June Chan (born June 6, 1956) is an American
lesbian
A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
activist and
biologist
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
. As the organizer and co-founder of the Asian Lesbians of the East Coast (ALOEC), Chan raised awareness for
LGBTQ
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
issues relating to the
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants).
Although this term had historically been used fo ...
community.
Biography
Chan was born on June 6, 1956, in
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
to parents who worked in
New York City's Chinatown. Chan's mother was a refugee from the
Japanese invasion of China. Chan attended the
Bronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...
and graduated in 1973. She went on to earn her
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
at the
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...
in 1977. Chan earned her
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in biology from the
State University of New York at Buffalo
The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public research university in Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. The university was founded in 1846 a ...
. After graduate school, she
came out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
to her family, which was a mostly positive experience. Chan also works in research on
neurobiology
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...
.
Chan and Katherine Hall met in 1983 and began working on projects together. They created a
slide show
A slide show, or slideshow, is a presentation of a series of still images ( slides) on a projection screen or electronic display device, typically in a prearranged sequence. The changes may be automatic and at regular intervals or they may b ...
of Asian lesbians in history and literature which was presented in the 1980s.
Their slide show was considered "grassroots scholarship" by Polly Thistlethwaite.
Also in 1983, Chan and Hall formed the Asian Lesbians of the East Coast (ALOEC) in response to the overly white and male demographics of the
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 ...
community at the time. ALOEC conducted workshops and published newsletters.
ALOEC took part in the
Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a large Demonstration (people), political rally that took place in Washington, D.C., on October 11, 1987. Around 750,000 people participated. Its success, size, scope, and hist ...
. During the process of organizing the march, Chan connected with other Asian-American lesbian groups. These groups and ALOEC formed the Asian Pacific Lesbian Network (later called the Asian Pacific Bi-Sexual Lesbian Network). In 1994, ALOEC participated in the 25th commemoration of the
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, Stonewall revolution, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of ...
.
References
Citations
Sources
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Further reading
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External links
Mariana combing June's hair (Mariana Romo-Carmona and June Chan)photograph at the NYPL Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, June
Living people
1956 births
American LGBTQ rights activists
Writers from New York City
City College of New York alumni
University at Buffalo alumni
Activists from New York City