On this day in queerstory: Jeanne Córdova publishes moving letter

September 28 has its own little sparkle in queer history – though not always in the way you might expect. On this date in 2015, the beloved lesbian activist and writer Jeanne Córdova published “A Letter About Dying, to My Lesbian Communities.” In this moving farewell (made public in September of that year), she shared news of her terminal illness, reflected on her life’s work, and left a gift: a $2 million bequest to the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Her legacy, quite literally, touched generations to come.

Córdova was never one for quiet fades into the background. A journalist, poet, community organizer, and fierce voice in lesbian and feminist movements, she carved out space for lesser-heard stories – especially those of lesbians of color – in the broader queer narrative. That September 28 letter wasn’t a defeatist note; it was a handoff, a statement that the torch she carried could – and should – continue burning. Her gift to Astraea stands as both symbolic and practical support for activists she believed would carry on bold, intersectional lesbian work.

Her choice to make the letter public was typical Córdova: courageous, transparent, unafraid. Through that gesture, she invited readers into a more intimate relationship – with her, with mortality, and with the question of what it means to leave behind more than memories. In queer history, where many lives have gone unnoticed or unfinished, her act reminds us of the power of owning one’s ending as much as one’s beginning.

That said, September 28 doesn’t only whisper Córdova’s name. It also carries darker echoes: in an older recounting of “September 28 in LGBTQ History,” one finds a record that on this date, in centuries past, was the first documented execution for sodomy in Western Europe – a grim reminder of how far queer people have journeyed, and how much of our history lies buried.

So on September 28 we hold both light and shadow. The shadow of persecution reminds us why queer people have fought. The light of Córdova’s parting words and gifts reminds us how fight transforms into legacy. It’s a date that asks: Who will you be in your ending? What will you leave behind?

On this day, we remember not just that queer history is sometimes painful – but that it also pulses with love, with intention, and with courageous endings that echo into new beginnings.