In February 2019, the National LGBTQ Task Force and Imperial Court System announced their plans for the Wall of Honor.[4] The monument committee accepted nominations to honor "the lives of LGBTQ trailblazers, pioneers and s/heroes who have passed", and have had a positive impact on LGBTQ civil rights.[3]
Gloria Allen was a transgender activist who ran a non-profit charm school for trans youth. In addition to inspiring the play Charm, she received the Living Legend Award at the Trans 100 Awards and a Carmen Vázquez Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging Issues from SAGE. She was added to the wall in 2023.[9]
Gilbert Baker was a gay artist and activist who created the Rainbow flag without license so the LGBTQ symbol would spread worldwide.
James Baldwin was a gay novelist, playwright, and activist who explored intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in America.
Larry Baza was a gay man who was "a titan of the arts scene in San Diego" [10] and a long-standing member of the California Arts Council, serving as its chair at the time of his death from Covid-19. He was added to the Wall in 2024.[11]
Ivy Bottini was a lesbian artist, activist and co-founder of the New York branch of the NOW, for whom she designed the logo in 1969. She was added to the wall in 2021.[12]
C
Michael Callen was a gay singer, songwriter, composer, author, and influential early AIDS activist.
Charles H. Cochrane was the first openly gay New York City policeman. He came out publicly in 1981 during a hearing on whether to ban discrimination against gay people. The bill never passed, but Cochrane was hailed for his bravery, and later formed the Gay Officers Action League.[13] He was added to the Wall in 2024.[11]
D
Darcelle XV was a drag queen and coffee shop owner from Portland, OR. From 2016 until her death, she was recognized as the "world's oldest performing drag queen" by the Guinness Book of World Records.[14] She was added to the wall in 2023.[9][15]
Ruth Ellis was an African American activist recognized as the oldest living out lesbian, passing away at 101. The Ruth Ellis Center is named in her honor. She was added to the wall in 2021.[12]
Leslie Feinberg was a butch transgender lesbian, author, communist organizer, and early transgender activist, whose writings have been foundational in the field of gender studies, as well as setting the standard for much of the terminology around gender identity.
Cecilia Gentili was an Argentinian-born transgender advocate for sex workers' rights, Director of Policy at GMHC and successfully sued the Trump administration to prevent the removal of trans healthcare from the Affordable Care Act.[10] She was added to the Wall in 2024.[11]
Sakia Gunn was a black lesbian victim of a hate crime in 2003. Outrage over the leniency towards her killer and lack of media coverage led to the formation of the Newark Pride Alliance. In 2023, Newark renamed Academy Street to Sakia Gunn Way.[10] She was added to the Wall in 2024.[11]
H
Keith Haring was a gay pop artist whose graffiti-like work grew out of the New York City street culture of the 1980s addressing political and societal themes—especially homosexuality and AIDS—through his own iconography and sexual allusions.
Heklina was a drag queen and stage actress. She co-founded Trannyshack (now called Mother), a long-running series of drag shows, and frequently collaborated with fellow drag queen and filmmaker Peaches Christ. She was added to the wall in 2023.[17]
C. Wayne Hussey was one of the first openly gay residents of Anchorage, Alaska. He was a drag queen and LGBTQ activist who founded the Alaskan Imperial Court System.[19] In 1974 he was the first recipient of the Peter Dispirito Public Service Award, presented "to the person elected by the Alaska Gay and Lesbian Community who has contributed most to the advancement of the community."[20]
ABilly S. Jones-Hennin was a Black bisexual man who advocated for healthcare, AIDS education, and disability rights following a spinal stenosis diagnosis. In 1978, he cofounded the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays and co-organized the 1979 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Later in life, he served as the chair of the DC Mayor's LGBT Advisory Committee. He was added to the Wall in 2024.[11]
June Jordan was a Black bisexual poet, essayist, teacher, and activist who used her writing to discuss issues of gender, race, immigration, and representation. She advocated for Black English Vernacular, and influenced feminist, and queer theory.
Leslie Jordan was an openly gay, Emmy Award-winning actor best known for playing a supporting role on Will & Grace. Over a forty-year long career, he appeared in many films, plays, and TV shows, and became a popular Instagram personality during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was added to the wall in 2023.[17]
Audre Lorde was a lesbian feminist writer, librarian, and civil rights activist whose work was influential in the formation of womanism and the early versions of identity politics. As a poet, she is known for both technical mastery and emotional expression, as well as her poems that express anger and outrage at civil and social injustice. Her poems and prose largely deal with issues related to civil rights, feminism, lesbianism, and the exploration of Black female identity.
