WRITTEN BY Sofi Bashi

GRAPHIC BY Natalie Coughlin

 From the first transgender person on the cover of TIME to the Mother of the Blues, there have been countless Black LGBTQ+ icons who have helped change the world with their influential actions and paved the way for future queer people of color (POC). These noteworthy stars used their voices to fight for what’s right and improved the lives of many. In honor of Black History Month, let’s take a look at these role models who devoted their lives to changing the world for others. 

 One of the most important activists of her era, Angela Yvonne Davis is an American feminist, political activist, philosopher and author who was an active member in the Black Panther Party . She is also a former vice-presidential candidate for the Communist Party of America and has spent her lifetime advocating for the rights of oppressed classes and people of color. In 1969, she even got fired by the Board of Regents of the University of California for her membership in the Communist Party. Davis has been a proud voice in the prison abolition movement for decades, analogizing the penal system of the US which unfairly acts against young Black men, to a form of slavery. She has also been a devout supporter of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Although Davis was married to Jacob Jacobson earlier in her life, she came out as a lesbian during a well-known interview with Out in 1997 and currently lives with her partner for life, Gina Dent. 

 Another well known Black LGBTQ+ figure, James Baldwin was a civil rights activist and author during the 1950s and 60s civil rights movement. In his teenage years, he became a preacher at the Fireside Pentecostal Assembly and developed his own preaching style. In the 1940s, his life took a turn. After witnessing the death of his father and the Harlem Race Riot, Baldwinknew he had to take care of his family, so instead of attending college, he pursued his writing career. His work mostly centered around race, segregation and white supremacy that bested the 1950s and 1960s, but he also worked to help Black queer men embrace both their racial and sexual identities. Baldwin’s highly controversial novel, Giovanni’s Room, contains explicit depictions of homosexuality. Due to its controversy, he decided to publish it abroad. Now, decades later, it’s a well-known and appreciated novel. Baldwin’s depiction of shame induced by fear is what made it so relatable to everyone, whether it’s love, some other emotion, or even something simple like a homework assignment. He also touched on other hurtful topics like internalized homophobia, when a person consciously or unconsciously accepts homophobic biases and applies the biases to themself. He was one of the great voices of the LGBTQ+ community during the Black civil rights movement, reminding all that queer Black lives matter as well. 

 The gorgeous Laverne Cox is a Black transgender innovator. In 2006, she was the first trans person on the cover of TIME after joining the cast of Orange is the New Black as Sophia Burset. In a 2012 article, The Gossip Column called her “the most dynamic transgender character in history”. Cox was the executive producer for Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word which was the first transgender documentary to win a Daytime Emmy, also making her the first openly trans person to win the award. She has given countless speeches advocating for transgender rights. In 2015 she gave a speech at Indiana University titled “Ain’t I a Woman,” which reflected the African-American abolitionist and women’s rights advocate Sojourner Truth’s speech of the same title. In the speech, Cox told her audience to speak with people and have “difficult conversations” about the misconceptions of the transgender community. “If we have misconceptions about people who are different from us, I believe that if we just get to know those people as people, all those misconceptions will melt away.” 

 Gertrude “Ma” Rainey was a businesswoman, blues singer and liberated bisexual woman who grew up in the Jim Crow south in the late 19th century. She was known as the “Mother of Blues” for her part in popularizing the genre. She started her career journey early, singing and performing in a traveling minstrel as a young teen. On one of her travels, she met and married William “Pa” Rainey, from where she got her name, however, the couple later divorced. A few years later, Rainey remarried to her second husband, though little is known about him. During this time, she was rumored to have had relationships with women, including Bessie Smith, whom she mentored. Her song “Prove It on Me Blues” became a famous bisexual anthem due to its obvious remarks to same-sex attraction. In the song she says, “Went out last night with a crowd of my friends. They must’ve been women, ‘cause I don’t like no men. It’s true I wear a collar and a tie.” And in another: “Wear clothes just like a fan, talk to the gals just like any old man.” She also spent her time standing up to the racist and patriarchal system that exploited her voice and identity. 

 These are just a few of the many powerful and influential people who devoted their lives to changing the world for others. Without their hard work, many laws and rights that we are used to nowadays wouldn’t be in place. So let’s make sure to remember their contributions to our society, for even though there is still more work to be done, it’s through the work of dedicated heros like these that progress gets made.