In February 2019, theNational LGBTQ Task Force andImperial Court System announced their plans for the Wall of Honor.[4]Nicole Murray Ramirez was the project's founder, and the Wall was supported by the co-owners of theStonewall Inn.[1][4] The monument committee accepted initial nominations to honor deceased LGBTQ heroes who have had a positive impact onLGBTQ civil rights.[3] Fifty of the initial nominees were selected to form the first round of people on the wall.[5]
The Wall of Honor was dedicated on June 27, 2019, the night before the 50th anniversary of theStonewall riots as part ofStonewall 50 – WorldPride. The Wall of Honor was created inside the Stonewall Inn, which was remodeled after the riots but remained a bar by 2019. The unveiling ceremony held talks that focused on the honorees' achievements and the ongoing fight for LGBTQ rights. Many speakers critiqued contemporary anti-LGBTQ policy in the U.S. promoted by the2016 Trump administration.[5]
More inductees have been added to the Wall of Honor in each year following its 2019 founding.[6] In 2025, all seven inductees weretrans: the organizers stated this was an intentional choice in the face of heightened attacks against transgender andnonbinary communities.them commented that the year's honorees communicated the increased violence and political fights for trans rights, and the erasure of trans history, highlighted by the U.S. government's modifications to the Stonewall Monument.[7]
The wall was designed to honor "the lives of LGBTQ trailblazers, pioneers and s/heroes who have passed", and have had a positive impact onLGBTQ civil rights. Initial nominations were collected online.[3]
Gloria Allen was a transgender activist who ran a non-profit charm school for trans youth. In addition to inspiring the playCharm, she received the Living Legend Award at the Trans 100 Awards and a Carmen Vázquez Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging Issues fromSAGE. She was added to the wall in 2023.[12]
Gilbert Baker was a gay artist and activist who created theRainbow flag without license so the LGBTQ symbol would spread worldwide.
James Baldwin was a gay novelist, playwright, and activist who explored intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in America.
Larry Baza was a gay man who was "a titan of the arts scene in San Diego"[13] and a long-standing member of theCalifornia Arts Council, serving as its chair at the time of his death fromCOVID-19. He was added to the Wall in 2024.[14]
Ivy Bottini was a lesbian artist, activist and co-founder of the New York branch of the NOW, for whom she designed the logo in 1969. She was added to the wall in 2021.[15]
Jiggly Caliente was a trans drag artist and singer who achieved worldwide fame appearing on multiple seasons ofRuPaul's Drag Race, as well as hostingDrag Race Philippines. She also found success as an actress, portraying Veronica Ferocity onPose. She was added to the Wall in 2025.[16]
Michael Callen was a gay singer, songwriter, composer, author, and influential early AIDS activist.
Charles H. Cochrane was the first openly gayNew York City policeman. He came out publicly in 1981 during a hearing on whether to ban discrimination against gay people. The bill never passed, but Cochrane was hailed for his bravery, and later formed the Gay Officers Action League.[17] He was added to the Wall in 2024.[14]
Lynn Conway was a computer scientist and educator who was fired fromIBM in 1968 after her status as a trans woman became public. After working atXerox for a decade, during which she helped launch theMead–Conway VLSI chip design revolution, she became a professor at theUniversity of Michigan and devoted herself to trans activism after her retirement. She was added to the Wall in 2025.[16]
Darcelle XV was a drag queen and coffee shop owner from Portland, OR. From 2016 until her death, she was recognized as the "world's oldest performing drag queen" by theGuinness Book of World Records.[18] She was added to the wall in 2023.[12][19]
Ruth Ellis was an African American activist recognized as the oldest living out lesbian, dying at 101. TheRuth Ellis Center is named in her honor. She was added to the wall in 2021.[15]
Leslie Feinberg was a butchtransgender lesbian, author, communist organizer, and earlytransgender activist, whose writings have been foundational in the field ofgender studies, as well as setting the standard for much of the terminology around gender identity.
Cecilia Gentili was an Argentinian-born transgender advocate for sex workers' rights, Director of Policy atGMHC and successfully sued the Trump administration to prevent the removal of trans healthcare from theAffordable Care Act.[13] She was added to the Wall in 2024.[14]
Sakia Gunn was a black lesbian victim of a hate crime in 2003. Outrage over the leniency towards her killer and lack of media coverage led to the formation of the Newark Pride Alliance. In 2023, Newark renamed Academy Street to Sakia Gunn Way.[13] She was added to the Wall in 2024.[14]
Keith Haring was a gaypop artist whosegraffiti-like work grew out of the New York City street culture of the 1980s addressing political and societal themes—especially homosexuality andAIDS—through his own iconography and sexual allusions.