Phyllis Lyon, was a lesbian feminist and LGBTQ rights activist who, along with her wife Del Martin founded the Daughters of Bilitis (D.O.B.) in 1955. D.O.B. was the first social and political organization for lesbians in the U.S. and the couple acted as president and editor of the organization's magazine, The Ladder. The couple joined NOW together, the first openly lesbian couple to do so. They were the first couple married in the historic San Francisco 2004 same-sex weddings. As these weddings were ruled legally invalid, they were the first couple married again in June 2008, after the California Supreme Court's decision In re Marriage Cases. She was added to the wall in 2020.[7]
Technical SergeantLeonard Philip Matlovich was a gay Vietnam War veteran who fought to stay in the United States Air Force after coming out of the closet. He became a cause célèbre around which the gay community rallied. His photograph appeared on the cover of the September 8, 1975 issue of Time magazine, making him a symbol for thousands of gay and lesbian service members and gay people generally.[22][23][24] Matlovich was the first named openly gay person to appear on the cover of a U.S. news magazine.[25]
Jeffrey Montgomery was an American LGBT activist and public relations executive. In 1984, his partner was shot to death outside a Detroit gay bar, prompting Montgomery to engage in LGBT advocacy. He started work on LGBT anti-violence issues upon learning that the police were not spending many resources on solving the murder, calling it "just another gay killing".[28] In 1991, Montgomery helped found the Triangle Foundation (now Equality Michigan) in order to advocate for LGBT victims of violence and to improve handling of LGBT related cases. He became nationally known for his work and served at numerous organizations.
P
Pat Parker was a Black lesbian feminist poet and activist.[29][30] Her poetry addressed her tough childhood growing up in poverty, dealing with sexual assault, and the murder of a sister, along with many issues facing lesbians and Black women in contemporary culture.[31] After two divorces she came out as a lesbian, "embracing her sexuality" she was liberated and "knew no limits when it came to expressing the innermost parts of herself".[31] Parker participated in political activism and had early involvement with the Black Panther Party, Black Women's Revolutionary Council and formed the Women's Press Collective.[32] She participated in many forms of activism especially regarding gay and lesbian communities, domestic violence, and rights of people of color.[33] After she became too ill to perform, other poets and musicians continued to perform her work at music and arts festivals, "Movement in Black" being particularly popular.
Jimmy Pisano was a gay man who purchased the original Stonewall Inn location and reopened it as a bar called "Stonewall" in 1990. It never turned a profit, but Pisano and his then-partner kept the bar open until Pisano's death from AIDS complications in 1994.[34] He was added to the wall in 2021.[12]
Chuck Renslow was an openly gay photographer, activist and businessperson, known for pioneering modern homoerotic photography, and establishing landmarks of gay male culture, including significant contributions to the leather subculture. His accomplishments included opening the Gold Coast bar in 1958. It was the world's first gay leather bar, and hosted a leather contest that grew into the International Mr. Leather competition. His lover of 43 years was Dom Orejudos, aka the artist "Etienne" and "Stephen". Renslow also formed the Leather Archives and Museum with Tony DeBlase in Chicago in 1991.[35][36]
Adrienne Rich was a lesbian feminist poet and essayist, called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and credited with bringing "the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse." Rich criticized rigid forms of feminist identities, and valorized what she coined the "lesbian continuum"; a female continuum of solidarity and creativity which has impacted and filled women's lives. She famously declined the National Medal of Arts, protesting then-House SpeakerNewt Gingrich's attempt to end the National Endowment for the Arts.
Monica Roberts was an African-American blogger, writer, and transgender rights advocate. She was the founding editor of TransGriot, a blog focusing on issues pertaining to trans women, particularly African-American and other women of color. Roberts' coverage of transgender homicide victims in the United States is credited for bringing national attention to the issue. She was added to the wall in 2021.[12]
Craig Rodwell was a gay activist known for founding the first bookstore devoted to gay and lesbian authors (Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop in November 1967), and as the prime mover for the creation of New York City Pride. Rodwell is considered by some to be the leading gay rights activist in the homophile movement of the 1960s.
Vito Russo was a gay LGBT activist, film historian and author best known for The Celluloid Closet (1981, revised edition 1987), described in The New York Times as "an essential reference book" on homosexuality in the US film industry.[37] It was later turned into a documentary film. In 1985 he co-founded the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a watchdog organization that strives to end anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and advocates for LGBTQ inclusion in popular media.
José Sarria better known as Absolute Empress I de San Francisco, and the Widow Norton, was a gay community organizer and political activist who became the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States in 1961. He performed for years as a live-singing drag queen doing parodies of operas at the Black Cat Bar and founded the Imperial Court System, one of the oldest and largest LGBT organizations in the world, with chapters throughout North America.
