By Bill Parry
The Jackson Heights post office on 37th Avenue was renamed Saturday in honor of Jeanne and Jules Manford — the late Queens residents and national heroes who fought for the advancement of equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
The couple formed Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays after their openly gay son Morty was beaten for protesting news coverage of the gay rights movement in 1972.
“As we get ready to celebrate Pride Month, our community can have no better honor than to have our local post office bear the names of Jeanne and Jules Manford,” U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) said. “They are two individuals who, in the face of hate and discrimination, were inspired to start a movement rooted in love and acceptance.
“With their spirit of community involvement, Jeanne and Jules wanted to help others like them — friends, neighbors, and colleagues — to better understand and support their LGBT children. Today, their incredible legacy is evident more than ever as their spirits live on through countless families they touched, and through our own LGBT pride parade, which brings family, friends and neighbors together to celebrate our diversity.”
Crowley first introduced the legislation to rename the post office in 2015 and it passed in both chambers of Congress in July 2016. Jeanne Mansford was the original grand marshal of the Queens Pride Parade, which City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) founded in 1993.
“This post office naming is a fitting tribute to Jeanne and Jules Manford, two leading lights in the history of the LGBT rights movement,” Dromm said. “Jeanne and Jules nurtured the movement and allowed their home to be used as the cradle for gay liberation. They will forever be known for publicly supporting their openly gay son, Morty Manford, at a time when most parents rejected their LGBT children. May this naming encourage all New Yorkers to follow the Manford’s example of standing up for equality.”
The PGLAG has expanded to include more than 350 chapters and over 200,000 members in all 50 states. It has become a positive and influential voice calling for an end to discrimination and the attainment of equality.
“In the tradition of Queens, ordinary people become extraordinary. Mom and Dad were born in Queens and spent most of their lives there,” said Morty’s sister, Suzanne Manford Swan, the only surviving member of the family, who traveled from her West Coast home to participate in the dedication. “Mom taught elementary school in Flushing, Dad was a dentist in Queens. They both worked in community groups to make Queens a better place to live. My parents were in the earliest gay pride marches, supporting their son and his friends. Jeanne and Jules wanted to help friends and neighbors in Queens to understand and support their children while experiencing great stress at a time when attitudes towards sexual orientation were changing. My parents were unassuming people who wanted to help others; I’m sure they would have been thrilled to know of this honor.”
Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee Executive Director Bill Meehan said the plaque bearing the Manfords’ name will be a reminder of the great work they did.
“They loved their son, unconditionally, fought for him, spoke out for him, and supported him,” Meehan said. “There are still parents who refuse to accept their gay sons and daughters. Many of them are living pained lives because of this rejection. Many of them are homeless because of this rejection. Like the Manfords, we need to open our hearts, our mouths, and our homes to offer the acceptance, the respect and the love denied them by their families.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
