02/18/2026
Happy Black History Month! Here are a few notable q***r black icons.
James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a writer and Civil Rights activist whose extended works covered themes of race, identity, and sexuality.
Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992) was a drag queen, activist, and an advocate for transgender people of color like herself.
Stormé DeLarverie (1920-2014) was a singer and drag king. She is known for an incident with police officers that set off the Stonewall Riots and for her unique view on her gender.
Gladys Bentley (1907-1960) was a blues singer, pianist and entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance. She was an openly le***an drag king and one of the biggest q***r icons of her time.
Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) was a playwright and author. She was the first black female to have a play performed on Broadway.
Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) was an activist and a leader in movements for civil rights, gay rights, socialism, and nonviolence. He was a key organizer for the March on Washington and was a close friend of Martin Luther King Jr.
Audre Lorde (1934-1992) was a writer, poet, feminist, and civil rights activist. She identified herself as a “Black, le***an, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, [and] poet.”
Ron Oden (born 1950) is an American politician. He was the first openly gay African-American mayor to be elected in any US city.
