City Of West Hollywood: City To Honor The Life And Legacy Of Feminist And LGBTQ Activist Ivy Bottini

Press release from the City of West Hollywood:

August 17, 2021 2:02 PM

The City of West Hollywood will host a virtual tribute to the life and legacy of Feminist and LGBTQ activist and icon Ivy Bottini. A long-time resident of West Hollywood, Ivy Bottini devoted more than 50 years to the feminist and LGBTQ struggles for civil and human rights.

The Ivy Bottini Day tribute will be held virtually via the Zoom platform on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 7 p.m. Details for registering and live-viewing of the program via Zoom are available at https://ivybottiniday.eventbrite.com.

The City’s commemoration of Ivy Bottini Day was inspired by lesbian and feminist zine culture. The virtual “Zoom Zine” night will feature guest speakers, performances, digital content, and live art-making.

Ivy Bottini Day tribute participants will include: members of the City Council of the City of West Hollywood; The Honorable Richard Bloom, California State Assemblymember, AD 50; Angel Bonilla, singer (NBC’s The Voice Season 14 and Fox’s I Can See Your Voice 2020); Halle Johnson, soul rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (2018 American Idol Contestant);The Honorable Sheila Kuehl, Los Angeles County Supervisor, 3rd District; The Lavender Effect® Oral History Project (OHP); Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc.; MORTASAY, a musical duo with influences from country to soul, steeped in activism, spirituality, and consciousness; Ann Northrop, activist, journalist and Co-Host, Gay USA; ONE Archives Foundation; Torie Osborn, Senior Strategist, Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl; Sue Sexton, filmmaker and former Co-Chair, City of West Hollywood Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board; Jackie Steele, Co-Chair, City of West Hollywood Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board; and VOX Fermina Los Angeles.

The tribute is presented in conjunction with the City’s Women’s Advisory Board, Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board, and Transgender Advisory Board.

Pioneering lesbian and feminist activist Ivy Bottini was born on August 15, 1926 and died on February 25, 2021 at the age 94. An artist and mother, Bottini’s activism began when she joined a New York City gathering of luminaries of the women’s movement that included Betty Friedan, Muriel Fox, Ti-Grace Atkinson, and Flo Kennedy. In 1966, she co-founded the first chapter of the National Organization for Women and designed the organization’s logo, which is still in use today. In 1970, she led a group of women to the Statue of Liberty where they hung a banner that read, “Women of the World Unite,” and in 1978, she fought the Briggs Initiative, which sought to ban gays and lesbians from teaching in California public schools. She continued her activism through the AIDS epidemic and became chair of the campaign against the No on 64 Initiative, which would have amounted to firing and quarantining of people with HIV or AIDS. She co-chaired the End Rape Statue of Limitations Campaign, a grassroots campaign that successfully ended statutes of limitations for rape and sexual assault crimes in California in 2016. Bottini was a West Hollywood resident for 22 years and she served as a co-chair of the City’s Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board.

Over the years, Ivy Bottini has been recognized by the City of West Hollywood for her outstanding leadership and tireless activism. She was the recipient of the City of West Hollywood’s Lifetime Rainbow Key Award; the Melissa Etheridge Award; the Martin Luther King, Jr. “Keeper of the Dream” Award; the West Hollywood Women in Leadership Award; and was honored with a National Women’s History Month street-pole banner that is displayed annually. In 2002, the City dedicated a tree and plaque in her honor in the Matthew Shepard Triangle located at the intersection of Santa Monica and Crescent Heights Boulevards.

For additional information about Ivy Bottini Day, please visit https://ivybottiniday.eventbrite.com.

For more information, contact Larissa Fooks, the City of West Hollywood’s Community Programs Coordinator, at (323) 848-6413 or at lfooks@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.

The City of West Hollywood remains in a declared local emergency in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. West Hollywood City Hall is open for in-person transactions by appointment; to make an appointment, visit www.weho.org/appointments. City Hall services remain accessible by phone at (323) 848-6400 and via the City’s website at www.weho.org. City of West Hollywood coronavirus information is available at www.weho.org/coronavirus.

For up-to-date news and events, follow the City of West Hollywood on social media @WeHoCity, sign up for news updates at www.weho.org/email, and visit the City’s calendar of meetings and events at www.weho.org/calendar.

slunn@weho.org

This press release was produced by the City of West Hollywood. The views expressed here are the author’s own.