Cleo Bonner
{{Short description|African american civil rights leader}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Cleo Bonner
| other_names = Cleo Glenn
| known_for = President of the Daughters of Bilitis
| notable_works = The Ladder (Magazine)
}}
Cleo Bonner, also known as Cleo Glenn, served as president of the Daughters of Bilitis and circulation manager of The Ladder magazine in the 1960s. She was one of the first African-American women to belong to this organization. Barbara Gittings referred to Cleo Glenn as a "fireball".{{Cite book|last=Passet|first=Joanne|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ucCwDgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Cleo+Glenn%22+the+ladder&pg=PT50|title=Indomitable: The Life of Barbara Grier|date=2016-11-01|publisher=Bella Books|isbn=978-1-59493-664-7|language=en}}
Leadership of the Daughters of Bilitis
Cleo Bonner was an early member of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) and one of the few African American women associated with this organization in the early 1960s.{{Cite web|title=CAAM {{!}} Black California history and LGBTQ+ rights|url=https://caamuseum.org/learn/600state/black-history/black-california-history-and-lgbtq-rights|access-date=2021-07-02|website=caamuseum.org|language=en}} Bonner was also known as Cleo Glenn in order to protect her privacy.{{Cite book|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315801681-33/cleo-glenn-bonner-dates-unknown-phyllis-lyon-del-martin|title=Cleo Glenn (Bonner)|chapter=Cleo Glenn (Bonner) (Dates Unknown) |date=2014-02-04|pages=205–206 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-315-80168-1|language=en|doi=10.4324/9781315801681-33}} She assumed the role of acting president of DOB in the fall of 1963.{{Cite book|last=Gallo|first=Marcia M.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/72002732|title=Different daughters : a history of the Daughters of Bilitis and the rise of the lesbian rights movement|date=2006|isbn=0-7867-1634-7|edition=|location=New York|pages=90|oclc=72002732}} Bonner served as president of DOB until 1966.{{Cite web|last=Beemyn|first=Brett Genny|date=2004|title=African Americans|url=http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/african_americans_S.pdf|website=GLBTQ Archive}} Her leadership of DOB was featured in a 1990 article in the Bay Area Reporter.{{Cite web|title=Bay Area Reporter 2 August 1990 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=BAR19900802.1.11&srpos=1&e=-------en--20-BAR-1--txt-txIN-%22cleo+glenn%22-------1|access-date=2021-07-11|website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}
1964 Convention
File:Daughters_of_Bilitis_Newsletter_(18271108860).jpg
Under the name Cleo Glenn, Bonner served as chair of the 3rd annual 1964 Daughters of Bilitis Convention held on June 20 in New York. {{Cite web|title=one-2011001_b09_i131~026|url=https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/digital/collection/p15799coll4/id/10826/rec/2|access-date=2021-07-02|website=digitallibrary.usc.edu|language=en}} Speakers at this convention included Dr. Wardell B. Pomeroy and Dr.Sylvia Fava.
Involvement with The Ladder magazine
Bonner served as circulation manager for The Ladder, the magazine produced and distributed by DOB. The June 1964 edition listed Bonner as president and featured in the 1964 DOB convention on the cover.{{Cite news|date=June 1964|title=The Ladder|url=https://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/sfbagals/The_Ladder/1964_Ladder_Vol08_No09_Jun.pdf}}
Personal life
Cleo was in a committed relationship with a white woman named Helen Cushman when she joined DOB in 1960.{{Cite book|last=Gallo|first=Marcia M.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/72002732|title=Different daughters : a history of the Daughters of Bilitis and the rise of the lesbian rights movement|date=2006|publisher=Seal Press|isbn=0-7867-1634-7|edition=|location=New York|pages=59|oclc=72002732}} She raised a son while working at Pacific Bell telephone company.
See also
References
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Category:African Americans in New York City
Category:American lesbian writers
Category:African-American LGBTQ people