Oral history interview with Paulette Goodman, 1933-2021

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Paulette Goodman was born in 1933 to a Jewish family in Paris, survived the Nazi-occupation, and moved to the United States as a teenager in 1949. Her family relocated to Silver Spring, Maryland in 1980. In 1981, while she was attending college at Sarah Lawrence, Goodman’s daughter came out as a lesbian. This event triggered Goodman’s journey as an activist on behalf of the LGBT community. She was one of the founding members of the Metro Washington DC chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). From 1983-1988 she was the chapter head, PFLAG-DC. In 1988, she was elected to National Chair of the PFLAG Federation, a position in which she served until 1992. In 1989, she sent a series of letters to then-First Lady, Barbara Bush, believing that the First Lady would respond. Mrs. Bush did respond, writing ““I firmly believe that we cannot tolerate discrimination against any individuals or groups in our country. Such treatment always brings with it pain and perpetuates intolerance.” This statement may be the first example of a positive statement about gay people to come from any White House. Goodman has continued her pioneering activism throughout her life, lecturing and organizing in support of the rights of LGBT persons and providing a venue for their parents, siblings, relatives, and friends to engage with one another.

Paulette Goodman died 15 August 2021 in Beltsville, MD.

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