Alan L. Hart was a trans man who, as a doctor and medical researcher, pioneered the use of X-rays in diagnosingtuberculosis. After his death, controversy arose between the lesbian and trans communities over whether Hart was a woman or a trans man; the controversy stemmed in part over whether "transsexualism", as it was then known, could be recognized in people born before it was part of the lexicon. He also wrote four novels. He was added to the Wall in 2025.[16]
Heklina was a drag queen and stage actress. She co-founded Trannyshack (now called Mother), a long-running series of drag shows, and frequently collaborated with fellow drag queen and filmmakerPeaches Christ. She was added to the wall in 2023.[21]
C. Wayne Hussey was one of the first openly gay residents ofAnchorage, Alaska. He was a drag queen and LGBTQ activist who founded the AlaskanImperial Court System.[23] In 1974 he was the first recipient of the Peter Dispirito Public Service Award, presented "to the person elected by the Alaska Gay and Lesbian Community who has contributed most to the advancement of the community."[24]
ABilly S. Jones-Hennin was a Black bisexual man who advocated for healthcare, AIDS education, and disability rights following aspinal stenosis diagnosis. In 1978, he cofounded theNational Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays and co-organized the 1979 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Later in life, he served as the chair of the DC Mayor's LGBT Advisory Committee. He was added to the Wall in 2024.[14]
June Jordan was a Black bisexual poet, essayist, teacher, and activist who used her writing to discuss issues of gender, race, immigration, and representation. She advocated forBlack English Vernacular, and influencedfeminist, andqueer theory.
Leslie Jordan was an openly gay,Emmy Award-winning actor best known for playing a supporting role onWill & Grace. Over a forty-year long career, he appeared in many films, plays, and TV shows, and became a popularInstagram personality during theCOVID-19 pandemic. He was added to the wall in 2023.[21]
The Lady Chablis was a Black trans woman who worked as an entertainer in the American South, most notably in Atlanta and Savannah. She is most famous for being featured in the nonfiction novelMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, even playing herself in thefilm version. Her appearance on a 1996 episode ofThis Old House[26] was one of the earliest notable appearances of a trans person on mainstream television. She was added to the Wall in 2025.[16]
Audre Lorde was a lesbianfeminist writer, librarian, andcivil rights activist whose work was influential in the formation ofwomanism and the early versions ofidentity politics. As a poet, she is known for both technical mastery and emotional expression, as well as her poems that express anger and outrage at civil and social injustice. Her poems and prose largely deal with issues related tocivil rights,feminism, lesbianism, and the exploration of Black female identity.
Phyllis Lyon, was a lesbianfeminist andLGBTQ rights activist who, along with her wife Del Martin founded theDaughters of Bilitis (D.O.B.) in 1955. D.O.B. was the first social and political organization for lesbians in the U.S. and the couple acted as president and editor of the organization's magazine,The Ladder. The couple joined NOW together, the first openly lesbian couple to do so. They were the first couple married in the historicSan Francisco 2004 same-sex weddings. As these weddings were ruled legally invalid, they were the first couple married again in June 2008, after theCalifornia Supreme Court's decisionIn re Marriage Cases. She was added to the wall in 2020.[10]
Ruddy Martinez, better known as "Mami Ruddys," was a Puerto Rican trans woman and drag icon who converted her home into a shelter for disowned queer youths. She was added to the Wall in 2025.[16]
Technical SergeantLeonard Philip Matlovich was a gayVietnam War veteran who fought to stay in theUnited States Air Force aftercoming out of the closet. He became acause célèbre around which the gay community rallied. His photograph appeared on the cover of the September 8, 1975 issue ofTime magazine, making him a symbol for thousands of gay and lesbian service members and gay people generally.[27][28][29] Matlovich was the first named openly gay person to appear on the cover of a U.S. news magazine.[30]
Jeffrey Montgomery was an American LGBTQ activist and public relations executive. In 1984, his partner was shot to death outside a Detroit gay bar, prompting Montgomery to engage in LGBTQ advocacy. He started work on LGBTQ anti-violence issues upon learning that the police were not spending many resources on solving the murder, calling it "just another gay killing".[33] In 1991, Montgomery helped found the Triangle Foundation (nowEquality Michigan) in order to advocate forLGBTQ victims of violence and to improve handling of LGBTQ related cases. He became nationally known for his work and served at numerous organizations.
