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Title
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Tribute to Jaci Duboise Adams
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Description
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This tribute was written by City of Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter on March 21, 2014 to honor the life and legacy of Jaci DuBoise Adams, a leader, advocate, and educator in the Philadelphia LGBT community.
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Jaci DuBoise Adams (1958-February 15, 2014) was born in Beckley, West Virginia and moved to Philadelphia in her youth with her family (AIDS Law Project 2014). Unfortunately Adams experienced such abuse that she “fled the house in search of safety” at age nine (AIDS Law Project 2014). Adams was “soon consumed by a life of prostitution, drug abuse and crime while searching for an identity” (AIDS Law Project 2014). She landed in prison, and earned her GED (AIDS Law Project 2014). In 2002 after the unsolved murder of Nizah Morris, a 47 year old transgender entertainer that was found brutally beaten at 15th and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia, Adams shared that she had “an ‘a-ha’ moment and decided that instead of being angry, maybe a career criminal like [her] could use that familiarity with the cops to slither in and become part of the solution” (Morrison 2014). Known to be genuine, accomplished yet immensely humble, to speak and teach from her vast life experience, and incredibly kind, Adams was held in high regard by many– from city officials such as Michael Nutter, to long-time friends, to folks she just met and was lending support to (AIDS Law Project 2014).
As highlighted in Nutter’s tribute, Adams was “a leader in Philadelphia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community,” serving as an advisor to Philadelphia’s Office of LGBT Affairs, a member of the LGBT Police Liaison Committee, supporter of Philadelphia’s Dept. of Public Health, Dept. of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, Office of Supportive Housing, as well as a supporter of other city initiatives to make change in the lives of LGBT individuals. Nutter also notes that Adams was a “founding member of the Temple University Advisory Board,” “founder of Philadelphia’s Trans People With Hope Conference,” and served on various other boards, commissions, and committees. As well, Adams worked with many volunteer organizations (AIDS Law Project 2014). Adams’ presence ensured that “voices of transgender people and people living with HIV/AIDS were at the table and always part of the discussion.”
Though Adams was diagnosed with AIDS in 1983, it was cancer that took her life at age 56 in 2014 (AIDS Law Project 2014). At this time, she was living in West Philadelphia (Morrison 2014).
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Contributor
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John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives at William Way LGBT Community Center
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Date Created
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2014
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Creator
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Philadelphia (Pa.). Mayor
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Rights
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This work is not in copyright, but commercial uses of this digital representation are limited. For more information, contact archives@waygay.org and see http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/
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Identifier
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Ms. Coll. 57
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Language
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eng
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Format
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Text
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Extent
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1 page
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Spatial Coverage
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Philadelphia, PA
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Publisher
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Philadelphia (Pa.). Mayor
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Is Part Of
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Jaci Adams memorial collection, 2012-2014
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Subject
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LGBT activism
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Philadelphia (Pa.)
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Transgender women
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HIV/AIDS activists
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African American transgender people
