We name here fat liberation comrades and fat loved ones who have died. We name those who have our backs, and those who remind us why we fight. We’re working to flesh out this list and to expand this archive to include a specific entry for each of these beloved ancestors. If you’d like to be part of this sacred work, please get in touch: fatlibarchive at gmail dot com
Betty Rose Dudley
[Fat Lib Archive] [LiveJournal] [Serene]
Bettye Travis
[SF Gate] [LA Times]
Bo Brown
[LAGAI] [Freedom Archives]
Carrie Ann Lucas
[Fat Rose] [Disability Visibility Project]
Cass Elliot
[FaT GiRL archive]
Cat Pausé
Cath Thompson
[FatT GiRL Archive]
Dot Turnier
[Stinson]
Emmett Everett
[Fat Rose]
Eric Garner
[Fat Rose]
Fannie Lou Hamer
[Fat Rose] [Unsolicited FTB]
Fat Lip Readers Theatre
[FSJ]
Gladys Bentley
[Unsolicited FTB]
Hannah Martine
[FaT GiRL archive]
Heather MacAllister
[Indybay]
Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
[Wikipedia]
Jan Moreno
Jasmine Marah
[FaT GiRL Archive] [Jewish News]
Joanne deMichele
[FaT GiRL archive]
Johnnie Tillmon
[Unsolicited FTB]
Judith Black
[FaT GiRL archive]
Judy Freespirit
[Remembering Judy Freespirit]
Kayla Moore
[Fat Rose]
Laurie Silverman
[Legacy]
Lin Zenki & Hilary Parsons
[LAGAI]
Linda Brown
[Unsolicited FTB]
Luscious Baxter
Margaret Sloane Hunter
[FaT GiRL archive] [Wikipedia]
Margo Mercedes Rivera-Weiss
[Fat Rose] [LAGAI] [Edible East Bay] [Margo’s web site] [Video artist profile] [HuffPost] [Margo’s films]
Mark Aguhar
[Wikipedia]
Martha Courtot
[OAC]
Mary Frances Platt
[FaT GiRL archive]
Meridith Lawrence
[Stinson]
Miriam Berg
[Legacy]
Mo Kalman
[LAGAI]
Nancy Thomas
SJ Kahn
[LAGAI]
Stacey Milbern
[Fat Rose] [Fat Rose IG]
Susan Barnes
Susan Mason
Susan McAllister
[LAGAI]
Taueret Davis
Toni Cassista
Val
[FaT GiRL archive]
Velma Middleton
[Unsolicited FTB]
Please add Susan Mason to this list. Born on September 30,1955–she joked that she was James Dean reincarnated because she was born the day he died–she was a fat activist, artist whose “fat rear-view nude” character became her icon, stand-up comic, greeting card model, writer and actress. She appeared on many live TV talk shows in the 1980’s arguing for fat liberation against some of the most hostile ,moderators and guests on the air. She endured a stomach staple operation before becoming an activist, suffered from painful, disabling complications all the rest of her life (and of course gained back more than she had lost from the op), and died from related causes on December 1, 2002. I cherish the friendship she shared with me, the love and laughter she brought to everything she did, her many accomplishments in the face of ridicule and discrimination, and the substantial contributions she made to fat liberation, She will always be one of my personal heroines, and should be honored by inclusion with our other ancestors.
Oh my gosh. This is so incredibly moving to me. Thank you for this. For the whole site.