October is LGBT History Month. Over the next couple posts we’ll take a look at some Cleveland LGBT history and people. Today we look at “Newspaper Annie”, Anna Perkins (1849 – 1900). Now her sexuality is not know for sure but her actions did challenge gender norms of the time and did cause her ridicule and harassment.
Newspaper Annie sold the Cleveland Press Newspaper on the corner of Euclid Ave and Ontario St in Public Square in a time where women only worked in nursing, teaching or domestic work. She also wore men’s clothing, most notably a tennis cap, short white pants and men’s shirts and jackets.
She lived on the west side of Cleveland, was a poet and a vegetarian. She became a fixture in Public Square and eventually earned the respect of local Clevelanders. I could not find a picture of her online to share in this post.
