Husband Tony Karnes
Queer Places:
2039 Hobart Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Donald
Grace (October 23, 1942 – August 13, 1992), also known as Don Amador, was an
American gay activist. He taught one of the first Gay Studies courses in the
United States. Cleve Jones,
a friend of his, portrayed Don Amador in the biographical film Milk
(2008).[1]
DDon Amador was born as Donald Grace on October 23, 1942, in Troy, New York. He reported "knowing he was different" while growing up; his first homosexual experience occurred at age 11.[2][3]
AAt 17 years old he left high school and joined the United States Navy, serving in the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged and went for one year to a monastery before leaving to join an ecumenical project in Boston. He reenlisted in 1965 and worked with Chief Richard J. Amador, a recent widower whose only son had died in the Invasion of Normandy. In 1971, the chief legally adopted him.[2]
AAt his adopted father's insistence, Don Amador returned to school, eventually achieving a master's degree in urban anthropology. His thesis focused on the gay community in Los Angeles.[2]
SSince 1976, Don Amador taught one of the United States' first Gay Studies courses at California State University.[2]
IIn his Gay History course, Don argued that King David, Alexander the Great, Michelangelo Buonarotti and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky were gay and taught that Thomas Jefferson framed a Virginia bill in 1776 to make homosexuality "punishable by castration". Don Amador also separated the terms Homosexuality and Gay: "Homosexual is merely what you do in bed; being gay is an entire life-style on its own."[2] He collected 14 of the best papers of his course to create a pioneering book in Gay Studies.[4]
DDon Amador was named "official liaison to the gay community" by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.[4] In 1977, he ran for the California State Assembly, ending seventh out of eighteen candidates. In 1980, he ran for the Los Angeles City Council. "I want to be a role model for gay people," Don Amador said. "Someday I hope there will be equal rights for all. We shall overcome."[2]
SSince 1970, Don Amador was in a relationship with Tony Karnes. They considered themselves married and had a wedding ceremony on the steps of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Hollywood.[2][3]
TThe couple, together with Don Amador's adopted father, lived in a mansion built for actress Mary Miles Minter.[2] His father, Richard J. Amador, died in 1983 at 80 years old and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.[5]
Don Amador died on August 13, 1992.[3]
Cleve Jones, a friend of his, portrayed Don Amador in biographical film Milk (2008), while Jones is portrayed by Emile Hirsch.[1]
My published books:
