James D. Haynes, noted gay community activist
July 19, 1934 — Nov. 9, 2008
James D. Haynes, Ph. D., a noted gay community activist, mycologist, ecologist and retired biology professor, died unexpectedly Nov. 9 in Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Town of Tonawanda, after suffering a heart attack. He was 74.
Born in Poplar Bluff, Mo., he received his doctorate at Iowa State University and moved to Buffalo in 1967, when he began teaching at Buffalo State College.
Despite his academic accomplishments, Dr. Haynes became best known to the public as one of Buffalo’s leading spokesman for the gay and lesbian community, beginning in the 1970s, when he worked to overturn ordinances banning members of the same sex from dancing together.
“Jim had the courage to step forward and to be openly gay, at a time when doing so in Buffalo was extremely dangerous,“ said Rodney Hensel, a friend. “It is because of the battles fought by people like Jim that gay people in Buffalo can be open about who they are without fear of physical danger or economic reprisals.”
In 1968, Dr. Haynes met Donald A. Licht, who became his life partner and partner in working for gay and lesbian rights. Together, they restored an 1855 Victorian home on Johnson Park and were widely known for their Victorian Christmas entertaining with period decorations and food.
In 2007, they celebrated their 40th anniversary with a wedding ceremony in Canada, where gay marriages are legally recognized.
“We kind of formed an example of how people could go about being openly gay in public,” Licht said Sunday. “It was very important to get the word out that gays were not monsters preying on children.”
Dr. Haynes in 1970 was a founding member of the Niagara Frontier Mattachine Society, which became a leading voice of gay rights in the area until the mid-1980s. The group published a monthly newspaper, organized community dances, created a community center and established a hotline with trained personnel to help people dealing with gay and lesbian issues.
The hotline training methods developed by Dr. Haynes were adopted by many gay organizations across the nation. As the AIDS epidemic hit the gay community in the early 1980s, Dr. Haynes established early information workshops and helped found AIDS Community Services of Western New York, where he was an officer and board member for many years.
In 1983, Dr. Haynes and Licht founded Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of Western New York. Dr. Haynes served as a member of its board for 25 years. The group provides educational services, programs and help for young people dealing with gender and sexual orientation issues.
Dr. Haynes was appointed in 1984 by then-Gov. Mario M. Cuomo to the State Commission on Gay Concerns, whose activities led to the enactment of domestic partner benefits for state employees.
An expert of mushrooms and fungi, Dr. Haynes was the author of several published papers on the subjects and collected more than 2,500 specimens, which he donated for display at the Eckert Herbarium at Buffalo State.
He was active in many educational programs at the Buffalo Museum of Science, assisting in the creation of exhibits, lecturing, teaching field mycology and for several years co-leading archaeological tours to Egypt.
He also contributed to a number of botany textbooks and was the author of many scholarly articles on human sexuality published in the Journal of Homosexuality and the Encyclopedia of Sexuality. He spoke at many national conferences and was a life member of Sigma Xi, the National Science Fraternity, and Professionals Working in Human Sexuality.
Following his retirement as a distinguished teaching professor of biology at Buffalo State in 2002, he was named professor emeritus at the college.
He remained active as a member of the Madeline Davis GLBT Archives of Western New York, the Rainbow Elders and as an emeritus board member of GLYS.
In June, Dr. Haynes and Licht served as grand marshals of the Buffalo Gay Pride parade, celebrating GLBT heroes.
In addition to his spouse, survivors include two brothers, Joe and Jerry.
Dr. Haynes donated his remains to the University at Buffalo Medical School for scientific study.
— News Staff Reporter Karen Robinson
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