The former beauty queen and spokeswoman for Florida orange juice was an all-American entertainer before she began crusading against L.G.B.T.Q. rights.

Anita Bryant, a former Miss Oklahoma and popular singer who became known over the second half of her life for her outspoken opposition to gay rights, has died.

She was blacklisted and got a raw deal, but like her or not, she stuck to her convictions,” Anthony Verdugo, founder and executive director of the Christian Family Coalition.

Anita Bryant, the singsongy beauty queen who spun her folksy Oklahoma charm into a career hawking orange juice and campaigning against gay rights, died last month at 84. When the news broke on Thursday,

Anita Bryant, a Grammy-nominated singer and former beauty queen who became known for her advocacy against gay rights in the 1970s, died Dec. 16. She was 84.

Anita Bryant might have lost a short-term political battle, but she won a much longer war that many people thought had been decided conclusively in her enemy’s favor. | Bill Hudson/AP Dylon Jones is an associate editor for POLITICO Magazine.

Anita Bryant, a former Miss Oklahoma, Grammy-nominated singer and prominent booster of orange juice and other products who became known over the second half of her life for her outspoken