Bruni Receives Kameny Award, Named Gay Icon by Equality Forum

Frank Bruni, Eugene C. Patterson professor of the practice of journalism and public policy, has been named a 2021 LGBT History Month Icon and recipient of the Frank Kameny Award from the Equality Forum.

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Bruni is recognized for his many contributions as an impactful and visible member of the LGBTQIA+ community as a part of LGBT History Month, which is observed annually in October. Bruni is a longtime writer for The New York Times and the newspaper’s first openly gay columnist. His distinguished career in journalism has spanned over 30 years with the Detroit Free Press and The New York Times, and has included the publication of multiple best-selling books.

Bruni received the Kameny Award virtually as part of the LGBT History Month Launch on Oct. 3 in Philadelphia. Kameny was an astronomer turned gay rights activist born in 1925. View Bruni’s acceptance speech here.

"The course I’m teaching at Duke this semester, my first as a professor here, is called The Media and LGBTQ+ Americans -- and, as it happens, we talked about Frank Kameny and his trailblazing contributions to the fight for LGBTQ+ equality during our very first session. So I'm beyond flattered to receive an award with Frank Kameny's name on it. I'm also humbled by it,” Bruni said. 

“Unlike him, and unlike so many of his gay and lesbian contemporaries in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, I didn't have to muster extraordinary courage and vision to make my own small contributions. Because of them, I moved through a much freer and fairer world. I hope my writing has improved it further, but more than that, I hope my writing has demonstrated my deep, deep gratitude for all that Frank Kameny and my LGBTQ+ forebears did," he said.

Equality Forum is a national and international LGBT civil rights organization with an educational focus. Equality Forum coordinates LGBT History Month, produces documentary films, undertakes high-impact initiatives and presents the largest annual national and international LGBT civil rights summit.