06/09/2026
Reminding everyone of this incredible woman for Pride month!
Today we are highlighting a local historical hero of the LGBTQ+ community, Dr. Marie Equi. Born in April 1872 , Dr. Equi was an early American medical doctor in the American West devoted to providing care to working-class and poor patients. She regularly provided birth control information and abortions at a time when both were illegal. She became a political activist and advocated civic and economic reforms, including women's right to vote and an eight-hour workday. After being clubbed by a policeman in a 1913 workers' strike, Equi aligned herself with anarchists and the radical labor movement.
Equi was a le***an who maintained a primary relationship with Harriet Frances Speckart for more than a decade. The two women adopted an infant and raised the child in an early example of same-sex parenting in the United States. For her radical politics and same-sex relations, Equi battled discrimination and harassment. In 1918, Equi was convicted under the Sedition Act for speaking against U.S. involvement in World War I. She was sentenced to a three-year term at San Quentin State Prison. She was the only known le***an and radical to be incarcerated at the prison.
For more information about the life of Dr. Marie Equi, including an OPB documentary on her life, check out the links below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Equi
https://www.pbs.org/video/marie-equi-1wjjzz/
https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_103.html
