This is a press release that has been contributed to the AmNews but has not been vetted or verified but that may be of interest to the community.
Joan Gibbs, an attorney known for her great commitment to the ideals of social and economic justice, died on March 14 at her home in Brooklyn. Gibbs was 71. The cause of death is unknown; however, Gibbs underwent a series of surgeries related to cardiovascular disease last year. She was born in Harlem on January 17, 1953, and raised in Swan Quarter, N.C., returning to New York City at the age of 14.
Gibbs graduated from Rutgers Law School in 1985, where she studied constitutional and civil rights law. She was admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, the New York State Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
She was a Marvin Karptakin Fellow in the National Office of the ACLU, and, as staff attorney for its Women’s Rights Project, she litigated sex discrimination cases under the 14th Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Before attending law school, Gibbs was a core member of Liberation News Service, the activist news agency. She went on to work at the National Lawyers Guild’s Grand Jury Project during times of intense grand jury abuse. According to attorney Robert Boyle, a member of the executive committee of the Guild, “as a legal worker at the Project, she pioneered the defense of activists targeted by politically motivated grand juries.”
Gibbs was also a long-term member of the National Conference of Black Lawyers’ International Affairs Section and a board member of the Brecht Forum.
Gibbs’s law career was an extension of her near life-long activism, which began during the 1960s, when she was a student at the Bronx High School of Science. She was influenced by the movements of the day, including the Civil Rights Movement, anti-war movement, and women’s movement. She was a member of the Young Socialists Alliance and later was an active participant in the fledgling LGBTQIA+ movement. As staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, not only did she litigate cases involving gender and racial justice, she represented organizations and political activists such as ACT-UP and Herman Ferguson, respectively. As an independent attorney, she also represented members of the Black Panther Party.
Gibbs served as general counsel for the Center for Law and Social Justice (CLSJ) of Medgar Evers College, a position she held for approximately 28 years. She also served as project director of the CLSJ Immigration Law Program. Founder and executive director emeritus Esmeralda Simmons, Esq., said, “Joan P. Gibbs, Esq. was an outstanding attorney and general counsel, and a kind human being. She was intellectually uber-sharp—a lawyers’ lawyer—who was regularly consulted on civil rights matters. She was an expert in constitutional law and parried her legal acumen for the benefit of Black people, women, political prisoners, and LGBTQIA+ communities. Her entire career was a serial act of service for humanity.”
Gibbs was appointed to the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s Voter Assistance Advisory Committee by the mayor, the comptroller, the New York City Council, and all five of the New York City borough presidents.
Gibbs played a pivotal role in numerous international campaigns, including the U.S. anti-apartheid movement. In addition to her support of Palestine, she also played a key role in the campaign that eventually led to passage of New York City Council Resolution 0285, which calls on the U.S. Congress and President Joe Biden to end the U.S. embargo against Cuba and the restrictive travel ban on U.S. citizens. The resolution also called for removing Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list due to the unjust harm it causes the Cuban people.
Gibbs also has an impressive literary legacy as the founding editor of “Azalea: A Magazine by Third World Lesbians,” which presented fiction, poetry, and other forms by writers who included Audre Lorde, Sapphire, and Jewelle Gomez. It was published between 1977 and 1983, and is an early example of lesbians of color claiming their space in literature in a public way.
In 1980, Gibbs co-edited the anthology “Top Ranking: A Collection of Articles on Racism and Classism in the Lesbian Community.” Ada Gay Griffin, filmmaker of “A Litany of Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde,” said, “While immersed in many movements for freedom and justice, Joan bravely championed LGBTQIA+ liberation as a Black lesbian leader, committed to organizing and raising the voices of Black women.”
Gibbs’s sustained ethos of freedom, democracy, and equity was always clearly evident whether she was working on behalf of People United for Children, a group advocating for children in foster care, headed by Sharonne Salaam, mother of Councilmember Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five; immigrants seeking to become citizens; or Black voters in New York City challenging discriminatory voting practices.
She was predeceased by her mother, Ruth Juanita Gibbs; her father, Prentiss Gibbs; and her sister, Ruth Janice Gibbs. She is survived by many friends and colleagues. The private interment of her ashes will occur in the family hometown of Swan Quarter, N.C A memorial/community celebration of Joan Gibbs’s life will be held on a datein May to be determined.