STORIES
Women
DONATE

Elaine Noble

by Quinn Ragsdale from United States

It’s not too surprising that Elaine Noble is not someone who many people have heard of. She was elected to a Massachusetts state office, but that was in 1974, nearly 44 years ago, and there are plenty of people who have held positions at that level. Despite this, her election was a controversial one, for one simple reason: she was a lesbian. She also had and has the traits of an ideal modern hero. She was persistent, courageous, and kind. She never gave up on trying to help people, no matter who opposed her, and she paved the way for more LGBT+ elected officials for years to come.

119581Elaine Noble with one of the many animals she took care of.Out and Elected in the USAElaine Noble’s persistence was something that, in 1974, led her to become the first openly gay elected official at the state level. She did this despite the homophobes opposing her, and the bigotry and threats that people flung at her. In 1976, she ran again and was reelected. After that, she ran for the U.S. Senate in 1980. Despite not being elected, she persisted in her mission to help people. She and Ellen Ratner created the Pride Institute, a drug and alcohol treatment center for gays and lesbians, in 1986.

Elaine Noble was also brave. She was a woman, and a lesbian, who campaigned for a political office. Even today that can make someone a target. She proposed and supported a lot of ideas that were, at the time, pretty controversial, like the desegregation of Boston schools. “It was a very ugly campaign,” she said in an interview for Out and Elected in the USA. She talked about how her windows were shot, her car was destroyed, and how she was harassed both during her campaign and by her coworkers after she was elected. Despite all of this, she refused to give up her career or her values, because she was a courageous and kind person.  

119583Elaine NobleMetro WeeklyNoble organized a lot of community service. She helped the elderly and the blind, especially with housing, by organizing rent control. She fought the use of a school playground as a parking lot. Once, she organized a garbage cleanup, then threatened to dump the refuse in front of City Hall if they didn't improve their service. She wanted to help others, and she did.  

I admire Noble’s bravery in running for office, and being open about her sexuality while doing so. Her persistence in not giving up on politics or on her moral values, even though her gender, sexuality, and ideas made her a target for bigotry and threats was also impressive, as was her kindness and her desire to help people. We need all of these things today; bravery to be who you are, persistence that helps you keep fighting for what you believe in, and kindness to care for, help, and accept others.

 

 

Works Cited:

Kifner, John. “Sexuality Issue Put to Rest, Elaine Noble Is Ready for Office.” The New York Times, 14 Nov. 1974, p. 60, www.nytimes.com/1974/11/14/archives/sexuality-issue-put-to-rest-elaine-noble-is-ready-for-office.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Archives&action=keypress®ion=FixedLeft&pgtype=article.

Gianoulis, Tina . “Noble, Elaine.” Glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture, Glbtq, Inc., 13 Oct. 2005, web.archive.org/web/20071030032157/https://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/noble_e.html.

“Elaine Noble.” Elaine Noble - OutHistory, 12 Apr. 2009, 04:05, web.archive.org/web/20090609065738/https://www.outhistory.org/wiki/Elaine_Noble.

“Elaine Noble, Massachusetts, 1974 · Out and Elected in the USA: 1974-2004 ·outhistory.Org.” Outhistory.org, outhistory.org/exhibits/show/out-and-elected/1970s/elaine-noble\ .

“Elaine Noble.” Metro Weekly , Metro Weekly, 17 Oct. 2007, www.metroweekly.com/2007/10/noble-woman/.

“Elaine Noble lived for a number of years in a converted railroad station outside of Boston and is seen here with one of two goats in her small menagerie of interesting animals.” Out and Elected in the USA: 1974-2004, Outhistory.org, outhistory.org/exhibits/show/out-and-elected/1970s/elaine-noble\.

 

 

Page created on 1/12/2018 5:03:05 PM

Last edited 1/16/2018 1:23:34 PM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.