David B. Goodstein
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David B. Goodstein (June 6, 1932 – June 22, 1985) was the publisher of ''
The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...
'' and an influential spokesperson on behalf of
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
people and causes.


Early life and career

Goodstein was born in
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
in 1932. He graduated from
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
in 1954, spent two years in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
, and went on to earn an LL.B. from
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
. After practicing criminal law in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
briefly, he became a
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
investment banker, co-founding Compufund, one of the first mutual funds to use statistical analysis with computers. He became active in social causes, serving on the boards of the Grand Street Settlement and United Settlement Houses of New York. He was also an amateur horseman, owner and exhibitor of
American Saddlebred The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian Pacer, Morgan horse, Morgan and ...
horses, and avid art collector.


LGBT activism

Goodstein moved to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
in 1971 to work for a bank, but was fired once a bank executive learned that Goodstein was gay. He became active in politics and the
gay rights movement Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their i ...
, going public with his sexuality. He was instrumental in the passage of the Consenting Adult Sex Bill, helped found the Gay Rights National Lobby in 1976, and co-founded Concerned Voters of California to help defeat the effort to ban LGBT teachers from public schools in 1978. Goodstein founded and chaired the Whitman-Radclyffe Foundation for LGBT individuals dealing with drug abuse and also built a national network of gay political fundraisers. He became the first openly gay appointee by Governor
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
after joining his Advisory Council on Economic Development. He also served on the National Democratic Finance Council, California State Democratic Central Committee, and Hunger Project Council. Goodstein's approach to LGBT political activism was controversial in its own time for being class-based, narrow in its goals, and exclusionary, as well as projecting "a 'respectable' bourgeois image." According to historian Robert O. Self, Goodstein was among activists attacked as "a small cabal of elitists" by others seeking LGBT rights in 1973 for allegedly grounding their politics among wealthy lesbians and gay men who were "insulated from ordinary homosexuals." He sought to limit the breadth of inclusion in a campaign for federal gay rights by seeking "to suppress 'gay spoilers'" by keeping them off broadcast media. In 1975, Goodstein purchased ''
The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...
'', growing it to be the most widely circulated and influential gay news magazine in the country. He was owner and president of Liberation Publications, which owned ''The Advocate'' and distributed other publications. With Rob Eichberg, he also launched a series of LGBT personal growth seminars called the "Advocate Experience," which was shortened later to "The Experience." Goodstein worked to establish the Human Sexuality Collection at
Cornell University Library The Cornell University Library is the library system of Cornell University. As of 2014, it holds over eight million printed volumes and over a million ebooks. More than 90 percent of its current 120,000 Periodical literature, periodical ti ...
, one of the most important research collections of its kind. Goodstein was portrayed by Howard Rosenman in the 2008 film ''
Milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...
'' about
Harvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised i ...
. Goodstein died at age 53 at Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego in 1985 from complications related to bowel cancer. He was named one of the "100 Most Notable Cornellians" in 2003.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodstein, David B. 1932 births 1985 deaths Cornell University alumni Columbia Law School alumni 20th-century American Jews American magazine publishers (people) People from Denver Gay Jews American LGBTQ rights activists California Democrats LGBTQ people from California LGBTQ people from Colorado Jewish American activists Activists from California 20th-century American LGBTQ people