Angela Bowen facts for kids

Angela Bowen (February 6, 1936 – July 12, 2018) was an American dance teacher, English professor, writer, and a lesbian rights activist. She was also the subject of an award winning 2016 documentary.

Early life

Bowen was born on February 6, 1936 in Boston, Massachusetts in an African-American family. She was the sixth of seven children. She lost her father at the age of 2. Bowen trained and taught at the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts in Roxbury from age 14 to 22.

Bowen graduated in 1992 from the College of Public and Community Service at University of Massachusetts Boston, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Human Services. She earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. from Clark University, where she wrote the first dissertation about Audre Lorde: "Who Said it was Simple:  Audre Lorde’s Complex Connections to Three U.S. Liberation Movements, 1952-1992” The final chapter, "All These Liberations", is included in The Wind is Spirit: The Life, Love, and Legacy of Audre Lorde, a Lambda Literary Award winning bio/anthology by Gloria Joseph. Bowen's doctorate was one of the first Ph.D.'s granted in Women's Studies in the United States.

Career

Bowen co-founded the Bowen/Peters School of Dance with her then husband, drummer Ken Peters in New Haven, Connecticut in 1963. The school closed down in 1982. After the school's closure, Bowen and Peters divorced and she came out as a lesbian. Bowen became a gay rights activist and served on the board of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays. She eventually became the co-chair of the organization and served as the editor of the group's magazine. Bowen appeared on a number of television and radio programs, including WBZ-TV and BET to speak about gay rights and feminism.

After receiving her doctorate from Clark in 1997, Bowen became a professor of English and Women's Studies at California State University, Long Beach. She was the first Black woman to join the staff of the Women's Studies department at CSULB in the program's thirty year history. She remained involved with activism while she taught and was the keynote speaker at CSULB's first Lavender Graduation ceremony.

Bowen was the subject of the 2016 documentary, The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen, by her partner Jennifer Abod and Mary Duprey. which won Best Documentary in the "Women's History U.S." category at the 2017 To the Contrary About Women and Girls film festival.

In addition to being subject of books and documentaries, Bowen was an accomplished writer in her life. In addition to her academic writings, she was also a contributor to Gay Community News. In 2017, Bowen was honored for her work and activism by the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice with their Acey Social Justice Feminist Award. The award is given to lesbian, queer or trans people over the age of sixty-two in recognition for their activism and contributions to their respective communities.

Personal life and death

Bowen first married Ken Peters in the 1960s; they had three children. They divorced in the 1980s, when she came out as a lesbian. Bowen met Jennifer Abod at a Take Back the Night rally in New Haven in 1979. They married in 2013. She suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Bowen died on July 12, 2018 in Long Beach, California, at 82.