American poet Pat Parker was BOTD in 1944. Born in Houston, Texas, she had a turbulent childhood, marked by poverty and sexual abuse. She moved to Los Angeles in 1961, studying creative writing and performing her own poetry. After two abusive marriages, she began identifying as a lesbian, forming a close friendship with fellow poet Audre Lorde. She released four poetry collections during the 1970s, including Child of Myself, Pit Stop, Movement in Black, and 1978’s Womanslaughter, based on the murder of her elder sister. As a Black lesbian feminist, her work explored the intersection of racism, sexism and homophobia in contemporary American culture, presenting queer experience and lesbian love with tenderness and hope. Her best-known poem, My Lover Is a Woman, became a popular text within feminist and lesbian movements. She was also active in the Black Panther movement, co-founding the Black Women’s Revolutionary Council, and also contributed to the Women’s Press Collective, helping promote LGBTQ writers. She was in a long-term relationship with Marty Dunham until her death in 1989 aged 45. In 2019, Parker was posthumously inaugurated into the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor in New York City.