Famous gay rights activists

He spent his later years being involved in Native American Two-Spirit activism. One of these Washington, D. During his month sentence, Swann petitioned President Grover Cleveland for a pardon, which was denied. He was also the first self-professed queen of drag.

Daughters of Bilitis eventually shuttered as the queer rights movement became more militant, but Martin and Lyon continued their activism.

15 LGBTQ Activists of : He and other activists also succeeded in striking down Proposition 6, which would have mandated the firing of any gay or lesbian teachers in California

After his release, Swann continued to throw balls as the queen of drag. Martin and Lyon were also the first lesbian couple to join the National Organization for Women. A lower court ruled in favor of the postmaster but the U.

15 brave activists inspiring champions for change and fighting for LGBTQ rights in places where it can be dangerous to do so. The courage of these early U. The Stonewall Inn Riots sparked the beginning of the gay rights movement in America.

12 LGBTQ Activists Who : But before today’s collective strength and visibility, there were LGBTQ activists who changed history with acts of resistance and resilience that laid the foundation for change

The burgeoning Mattachine Society forced Hay and other communist founders to step down in Hay continued his queer activism following his expulsion. List of LGBTQ rights activists This is a list of notable LGBTQ rights activists who have worked to advance LGBTQ rights through political change, legal action or publication.

A founding member of the Mattachine Society, Dale Jennings became a queer rights hero when he protested in court a charge of sexual solicitation in Los Angeles. Just three years before the Emancipation ProclamationWilliam Dorsey Swann was born the property of a white plantation woman, according to research by Channing Gerard Joseph.

Learn how. Those charged with soliciting police officers for sex typically pleaded guilty rather than face being outed as gay. Inthe jury deadlocked for acquittal and the judge dismissed the charge. They were married again four years later, inafter California legalized same-sex marriage.

The year of his death is uncertain, although some list it aswhen he would have been years old. Postal Service, as well as the dissolution of his organization. He was elected the first Chair of the Southern California Gay Liberation Front—a militant queer rights group—after the Stonewall Riots and co-founded the Radical Fairies a decade later.

But some activists took a stand for LGBTQ rights before that famed decade, operating under the fear of losing their jobs should they be outed or being arrested for simply existing in heteronormative spaces.

Harry Hay was a communist activist who co-founded the Mattachine Societythe first enduring gay rights organization, in Hay was subsequently divorced by his wife, fellow communist Anita Platky, and expelled from the communist party, which considered him a security risk, a few years later.

14 LGBTQ Rights Activists Who Have Shaped History and Inspired Generations Harvey Milk, Audre Lorde, and Elliot Page are just a few LGBTQ rights activists who have made an impact. Gerber went on to live an unassuming life, writing articles about homosexual oppression under a pseudonym, networking and building community.

It is ordered by country, alphabetically. At the time, entrapment by detectives posing as gay men in bars, public parks, and restrooms was common. The Chicago-based organization produced Friendship and Freedomthe first American publication for homosexuals.