ROBERTA'S big night.

ROBERTA ACHTENBERG RECALLS HER NATIONAL POLITICAL DEBUT AT THE 1992 DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

Activist David Mixner has been both an observer and a participant at the heart of the American political process since his involvement in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Now a writer and political strategist, Mixner has just published his second book, Brave Journeys: Profiles in Gay and Lesbian Courage (Bantam)--a nod to John F. Kennedy's 1956 classic Profiles in Courage, in which the future president wrote about eight American political heroes, Mixner's six chapters reach well beyond the electoral realm to include actor Sir Ian McKellen, discharged Navy pilot Tracy Thorne, and Daughters of Bilitis founders Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon.

One of the book's most moving chapters traces the journey of former San Francisco city supervisor Roberta Achtenberg--the "damned lesbian" (in Jesse Helms's words) who in 1993 became the first openly gay person confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a cabinet-level position. In this excerpt, Achtenberg makes her first appearance on the national political scene on the dais at the 1992 national convention of the Democratic Party.

The Democratic convention was to be held at New York's Madison Square Garden. On Tuesday, July 13, Clinton's political platform would be presented, and among the speakers would be two HIV-positive leaders--AIDS activist Elizabeth Glaser and openly gay Clinton friend and environmental adviser Bob Hattoy--and Roberta Achtenberg,

"I was one of the party platform drafters, which is why I was supposed to be up there," Achtenberg says. "I was defending the platform," She would be the first open lesbian ever to address a national convention of either major party, "We knew what I was going to be doing and what Hattoy was going to be doing were the first real manifestations of the Democratic party's commitment and our nominee's commitment to gay rights," Achtenberg says, "We knew that it was a big deal," She insisted on writing the speech herself, with the help of her City Hall aide, Alex Clemens.

When the night finally came, the Garden was humming with excitement. Standing backstage, listening to the rest of the rousing speeches, Achtenberg admits to a sudden attack of nerves, "Even though I knew the speech word for word, I stood back there, wondering how I was going to stack up," she recalls. Hundreds of homosexuals were there to witness the historic moment; gay and lesbian signs bobbed on a sea of red, white, and blue, When Roberta walked onstage, flash cameras popped like firecrackers and her supporters started chanting, thumping the floor, and climbing on chairs to see her--their delegate, Not only was the gay and lesbian community wildly ebullient, but the rest of the delegates, feeling pride at being part of a drive to end decades of discrimination, joined in. The din was ear-shattering; the decibel level deliriously high. Achtenberg was moved to tears. "It was a wonderful motivator," she says, "it put a smile on my face and it made my heart swell."

It took a while for the hall to quiet, but when it did, there was absolute silence. For a luscious moment, "Birdie" Achtenberg was frozen in time, an instant icon in history, When she spoke, she identified herself as a woman, a mother, a lesbian, and a Jew, tying each of those identities to a section of the platform and expressing her deep commitment to the Democratic agenda. She also spoke movingly of Clinton, who nurtured such diversity. Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, she was finished. Again, the crowd went wild, calling out, clapping, and crying.

Backstage, cameras and microphones were shoved into her face; a new star was christened in the Democratic party firmament. Yet what Achtenberg remembers most was some older Jewish women who approached her and thanked her for identifying herself as a Jew, Even though there were many Jewish people in the Democratic party, the women confessed to feeling invisible in the crush. "So," Roberta says, "it was a coming out for all different kinds of people."

--From Brave Journeys: Profiles in Gay and Lesbian Courage by David Mixner and Dennis Bailey, copyright [C] 2000 by David B, Mixner, Used by permission of Bantam Books, a division of Random House Inc.