In 1974, three years before Harvey Milk was elected the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, a 21-year old woman made queer history in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Kathy Kozachenko, then a student at the University of Michigan, won an election to Ann Arbor’s city council becoming the first openly queer person elected to public office in the United States. Now, nearly 50 years later, the city of Ann Arbor will be erecting a statue in honor of Kozachenko as trailblazer.
Kozachenko ran as part of the now defunct Human Rights Party in Michigan, a progressive party that called for policies like repealing laws against homosexuality, instituting rent control, and easing of fines for low-level cannabis possessions. The party was predominantly composed of students.
Ann Arbor was a hub for queer history during the 70s. Two years prior, the Human Rights Party successfully got two other city councilors, also students, elected who would later come out as queer: Jerry DeGrieck and Nancy Weisler. But Kozachenko was the first individual out at the time of their election. Although Kozachenko never made her sexuality a major part of her campaign, even at the time, both candidates in the race said they supported gay rights.
Now, the majority of people in Michigan support the same-gender marriage and the state has since elected Dana Nessel as Attorney General, who became the first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve at a statewide level in Michigan.
Kozachenko’s stint in elected office was brief, as she opted not to run for a second term, serving only two years. In an interview with NBC News, Kozachenko says of the Human Rights Party that: “We weren’t really able to go beyond being a student organization. So the viability of the organization as a vehicle for change, I could see that wasn’t going to be long term, and I wanted to see where else I could be effective.”
The former city councilwoman moved to Pittsburgh, where she spoke out against anti-LGBTQ+ activists like Anita Bryant. Later Kozachenko worked to recruit people for the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, the first large-scale demonstration for gay rights at the capital. However, for the most part, Kozachenko has lived away from the public eye. It was only in 2015, when she gave an interview with Bloomberg, that Kathy began to garner more media attention.
Now, Ann Arbor’s city council is moving ahead with a statue to memorialize Kozachenko’s efforts and place in Michigan history. The city is partnering with Statues for Equality for the monument’s design and construction. The city plans to raise $100,000 to commission Statues of Equality for the statue.
The city council is currently planning on unveiling the statue as Ann Arbor’s bicentennial celebration in 2024.
Photo courtesy of social media.
