job at R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Home in Garden City in 2013 after she said she would wear appropriate women's business attire at work. Stephens started a legal case, arguing that she was protected under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. The funeral home owner argued that since he would have required everyone to dress according to the gender they had been biologically assigned at birth, he hadn't discriminated against her.{{Cite web|last=Burke|first=Melissa Nann|title=Michigan woman's case wins landmark transgender ruling|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/15/michigan-womans-case-wins-landmark-transgender-ruling/3192376001/|access-date=2020-06-16|website=Detroit News|language=en}} The Supreme Court agreed with Stephens, with Justice Neil Gorsuch acknowledging that "Congress in 1964 likely did not have the LGBTQ community in mind when it banned discrimination based on sex. But he said the words of the statute are clear."{{Cite web|last=Epps|first=Garrett|date=2020-06-16|title=What 'Because of Sex' Really Means|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/what-because-of-sex-really-means/613099/|access-date=2020-06-16|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US}}
Personal life
She was married to Donna Stephens for 20 years, and they had one child together.{{cite news |title = Aimee Stephens, Plaintiff in Transgender Case, Dies at 59 |last = Ortiz |first = Aimee |newspaper = The New York Times |date = 12 May 2020 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/us/aimee-stephens-supreme-court-dead.html |accessdate = 5 Oct 2021}}
Death and legacy
Stephens died from complications related to kidney failure on May 12, 2020.
In June 2020, Stephens was added among American “pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes” on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument (SNM) in New York City’s Stonewall Inn.{{Cite web|url=https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/stonewall-inn-lgbtq-wall-honor|title=National LGBTQ Wall of Honor unveiled at Stonewall Inn|last=Glasses-Baker|first=Becca|date=June 27, 2019|website=www.metro.us|access-date=2019-06-28}}{{Cite web |last=Rawles |first=Timothy |date=2019-06-19 |title=National LGBTQ Wall of Honor to be unveiled at historic Stonewall Inn |url=https://sdgln.com/news/2019/06/19/national-lgbtq-wall-honor-be-unveiled-historic-stonewall-inn |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621091646/https://sdgln.com/news/2019/06/19/national-lgbtq-wall-honor-be-unveiled-historic-stonewall-inn |archive-date=2019-06-21 |access-date=2019-06-21 |website=San Diego Gay and Lesbian News |language=en}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=30 June 2020|title=New honorees named for Nat'l LGBTQ Wall of Honor at Stonewall Inn|url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/New-honorees-named-for-Natl-LGBTQ-Wall-of-Honor-at-Stonewall-Inn/68836.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-07-01|website=Windy City Times}} The SNM is the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ebar.com/news/news//272833|title=Groups seek names for Stonewall 50 honor wall|website=The Bay Area Reporter / B.A.R. Inc.|language=en|access-date=2019-05-24}}
References
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Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people
Category:Activists from Michigan
Category:Activists from North Carolina
Category:American funeral directors
Category:Deaths from kidney failure in the United States
Category:LGBTQ people from Michigan
Category:LGBTQ people from North Carolina
Category:American LGBTQ rights activists
Category:Mars Hill University alumni
Category:People from Fayetteville, North Carolina