Blog Posts

Coleman Domingo (born 1959)

6/20/2025

Fearlessly representing the LGBTQIA+ community, actor, playwright, director and producer Coleman Domingo champions visibility both on and off the stage and screen. With two consecutive Academy award nominations to his credit for his compelling portrayal as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in Rustin (2024) and as a prison inmate in Sing Sing (2025), Domingo has also forged an impressive resume including the Hollywood films, Lincoln, The Butler, Selma and The Color Purple and tv series, including Fear the Walking Dead and Euphoria. His playwriting has been applauded on regional stages and Broadway. Born in Philadelphia and married to writer/producer/painter Raul Domingo, Domingo has been recognized for his activism, including a 2025 Native Son award for his advocacy for Black gay men in the entertainment industry.

Barbara Jourdan (1936-1996)

6/19/2025

For Juneteentth, there is no better LGBTQIA+ hero than Barbara Jourdan, trailblazing civil rights leader, whose voice resonated through the halls of Congress as the first Black woman from the South to serve in the House of Representatives. A magna cum laude graduate of Boston University Law School, Jourdan first worked in private practice in Houston, where she was born and raised. As a Democratic representative, she was known for her ability to reach across the aisle and while in Congress, she sponsored or cosponsored over 300 bills, many of which are still in effect today. After retiring from the House, she taught political science at the University of Texas at Austin and continued championing ethics, education and civil rights. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis during her first term as a Representative, she is a model of courage and resilience, never letting her health problems stand in the way of serving the country that she loved. President Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994.

Lou Reed (1942-2013)

6/18/2025

A hero for anyone who ever felt different or misunderstood, rock star Lou Reed was a rebel, who transformed music and helped to reshape cultural boundaries during the Sixties and Seventies. As a founding member of The Velvet Underground, Reed chronicled the lives of the marginalized with unapologetic honesty. Reed’s career spanned five decades, as a band member and solo performer. His catalogue of music fused rock n’ roll, avant-grade jazz with a hip sensibility and experimental guitar-playing that “walked on the wild side.” His lyrics and public persona, often flirting with androgyny in his appearance, frequently challenged conventional notions of gender and identity. Reed resisted labels, although he spoke about his relationships with both men and women – a defiant spirit that prioritized artistic and personal freedom above all else. He has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of the Velvet Underground in 1996 and as a solo act in 2015.

Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021)

6/17/2025

As an openly gay artist, composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim paved the way for generations of LGBTQ+ creatives, both in and out of the theatre with songs that soared with universal messages that reflect the human heart. The Sondheim canon of glorious music includes the scores of Broadway musicals, Company, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, and Merrily We Roll Along. Like Shakespeare, his lyrics capture the intricacies of human emotion and the complexity of relationships. For example, West Side Story resounds with yearning - “There’s a place for us – somewhere a place for us.” Gypsy encourages us to fulfill are destinies – “Nothing’s going to stop us ‘til we’re through. Everything’s coming up Roses for me and for you,” while Into the Woods poignantly reassures us – “No one is alone, truly. No one is alone.” Sondheim reinvented the Broadway musical, while courageously breaking barriers and living his life with honesty and providing the soundtrack for many lives.

Lindsay Church

6/16/2025

Lindsay Church is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Minority Veterans of America, a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for veterans of color, women, LGBTQ individuals, and religious minorities. In April of this year, they testified before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on mental health support for underserved veterans and underlined the high suicide rates, particularly among transgender and nonbinary veterans. A third-generation U.S. Navy veteran, who served as a linguist, they hold a graduate degree focused on international conflict and extremism, as well as degrees in Near-Eastern civilization and Islamic studies and in Persian-Farsi from the Defense Language Institute. One of their most significant achievements is the creation of Q’mmunity House, the first transitional housing facility in the U.S. specifically for homeless LGBTQ+ veterans. As a trans lesbian individual, their leadership is speaking truth to power and bringing visibility to the struggles and triumphs of LGBTQ individuals in the military, especially amidst a new political climate.

