Reed Erickson, Pioneering Transgender Activist and Philanthropist, 1917-1992, by Ada Bello

Reed Erickson used the wealth which his class privilege provided to support public education and activism about transgender lives and issues at a time when very little public attention was focused on the topic. Ada Bello (1933-2023), who wrote this account of Erickson’s life and work, was motivated to do it because she knew Erickson earlier in life when Erickson was part of the Philadelphia lesbian community. Bello supplemented her own knowledge of Erickson with a good deal of research to offer us an accessible biographical portrait of this key figure in the transgender freedom movement in the United States. Published originally by OutHistory in 2016; last edited in 2020 by Jonathan Ned Katz, with changes indicated by words in brackets [ ].