Margo St. James died a few days ago. Margo was a very good friend.
I had tried to reach her for the past eight years, with no luck. I even sent my daughter to look for her. Many people have asked me how to reach her, several to do interviews and make a film, no luck. It looks like she had been moved to a care home a while back.
I was personally instrumental in Margo starting COYOTE. When she came to me with her idea, before it had a name, I gave her stationary, gave her my office on Pier 40, where she often lived, and which she used for many years. I gave her several grants from Point Foundation. She often gave me credit for starting her on her career as an organizer.
She came to see me often, sometimes at my office, frequently to my North Beach coffee gathering. I always helped her and she always followed my advice. She was a wonderful friend and kept me involved in her life. Even her love life.
Margo was a brave woman, warm, caring and deeply honest.
I learned a great deal from Margo, including the real story behind the Dan White murders at City Hall.
I learned from the creation of COYOTE that it created strong opposition. San Francisco uniquely reacted by creating a vice squad to target ‘Johns’. A friend of mine got a severe penalty for soliciting a fake hooker.
Here is a reference to her life, that she wrote over 30 years ago.