Politics | Page 65

Governor Al Quie, legislators, and constituents with disabilities

Governor Al Quie, legislators (including Allan Spear, third from left), and constituents with disabilities, ca. 1980.

Legislators (including Allan Spear, far right) tour the Minnesota Zoological Garden

Legislators (including Allan Spear, far right) tour the Minnesota Zoological Garden, 1980.

Allan Spear at a Judiciary Committee hearing

Allan Spear at a Judiciary Committee hearing, 1987–1990.

Ron Dicklich, William Luther, Allan Spear, Roger Moe, and Duane Benson

Ron Dicklich, William Luther, Allan Spear, Roger Moe, and Duane Benson read a bill on the floor of the Minnesota Senate, 1988.

Allan Spear

Allan Spear, 1997. Photographed by a Minnesota Senate photographer.

Spear, Allan Henry (1937–2008)

Allan Henry Spear was the first openly gay man in the United States to serve as a state legislator. In 1993, he won a twenty-year fight to include the LGBT community in Minnesota's Human Rights Act. He served as president of the Minnesota Senate for nearly a decade, taught history at the University of Minnesota for thirty-five years, and was a lifelong lover of travel, food, music, and literature.

Black and white photograph of Governor Orville Freeman inspecting his troops at Camp Ripley, 1955.

Governor Orville Freeman inspecting troops at Camp Ripley

As Commander-in-Chief of the Minnesota National Guard, Governor Orville Freeman inspects his troops during a review and parade, July 1955. In the 1950s and 1960s, such parades were open to the public and typically held on Sunday afternoon of the middle weekend of a two-week annual training period.