Sean Sasser was an American educator, activist, pastry chef and reality television personality best known for his appearances on MTV's The Real World: San Francisco, which depicted his relationship with fellow AIDS activist Pedro Zamora. This included a commitment ceremony in which the two exchanged vows, the first such ceremony for a same sex couple on television, and considered a landmark event in the medium.[38] He was added to the wall in 2020.[7]
Stephen Sondheim, a New York gay man, was a composer and lyricist of some of the most influential musicals of the modern era. He was added to the wall in 2022.[9]
Aimee Stephens was an American funeral director known for her fight for civil rights for transgender people.[39] She worked as a funeral director in Detroit and was fired for being transgender. Based on her court case, in a historic 2020 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex.[40] She was added to the wall in 2020.[7]
Lou Sullivan was a trans man author and activist known for his work on behalf of trans men. He was perhaps the first transgender man to publicly identify as gay and is largely responsible for the modern understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity as distinct, unrelated concepts. He was a pioneer of the grassroots female-to-male (FTM) movement and founded FTM International, the first advocacy group for transgender men. He lobbied the American Psychiatric Association and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health for them to recognize his existence as a gay trans man determined to change people's attitudes towards trans homosexuals and to change the medical process of transitioning making the process "orientation blind".
U
Virginia Uribe was lesbian and an educator, counselor and LGBTQ youth education outreach advocate. She was best known for founding Project 10, an educational support and drop-out prevention program for LGBTQ youth. She founded Project 10 in 1984 to help schools curtail harassment of, and reduce the dropout rate of, LGBTQ students in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
V
Urvashi Vaid was an Indian-born American LGBT rights activist, lawyer, and writer. She held a series of roles at the National LGBTQ Task Force, wrote multiple books, and founded LPAC, the first lesbian Super PAC. She was added to the wall in 2022.[9]
Carmen Vázquez was a Puerto Rican lesbian and advocate for LGBT health, serving in or founding numerous organizations. She was added to the wall in 2021.[12]
Bruce Raymond Voeller was a gay rights activist and biologist who conducted research primarily in the field of AIDS. In 1973, he co-founded the National Gay Task Force (now renamed National LGBTQ Task Force). In 1977, President Jimmy Carter welcomed openly gay and lesbian Task Force leaders for the first official discussion of gay and lesbian rights in the White House. Within the first few years of the AIDS pandemic, Voeller coined the term acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) that is still used today.
Edith "Edie" Windsor was a lesbian LGBT rights activist and a technology manager at IBM. She was the lead plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court case United States v. Windsor (2013). The case overturned Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which was a major victory in the struggle for same-sex marriage in the U.S. The decision led federal agencies in the Obama administration to extend rights, benefits, and privileges to same-sex married couples.
Soni Wolf was a self-described dyke, motorcycle enthusiast, former U.S. Air ForceVietnam-era veteran, and "tenacious" queer activist.[43] She co-founded the Dykes on Bikes (DOB) at the 1976 San Francisco Pride parade and rode with them each year until her death in 2018.[43] The group was a highly visible symbol of empowerment and LGBT pride.[43] DOB did "philanthropic work for LGBT causes and organizations around the world".[43] Wolf continued to nurture DOB chapters worldwide and fought for their right to use the reclaimed term dyke;[43] the DOB won a lawsuit against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office so they could trademark their name.[44]
Z
Pedro Zamora was an openly gayCuban-American AIDS educator and television personality who appeared on MTV's reality television series The Real World: San Francisco as one of the first openly gay men and person with AIDS to be portrayed in popular media. He brought international attention to HIV/AIDS and gave one of the first views into the daily lives of gay men. His interactions with his housemates exposed the homophobia and prejudices faced by people with AIDS. Zamora's romantic relationship with Sean Sasser was nominated by MTV viewers for the "Favorite Love Story" award.[45] The broadcast of their commitment ceremony, in which they exchanged vows, was the first such same-sex ceremony in television history, and is considered a landmark in the history of the medium.[46][47]
Sources
^Eric Rofes was omitted from the initial list but is listed on the Task Force's website.
^Lavietes, Matthew (June 27, 2019). "LGBTQ heroes celebrated with wall of honour at Stonewall Inn in New York". Reuters. Retrieved December 25, 2022. Two others are considered martyrs of the LGBTQ cause: Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California whose assassination made him a martyr of the gay community and Matthew Shepard, a gay college student whose murder in 1998 garnered national attention;
^Ridinger, Robert (2005). "Founding of the Leather Archives & Museum". LGBT History, 1988–1992 [serial online]. LGBT Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost: 33–36.
