Press

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) announced today that Mary Farmer is a 1997 recipient of the prestigious Stonewall Award.

Farmer has served as NGLTF's director of finance and administration since 1994. For twenty years prior to coming to the Task Force, she owned and operated Lammas bookstore, a center of lesbian and feminist literature and culture in Washington, DC. "From my vantage point as a feminist bookstore owner," she said, "I saw a tremendous need for cultural events reflecting women's lives, and for women's political networks." Farmer co-founded Iris Films in 1974, a company that produced and distributed women's films through a network of local women's production companies.

She was also instrumental in the formation of a national network of women's music distributors, and the national organization of feminist booksellers now known as the Feminist Bookstore Network. In addition, Farmer was a principal organizer of the groundbreaking 1981 Women in Print Conference for representatives of bookstores, publishers, periodicals and distributors.

The Stonewall Award is given annually to four recipients from all across the nation and includes a $25,000 gift. The award acknowledges achievements in the areas of education, social services, the arts, charitable work and scientific research. Though the achievement must benefit members of the gay and lesbian community, award recipients are selected regardless of sexual orientation, race, ethnic origin, age or gender.

"It is very appropriate for Mary to receive this award," said Kerry Lobel, NGLTF executive director. "She is one of the best-known and highly regarded members of Washington's political and cultural GLBT community and has been a true pioneer for many years. She has also been instrumental in guiding the Task Force through a period of organizational transition," Lobel added.

Award recipients are selected by a committee which includes previous winners. The other 1997 award recipients are Barry Pack of Portland, Oregon, Sarah Schulman of New York City, and Cornelius Wilson of Detroit. Past Stonewall Award winners include Mandy Carter, Martin Delaney, Frank Kameny, Suzanne Pharr and Urvashi Vaid, NGLTF'S Policy Institute director.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.