Sam Nordquist was a biracial trans man who was the victim of a horrific hate crime inHopewell,New York, being brutally tortured for almost three months before dying of his injuries. Seven people have been arrested in connection with his death. He was added to the Wall in 2025.[16]
Pat Parker was a Black lesbianfeminist poet and activist.[34][35] Her poetry addressed her tough childhood growing up in poverty, dealing with sexual assault, and the murder of a sister, along with many issues facing lesbians and Black women in contemporary culture.[36] After two divorces shecame out as a lesbian, "embracing hersexuality" she was liberated and "knew no limits when it came to expressing the innermost parts of herself".[36] Parker participated in political activism and had early involvement with theBlack Panther Party, Black Women's Revolutionary Council and formed theWomen's Press Collective.[37] She participated in many forms of activism especially regarding gay and lesbian communities,domestic violence, and rights ofpeople of color.[38] After she became too ill to perform, other poets and musicians continued to perform her work at music and arts festivals, "Movement in Black" being particularly popular.
Chilli Pepper was a trans woman who found notoriety as a frequent talk show guest in the 1980s. In addition to combating harmful stereotypes about trans women, she was a dedicated AIDS awareness advocate. She was added to the Wall in 2025.[16]
Jimmy Pisano was a gay man who purchased the originalStonewall Inn location and reopened it as a bar called "Stonewall" in 1990. It never turned a profit, but Pisano and his then-partner kept the bar open until Pisano's death from AIDS complications in 1994.[39] He was added to the wall in 2021.[15]
Chuck Renslow was an openly gay photographer, activist and businessperson, known for pioneering modernhomoerotic photography, and establishing landmarks of gay male culture, including significant contributions to theleather subculture. His accomplishments included opening the Gold Coast bar in 1958. It was the world's first gayleather bar, and hosted a leather contest that grew into theInternational Mr. Leather competition. His lover of 43 years wasDom Orejudos, aka the artist "Etienne" and "Stephen". Renslow also formed theLeather Archives and Museum withTony DeBlase in Chicago in 1991.[40][41]
Adrienne Rich was a lesbianfeminist poet and essayist, called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and credited with bringing "the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse." Rich criticized rigid forms of feminist identities, and valorized what she coined the "lesbian continuum"; a female continuum of solidarity and creativity which has impacted and filled women's lives. She famously declined theNational Medal of Arts, protesting then-House SpeakerNewt Gingrich's attempt to end theNational Endowment for the Arts.
Monica Roberts was an African-American blogger, writer, and transgender rights advocate. She was the founding editor of TransGriot, a blog focusing on issues pertaining to trans women, particularly African-American and other women of color. Roberts' coverage of transgender homicide victims in the United States is credited for bringing national attention to the issue. She was added to the wall in 2021.[15]
Craig Rodwell was a gay activist known for founding the first bookstore devoted to gay and lesbian authors (Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop in November 1967), and as the prime mover for the creation ofNew York City Pride. Rodwell is considered by some to be the leadinggay rights activist in the homophile movement of the 1960s.
Vito Russo was a gayLGBT activist,film historian and author best known forThe Celluloid Closet (1981, revised edition 1987), described inThe New York Times as "an essential reference book" on homosexuality in the US film industry.[42] It was later turned into a documentary film. In 1985 he co-founded theGay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a watchdog organization that strives to endanti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and advocates for LGBTQ inclusion in popular media.
José Sarria better known as Absolute Empress I de San Francisco, and the Widow Norton, was a gay community organizer and political activist who became the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States in 1961. He performed for years as a live-singingdrag queen doingparodies of operas at theBlack Cat Bar and founded theImperial Court System, one of the oldest and largest LGBT organizations in the world, with chapters throughout North America.
