Lesbian Feminism, Grand Juries, and FBI Surveillance in the 1970s

Abstract: In 1973, the FBI arrested Vicki Gabriner in Atlanta, Georgia, for her past involvement with Weathermen. The Atlanta Lesbian/Feminist Alliance, which she cofounded in 1972, organized legal fund benefits and raised awareness about FBI surveillance in lesbian communities. In 1975, six gay and lesbian individuals in Lexington, Kentucky, refused to testify before a grand jury about Susan Saxe and Kathy Power, two lesbian antiwar activists. Jill Raymond was imprisoned fourteen months. These cases, the Atlanta One and the Lexington Six, reveal key moments of state surveillance and queer resistance in the 1970s South. Examining them together sheds light on the FBI’s efforts to disrupt predominately white lesbian activist circles and their collective responses. The cases turned FBI and grand jury tactics into important issues and underscored how 1970s movements overlapped. This article uses oral histories and archives to highlight connections to broader struggles for labor, civil, women’s, and gay rights.