Whe Flo Kennedy died at the age of 84 on December 22, 2000, the progressive movement lost a fiery dedicated and outspoken lawyer; civil rights activist; lecturer and writer. For nearly 50 years, Flo was a prominent activist in the Black, gay rights and feminist movements.
Born Florynce Rae Kennedy on February 11, 1916 in Kansas City, Missouri, Kennedy cited her upbrinning in explaining her militant and unshaken activist stance.
"I think the way I live is the very best way anybody could live; I don't know anybody who has more fun.... People who behave as though there's something wrong with wanting to improve things are to me pathological, and I can't believe that anybody with taste and brains would want to join them.... I'm just a loud-mouthed, middle-aged colored lady with a fused spine, and a lot of people think I'm crazy. Maybe you do too, but I never stopped to wonder why I'm not like other people. The mystery to me is why more people aren't like me."