The Heroes Of Pride And The LGBTQ+ Folks Who Represent Us

There are dozens of unsung heroes in the LGBTQ+ community who were bold enough to ensure that people of all sexualities got equal rights. Such unsung heroes include Ma Rainey and Bayard Rustin. Read below as the article discuss the heroes of pride and what they did to fly the LGBTQIA flag up high.

Over the years, the LGBTQ+ community has faced many setbacks, especially from people who feel that such a community should not exist. LGBTQ+ opposers have repeatedly failed to accord the pride community their rights because they do not conform to the mainstream relationship norms that state a woman should fall in love with a man or vice versa and not the other way round. However, thanks to several LGBTQ+ activists, members of the pride community can now enjoy their sexuality without the pressure of conforming to societal rules.

The Unsung Heroes Of The LGBTQ+ Community

Marsha P. Johnson

Beemyn (2014) explained that Marsha P. Johnson was famous in America in the 1970s and 1980s before his death in 1992 for championing gay rights. Marsha P. Johnson was born Malcom Michaels Jr but later changed it to Marsha P. Johnson because he felt Malcolm's name was too masculine for her feminine aura. McGrody, (2018) explained that Marsha identified as a gay person, a drag queen, and a transvestite. Still, today, historians describe Marsha as a trans woman and as the Rosa Parks of the LGBTQIA movement. She was a young black, trans, and queer who championed for members of the LGBTQ+ to be treated with equality even though she knew openly championing for the community would land her in trouble. Johnson was a key figure during the 1960s gay movements because the community was tired of the oppression of being gay and black.

Sylvia Rivera

Sylvia Rivera was Latina but was born and bred in New York, United States. However, her mother died when she was just 10 years old, and having no one to turn to, Sylvia became a sex worker. Rivera led a troubled life, especially due to her homelessness and drug addiction, but despite her shortcomings, Rivera was a vocal voice when it came to advocating for gay rights. Ellis (2020) explained that Sylvia Rivera actively participated in gay liberation rallies. Together with Marsha P. Johnson, they formed the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, which provided safe housing to homeless members of the LGBTQ community in New York.

Ma Rainey

Ma Rainey, born Gertrude Pickett, grew to fame due to the singing prowess that earned her the name "mother of blues" in the 1920s. Rainey openly sang about her hurdles as a black woman living in America while highlighting her relationships with women and men when such topics were considered taboo, especially for a woman. Her musical prowess inspired renowned poets, playwrights, and novelists such as Langston Hughes, Sterling Brown, Alice Walker, and August Wilson. Ma Rainey was the stepping stone that women used to uplift other black women like Bessie Smith.

Bayard Rustin

Bayard Rustin was a low-profile figure during the reign of Martin Luther King. Rustin was behind the organization of the iconic "I have a dream" speech that nearly 250,000 people attended. Rustin was a black gay man who faced intense discrimination because he was gay and, to make matters worse, a gay black man. This discrimination led him to avoid the limelight and do most of his work behind the scenes. In 2013, former president Barrack Obama gifted Bayard the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

James Beard

James Andrews Beard was a chef who spearheaded television cooking shows. He also had a cooking school in New York, James Beard Cooking School, where he conducted his cooking classes. Even though he was a good chef who invented many cooking recipes, Beard was also a gay man, which was so often overlooked. James lived a closeted life until 1981, when he officially came out during his revised memoir of Delights and Prejudices, an insightful book that contains his most palatable recipes.

Christine Jorgenson

Christine Jorgenson, born George Jorgenson, was a veteran of the U.S army. As a young boy, Kimmel (2017) explained that Christine Jorgenson felt he was a woman trapped in the body of a man. With that, he decided to alter her sexuality into what she felt the most comfortable with. George was placed on hormonal treatment, and then in 1951, she traveled to Denmark for sexual reassignment surgery. The surgery was a success, and she wrote her parents a letter informing them about it. Unfortunately, the letter found its way to the press, and her newly found identity was leaked. Instead of crawling back to her shell, Christine decided to use her new fame to promote her singing and dancing capabilities. Later, she became an ardent advocate for people wishing to swap sexualities.

Barbara Gittings

Barbara Gittings was a vocal voice in LGBTQ public parades, which earned her the name "mother of Lesbian and Gay activism". Gittings was the founder of the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis, the first organization to fight for lesbian civil rights. Barbara did so much for the LGBTQ community on days when the world did not conform to gender and sexual equality. Besides being a voice in the pride community, Gittings was also an editor of DOBs, and it was there that she founded The Ladder. This first lesbian magazine gained recognition nationally. Barbara and other ardent members of the LGBTQ community held campaigns throughout the United States pleading with the then government to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. Thanks to Griffin's efforts, in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association ascertained that homosexuality was not a mental disorder.

Conclusion

The LGBTQIA is an umbrella term for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual individuals who, over the years, have faced discrimination because of their sexuality. However, thanks to some ardent members of the LGBTQ community who fought tooth and nail for their counterparts to have equal civil rights, people across the pride spectrum can now live freely without fear of judgment. Without these outstanding activists mentioned in the article above, the LGBTQ community would not have been what it is today. Often, these unsung heroes are mentioned vaguely during pride parades. Still, these activists deserve nothing less than a standing ovation because they did more than ensure that LGBTQ members get the recognition they deserve.

References

Beemyn, G. (2014). A queer capital: a history of gay life in Washington DC. Routledge.

Ellis, N. (2020). Power and Community: The Queer Liberation Movement of the 1960sand 1970s. Historical Perspectives: Santa Clara University Undergraduate Journal of History, Series II, 25(1), 8.

Kimmel, M. (2017). Manhood in America (p. 173). New York: Oxford University Press.

McGrody, E. (2018). Pioneers of LGBTQ+ Rights. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.