Charlie Brydon (1940-2021) was a longtime activist for LGBTQ rights. Born and raised in New Jersey, he moved to Seattle in 1974 after leaving the US Army. In the mid-1970s, Brydon co-founded the Dorian Group, an organization of LGBTQ professionals who gathered for public luncheons, often with city officials, to discuss ways to make Seattle more LGBTQ-friendly. The relationships built helped the community press to ban housing discrimination against sexual minorities in 1975 and convinced Seattle Mayor Wes Uhlman to declare the first official Gay Pride Week in Seattle in 1977.

In 1978, Brydon formed the Citizens to Retain Fair Employment (CFRE) to fight against Initiative 13, which would have repealed Seattle’s laws prohibiting discrimination in employment or housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. CFRE’s work would be significant factor in I-13’s resounding defeat. In 1993, Brydon helped found Hands Off Washington (HOW) in response to attempted statewide initiatives to roll back LGBTQ rights. HOW campaigned and fundraised across the state and as a result the anti-LGBTQ initiatives failed to get enough signatures to make it onto the ballot.

This image shows Charlie Brydon speaking at a debate on Initiative 13 on June 4, 1978. The debate, held at Plymouth Congregational Church, was between Brydon and David Estes, the Seattle police officer who sponsored the initiative. Brydon spoke about discrimination and the importance of civil rights, while Estes defended Initiative 13 as moral, based on religious traditions and Bible passages.

Caption information source: “Remembering Charlie Brydon, an early LGBTQ rights leader,” by Randy Beitel and Lonnie Lusardo, the Stranger, retrieved from https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2021/02/18/55327105/remembering-charlie-brydon-an-early-lgbtq-rights-leader
Caption information source: “Gay leader, Estes debate Initiative 13,” by Paul O’Connor, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 5, 1978, page A1.