Sean Sasser was an American educator, activist, pastry chef and reality television personality best known for his appearances on MTV'sThe Real World: San Francisco, which depicted his relationship with fellow AIDS activistPedro Zamora. This included acommitment ceremony in which the two exchanged vows, the first such ceremony for a same sex couple on television, and considered a landmark event in the medium.[43] He was added to the wall in 2020.[10]
Stephen Sondheim, a New York gay man, was a composer and lyricist of some of the most influential musicals of the modern era. He was added to the wall in 2022.[12]
Aimee Stephens was an American funeral director known for her fight for civil rights fortransgender people.[44] She worked as a funeral director in Detroit and was fired for being transgender. Based onher court case, in a historic 2020 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex.[45] She was added to the wall in 2020.[10]
Lou Sullivan was atrans man author and activist known for his work on behalf of trans men. He was perhaps the first transgender man to publicly identify as gay and is largely responsible for the modern understanding ofsexual orientation andgender identity as distinct, unrelated concepts. He was a pioneer of the grassroots female-to-male (FTM) movement and foundedFTM International, the first advocacy group for transgender men. He lobbied theAmerican Psychiatric Association and theWorld Professional Association for Transgender Health for them to recognize his existence as a gay trans man determined to change people's attitudes towards trans homosexuals and to change the medical process oftransitioning making the process "orientation blind".
Virginia Uribe was lesbian and an educator, counselor andLGBTQ youth education outreach advocate. She was best known for founding Project 10, an educational support anddrop-out prevention program for LGBTQ youth. She founded Project 10 in 1984 to help schools curtail harassment of, and reduce thedropout rate of, LGBTQ students in theLos Angeles Unified School District.
Urvashi Vaid was an Indian-born American LGBT rights activist, lawyer, and writer. She held a series of roles at theNational LGBTQ Task Force, wrote multiple books, and founded LPAC, the first lesbianSuper PAC. She was added to the wall in 2022.[12]
Carmen Vázquez was aPuerto Rican lesbian and advocate for LGBT health, serving in or founding numerous organizations. She was added to the wall in 2021.[15]
Bruce Raymond Voeller was a gay rights activist andbiologist who conducted research primarily in the field of AIDS. In 1973, he co-founded theNational Gay Task Force (now renamed National LGBTQ Task Force). In 1977, PresidentJimmy Carter welcomedopenly gay and lesbian Task Force leaders for the first official discussion ofgay and lesbian rights in the White House. Within thefirst few years of the AIDS pandemic, Voeller coined the termacquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) that is still used today.
Edith "Edie" Windsor was a lesbianLGBT rights activist and a technology manager atIBM. She was the lead plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court caseUnited States v. Windsor (2013). The case overturned Section 3 of theDefense of Marriage Act, which was a major victory in the struggle for same-sex marriage in the U.S. The decision led federal agencies in the Obama administration to extend rights, benefits, and privileges to same-sex married couples.
Soni Wolf was a self-describeddyke, motorcycle enthusiast, formerU.S. Air ForceVietnam-era veteran, and "tenacious"queer activist.[48] She co-founded theDykes on Bikes (DOB) at the 1976San Francisco Pride parade and rode with them each year until her death in 2018.[48] The group was a highly visible symbol of empowerment andLGBT pride.[48] DOB did "philanthropic work for LGBT causes and organizations around the world".[48] Wolf continued to nurture DOB chapters worldwide and fought for their right to use thereclaimed termdyke;[48] the DOB won a lawsuit against theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office so they could trademark their name.[49]
Pedro Zamora was anopenly gayCuban-American AIDS educator and television personality who appeared onMTV's reality television seriesThe Real World: San Francisco as one of the first openly gay men and person with AIDS to be portrayed in popular media. He brought international attention to HIV/AIDS and gave one of the first views into the daily lives of gay men. His interactions with his housemates exposed thehomophobia and prejudices faced by people with AIDS. Zamora's romantic relationship withSean Sasser was nominated by MTV viewers for the "Favorite Love Story" award.[50] The broadcast of theircommitment ceremony, in which they exchanged vows, was the first suchsame-sex ceremony in television history, and is considered a landmark in the history of the medium.[51][52]
^"A Timeline of Pride". Anchorage PrideFest 2017.Anchorage Press. Vol. 25, no. 23. June 15, 2017. pp. 16–18. Archived fromthe original on May 12, 2021. RetrievedDecember 24, 2022.
^Lavietes, Matthew (June 27, 2019)."LGBTQ heroes celebrated with wall of honour at Stonewall Inn in New York".Reuters. RetrievedDecember 25, 2022.Two others are considered martyrs of the LGBTQ cause: Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California whose assassination made him a martyr of the gay community and Matthew Shepard, a gay college student whose murder in 1998 garnered national attention;
^Ridinger, Robert (2005). "Founding of the Leather Archives & Museum".LGBT History, 1988–1992 [serial online]. LGBT Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost:33–36.
