Pride Spotlight: BILLIE JEAN KING

Building on her tennis stardom to create social change, Billie Jean King has elevated the self-esteem of girls and women through her lifelong struggle for equality in the sports world. She also raised large sums to fight AIDS, contributed funds to combat homophobia in schools, and supported efforts to stem gay and lesbian teenage suicide rates.

King helped to strategize about how to get the widest distribution among local educators for the award-winning film “It’s Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School”, and she contributed $10,000 toward that end. Her work on the film project was recognized with a 1998 Pathfinder Award from GLSEN Chicago, the local chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network.