LGBTQ Activist/Presidential Adviser David Mixner Dies At 77

Legendary LGBTQ+ activist and presidential adviser David Mixner, whose career in political advocacy stretched back to volunteering for John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign, died Monday at the age of 77. “It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of David’s passing today,” read a comment under a photo on his Facebook page with the caption, “R.I.P. David B. Mixner. 1946-2024.”

Along his journey, he marched with Martin Luther King Jr., protested the Vietnam War, fought voraciously for AIDS funding, and worked with many in the LGBTQ community to get elected to public office as out and proud queer Americans. In 1991, he co-founded the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, now called the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. This organization became the nation’s first to devote all of its efforts to helping elect LGBTQ people to public office. https://twitter.com/TheAdvocateMag/status/1767536322225357179 Instrumental in getting Bill Clinton elected president in 1992, Mixner was the first openly gay person to become the public face of a presidential campaign. From the Washington Blade:

Mixner, who raised money for the Clinton campaign and helped line up support for the then Arkansas governor from LGBTQ organizations throughout the country, was named by the Clinton campaign to serve on the campaign’s leadership committee.

But soon after Clinton’s election, Mixner spoke out against the new president’s decision to break his promise to issue an executive order to lift the ban on gays, lesbians, and bisexuals from serving in the U.S. military.

Many LGBTQ activists, while disappointed, said Clinton was forced to support the controversial compromise of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ after military leaders, including the popular Army Gen. Collin Powell, came out against lifting the ban, with both Democratic and Republican members of Congress also speaking out against a full lifting of the ban.

Mixner drew national attention when he helped organize a protest against ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ outside the White House in which he was among those arrested after denouncing his onetime friend Clinton for backing the policy. News of Mixner’s public break with the president resulted in the downfall of his once thriving political consulting firm.

In 2017, his play 1969 was produced in New York City and was well-received. The next year he followed that with his one-man play Who Fell into The Outhouse. In addition to more positive reviews, the production helped raise $175,000 for homeless LGBTQ youth. Read more at the Washington Blade. A memorial fund has been set up in Mixner’s name to benefit the Ali Forney Center, which helps LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness.

“It was one of David’s final wishes to establish the David Mixner Memorial Fund to support the lifesaving work of the Ali Forney Center.

“David’s legacy will live on in the countless lives of LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness who will go on to live wonderful, proud, full lives thanks to the support of the David Mixner Memorial Fund. All funds will go directly to the Ali Forney Center.”

The tributes across social media continue to pour in. https://twitter.com/javimorgado/status/1767545880050094535 https://twitter.com/RitchieTorres/status/1767363494976929794 https://twitter.com/JoeMyGod/status/1767526333637152803 https://twitter.com/jdlovitz/status/1767354581728518551 https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1767382017925353817 https://twitter.com/BrianSimsPA/status/1767324087569805677 https://twitter.com/CydZeigler/status/1767567900834189348