Dustin Lance Black (born 1974) and Tom Daley (born 1994)

6/15/2025

On Father’s Day and every day, Dustin Lance Black and Tom Daley can be honored for their resilience and the loving family they have created. Black, an American Academy Award-winning filmmaker has grown a resume of exceptional film bios (Rustin, Milk and J. Edgar); documentaries (When We Rise); and tv series (Under the Banner of Heaven, and Big Love). His compelling storytelling and complementary activism have informed and inspired many. Daley, the celebrated English diver/swimmer, who has earned five Olympic medals and multiple World Championships titles, has used his platform to champion LGBTQ+ visibility in sports. His memoir, Coming Up for Air and documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds recount his journey from child prodigy to world-class athlete and advocate. Married in 2017, Black and Daley welcomed their sons, Robbie and Phoenix, via surrogacy. They remain steadfast in their belief that every child deserves a nurturing environment, regardless of societal norms. As husbands, fathers, and advocates, Black and Daley continue to shape the future of LGBTQIA+ acceptance.

Keith Haring

6/14/2025

Keith Haring was a groundbreaking artist and a passionate advocate for children’s welfare and education, HIV/AIDS awareness and LGBTQ+ rights, whose bold, energetic pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti scene in the 1980s. First known for his chalk drawings in NYC subway stations, Haring went on to create an instantly- recognizable world of dancing figures, barking dogs and hearts that pulse with energy and social commentary. One of his most known pieces during the AIDS crisis was “Silence = Death”; which incorporated the pink triangle—a symbol of LGBTQ+ persecution during the Holocaust. Believing that art should be accessible to all, he painted large-scale murals, facilitated interactive outdoor sculptures and even opened a Pop Shop that sold t-shirts, posters with his images. One year before his death from AIDS in 1989, he established the Keith Haring Foundation to ensure that his philanthropic legacy would continue. The Foundation continues to provide grants that focus on education, AIDS prevention and underprivileged children, while protecting his legacy in contemporary art, activism and LGBTQIA+ representation.

Amazin LeThi

6/13/2025

Born in Saigon and left in an orphanage, Amazin LêThi is a dynamic example of resilience and success. Adopted by white Australian parents, LêThi faced bullying due to her ethnicity and sexuality during her childhood, but surprisingly discovered refuge in weightlifting at the age of six. Her later experiences as an adult overcoming homelessness, depression and suicidality have also shaped her tireless advocacy for the Asian and LGBTQ+ communities. Today, as a former competitive natural bodybuilder, entertainment executive and the first Vietnamese internationally published health and fitness author, she has become a leading sports activist around the goal. Identifying as a lesbian, LêThi has served as an ambassador for more than 30 organizations, including the United Nations, Human Rights Campaign, and Stonewall UK, Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ charity. Through the Amazin LêThi Foundation, she empowers Asian and LGBTQ+ youth, using sports as a tool for leadership and allyship. She consistently reinforces her motto, “Choose Challenge: Change the Game” during all her public appearances, podcast episodes, and collaborations with businesses, governments, and organizations.

Demi Lovato (born 1992)

6/12/2025

Demi Lovato is not only a musical and acting powerhouse, but a fierce advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and for mental health. Her identification as a non-binary person, who fluidly navigates between pronoun choices depending on what feels most authentic in the moment has sparked discussions about gender identity and the challenges of constantly having to explain one’s identity. Lovato’s career has including chart-topping recordings and numerous television appearances in a variety of formats from Barney and his Friends and Disney’s Camp Rock Series to Glee and The X-Factor. Her critical and commercial success has provided a fitting platform for her staunch advocacy. Lovato's openness about her mental health struggles have helped to break the stigma surrounding mental health. She has bravely shared her experiences with addiction, eating disorders, and bipolar disorder to encourage others to speak up and seek help. Her memoir Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year and a trio of documentaries have illuminated the roller-coaster of a journey she has both endured and overcome.

Harlan Pruden (born 1967)

6/11/2025

Harlan Pruden, First Nations Cree scholar and activist, has dedicated his life to North American Indigenous communities. Hailing from Alberta, Pruden is recognized as a trailblazer in advocating for the rights of Two- Spirit people—Indigenous individuals who embody a gender identity beyond male or female and often serve as healers, visionaries, and ceremonial leaders for their tribes. Pruden co- founded the NorthEast Two- Spirit Society and the Two-Spirit Dry Lab, North America’s first research group focusing on the experiences of Two-spirit people. Before moving from New York to Vancouver, as a recovering alcoholic he led SpeakOUT: LGBT Voices for Recovery. He also served on several influential boards, including the NYC HIV Planning Group and the U.S. Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, and played an active role in multiple political campaigns. Currently, Pruden is Lead Knowledge Translator, transforming research into actionable public health policies for the BC Centre for Disease Control in Vancouver, where he now resides.

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