Curtis Decker collection

Lawyer, lobbyist, and advocate involved in LGBTQ+ and disability rights legislation, Curtis Decker was born in New York and educated at Hamilton College and Cornell Law School. Following his graduation from Cornell in 1969, Decker joined the Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) program in Baltimore, Maryland, representing low income city residents through the Baltimore Legal Aid Bureau.

On May 23, 1988, Baltimore became the 62nd city in the United States to pass some form of a gay rights bill. Previous drafts of the bill were proposed to Baltimore City Council in 1980 and 1984 but did not make it past the council vote. All iterations of the bill sought to mitigate discriminatory behavior against members of the LGBTQ+ community. While the bill ultimately succeeded in passing through City Council and received support from Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke (b. 1949), there were several detractors who remained vocal in their opposition, including the Archdiocese of Baltimore and council member Dominic “Mimi” DiPietro (1905-1994).

In 1982 Curtis Decker was approached by Dr. B. Frank Polk (1942-1988) who was in the process of developing a study at Johns Hopkins Hospital on the progression of AIDS in patients assigned male at birth. Polk hoped that Decker, as a prominent member of Baltimore’s gay community, would be able to help gather the 1200 male participants needed to conduct the National Institute of Health backed study. Having worked with marginalized communities through his position with the Baltimore Legal Aid Bureau, Decker was familiar with the level of distrust that existed between many of these communities and large institutions such as medical centers. Working alongside Polk on AIDS education and prevention, Decker witnessed a reluctance amongst members of the gay community to become involved in the cause. According to Decker it seemed that many feared social, legal, and workplace ramifications should they be identified as members of the community. These experiences heightened Decker’s belief that Baltimore required a civil rights bill in order to protect the community as it collectivized and strove towards progress in other areas.

In 1984 Curtis Decker became involved with the Baltimore gay rights bill, also known as bill 187 prior to its passage. Decker contributed to the passage of Baltimore’s gay rights bill by lobbying individual Baltimore city council members, addressing their concerns and negotiating compromises when necessary. Decker was also involved in speaking with the Baltimore’s LGBTQ+ community in an effort to promote unity as well as organizing events such as fundraisers in collaboration with the Gay Community Center of Baltimore. In a 1984 interview with “Baltimore City Paper,” Decker called the foundation of the Gay Community Center of Baltimore, now named the Pride Center of Maryland, in 1977 as a “watershed moment” in the advancement of gay rights in Baltimore given the center’s ability to serve as a focal point and physical space around which to organize collective action.