Tommi avicollis mecca biography of michaels

NAME: Tommi Avicolli Mecca*

Biography:

Tommi Avicolli Mecca is a longtime southern Italian radical queer activist who helped organize the first gay pride march in Philadelphia in He was co-founder of Radicalqueens and helped produce its magazine, and a member of Gay Liberation Front/Temple until its demise in He served as president of Gay Activists Alliance (), Associate Editor of New Gay Life magazine (), and reporter/editor for the Philadelphia Gay News ().

He founded the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Archives (now part of the library at the William Way Center in Philly), and the first multi-racial LGBT theatre troupe, Avalanche (). He was also a founder of GALA, the Gay and Lesbian Arts Festival.

He was on the board of the first LGBT community center and helped organize its weekly Gay Coffeehouse.

He is a poet, performer, activist and writer. As a journalist, he has contributed to //Philadelphia Magazine//, [Bay Guardian//], //Bay Times//, []