Meet Some Heroes

Civil Rights Movement Leader who played a lead role in organizing the Freedom Rides, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and both the 1941 and 1963 March on Washington. Although Rustin played a lead role in several pivotal elements of the Civil Rights Movement his contributions were deliberately silenced because of his sexuality.

Activist, author and attorney whose work as a third-year law student at Howard University helped establish the legal strategy for Brown v. Board of Education (the 1954 case that declared racial segregation in k-12 education unconstitutional.

Nicole Maines is an actress and transrights activist. She is a pioneer in establishing caselaw supporting transgender equality in schools—especially in the context of bathroom usage. She prevailed in several law suits that she and her family brought against Maine public schools, including the University of Maine.

Gay rights activist and first openly gay man elected to California public office. Milk was elected to the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco in 1977. He was assassinated by Dan White—a colleague on the Board—in 1978, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone.

Recipient of the first female to male surgical transition in the United States (in 1917). Dr. Hart went on to become a researcher, playing a significant role in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis which, at the time, was among the deadliest diseases in the U.S.

Civil rights/LGBTQ rights activist who played a leader role in helping Oregon’s gay community defeat Measure 9—a 1992 initiative that would have barred Oregon’s lesbian and gay community from seeking non-discrimination protections and forced all state institutions to denounce homosexuality.

Strangio is the Deputy Director for Transgender Justice at the ACLU and is a leading transgender attorney and LGBTQ activist. Strangio has worked on important LGBTQ civil rights cases such as Bostock v. Clayton County, which expanded civil rights protections against workplace discrimination to gay and transgender people.

Civil rights trailblazer and a veteran of the Stonewall Uprising. Johnson was a co-founder of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), which provided resources and housing to houseless LGBTQ youth in New York City.

Larry Kramer was the founder of AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), as well as a playwright, author, and activist. ACT UP increased public awareness about the AIDS crisis through their use of political demonstrations. ACT UP fought for higher quality, and less expensive, treatment options for people with HIV/AIDS.

Gilbert Baker was the designer that created the rainbow flag (also called the pride flag). Baker’s now iconic rainbow flag design was first displayed in the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. Baker made the decision to not trademark the rainbow flag to empower the community with a symbol that they could use freely and proudly.