Harvey Milk, the subject of the Oscar-winning film Milk, was the first openly gay politician to be elected in California. Harvey Milk poses in front of his camera shop in San Francisco on Nov. “Sylvia’s role in gay history was that she was one of the first people to highlight that our movement needed to be more inclusive of people who did not fit in the mainstream,” Carrie Davis, Chief Programs and Policy Officer at New York City’s LGBT Community Center, told NBC News. She was once arrested for attempting to climb through a window (in a dress and heels) into a room where the New York City Council was debating a gay rights bill, NBC reported. Rivera lived a turbulent life, struggling with drug addiction and homelessness, but Rivera was always a vocal and, at times, forceful advocate for change.
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Johnson, co-founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), an organization that provided housing and other services to homeless LGBTQ youth in New York City.īorn in New York City, Sylvia turned to sex work after her mother died by suicide when Rivera was just 10 years old. Sylvia Rivera was a Latina trans activist, who, together with Marsha P. Stonewall veteran Sylvia Rivera leads the ACT-UP march past New York’s Union Square Park, June 26, 1994. Johnson, celebrates Johnson’s life and investigates the mysterious circumstances of her death. A recent Netflix documentary, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Her death was ruled a suicide, but those who knew her disagreed. In 1992, Johnson’s body was found in the Hudson River. Johnson was a key figure of the 1960s gay rights movement in the US and, as legend has it, threw the brick that ignited the infamous Stonewall riots, which were the catalyst for the movement and have inspired many Pride marches ever since. “As long as gay people don’t have their rights all across America, there’s no reason for celebration,” she once said. She was black, queer, and trans - and fearlessly advocated for her rights and the rights of the LGBTQ community at a time when doing so put her safety in jeopardy. Johnson was an activist, drag performer, sex worker, and model for Andy Warhol. Johnson is sometimes referred to as the “Rosa Parks of the LGBT movement,” but Johnson is a celebrated icon in her own right. While certainly not an exhaustive list by any means, these are 15 LGBTQ activists you should know.
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In honor of Pride Month, Global Citizen is celebrating the brave activists fighting for LGBTQ rights in places where it can be dangerous to do so, and the inspiring champions for change, without whom there might never have been a Pride Month. Without these incredible activists, the LGBTQ rights movement would not be where it is today. But that’s still not the case for LGBTQ communities in every country, and even in countries where it is safe to march, there is still a long way to go before true equality is achieved.
#Black gay pride month free
In many countries today, people are free to join these marches, marry whomever they choose, and openly show their love. Throughout June, cities around the world have been hosting marches in honor of LGBTQ pride. It’s LGBTQ Pride Month - a time to celebrate love, but also to champion equality and LGBTQ rights.