Carmen Vázquez, a longtime LGBTQ activist, died on Wednesday from coronavirus complications. She was 72. A press release that the National LGBTQ Task Force and SAGE released on Thursday notes Vázquez was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood.
Vázquez was the founding director of the Women’s Building in San Francisco and helped establish the city’s Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center.
Vázquez returned to New York City in the mid-1990s. She helped create the New York State LGBT Health and Health Services Network.
Vázquez was the director of public policy at the LGBT Community Center in New York City from 1994-2003. Vázquez from 2003-2007 was the deputy executive director of the Empire State Pride