Gertrude Gipson Penland was an African-American syndicated columnist, editor, nightclub owner, publicist, and civil rights activist.
Born Gertrude Estelle Lomax in Ocean City, New Jersey, in July, 1923, a Cancerian,[1] she moved to Los Angeles as a child.
Later, Gipson was appointed to the California Motion Picture Development Council by Governor Jerry Brown, a first for an African-American woman, also serving on the Los Angeles Film Advisory Commission.
Gipson's 1978 birthday party, attended by many celebrities including Sir Lady Java and Lena Horne, was featured in Jet.
[5][6][7] Her funeral was attended by many celebrities and politicians, including Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti, L.A. County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, Representative Maxine Waters, City Attorney James Hahn, Diane Watson, Barbara Boudreaux, actors Sidney Poitier and Marla Gibbs, and singers Nancy Wilson, Lou Rawls, Linda Hopkins, Ernie Andrews, Howard Hewett, and Frankie Beverly.