Portfolio

Del Martin 1921-2008 Del Martin was in the forefront of the battle for lesbian and gay rights for more than 50 years. After a brief early marriage, she found that she was attracted to women. Martin and her partner, Phyllis Lyon, founded the first advocacy group for lesbians, Daughters of Bilitis, which grew to have [...]

Harry Hay 1912-2002 Harry Hay was a Communist political organizer, a musicologist, an actor, a social science researcher, and many more things. He was also one of the earliest and most prominent gay rights activists. Today, Hay remains one of the most complex figures in the American history of gay rights. As a young man [...]

Craig Rodwell 1940-1993 Craig L. Rodwell was an American gay rights activist known for founding the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop in 1967, the first bookstore devoted to gay and lesbian authors, and as the prime mover for the creation of the New York City pride demonstration. Rodwell is considered to be one of the leading [...]

Sylvia Rivera 1951-2002 Sylvia Ray Rivera was a Latina American gay liberation and transgender rights activist; she was was most well-known for her work in New York City. Some claim Rivera, who identified as a drag queen, was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front. With her close friend Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera co-founded [...]

Jackie "Moms" Mabley 1894-1975 Born as Loretta Mary Aiken in Brevard, North Carolina, Aiken took her stage name, Jackie Mabley, from an early boyfriend, commenting in a 1970s Ebony magazine interview that he had taken so much from her, it was the least she could do to take his name. She later became known as [...]

Juan Gabriel 1950-2016 Alberto Aguilera Valadez, known professionally as Juan Gabriel, was a Mexican singer, songwriter and actor. Colloquially nicknamed as Juanga and El Divo de Juárez, Gabriel was known for his flamboyant style, which broke barriers within the Latin music market. Widely considered one of the best and most prolific Mexican composers and singers [...]

Carlos Amaraz 1941-1989 Carlos Almaraz was born in Mexico City in 1949 and grew up in Chicago and Los Angeles. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, and later earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Otis College of Art and Design in 1974. In 1973, Almaraz and three other artists co-founded [...]

Yelena Grigoryeva 1978-2019 Father John McNeill is widely revered among gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics as a hero for his scholarly writings to help LGBTQ people accept their own sexuality and defend themselves against what they view to be misguided church teachings. Born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., McNeill entered the U.S. Army in [...]

Fr. John McNeil 1924 or 1925-2015 Father John McNeill is widely revered among gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics as a hero for his scholarly writings to help LGBTQ people accept their own sexuality and defend themselves against what they view to be misguided church teachings. Born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., McNeill entered the [...]

Barbara Hammer 1939-2019 Barbara Hammer was born in Hollywood, California. She was a visual artist working primarily in film and video. She made over 80 moving image works in a career that spanned 40 years. She is considered a pioneer of queer cinema. She created experimental films dealing with women’s issues such as gender roles, [...]