June 11, 2008

Equality Forum Announces GLBT History Month 2008 Icons

Equality Forum announces the following 31 Icons to be honored for GLBT History Month 2008 in October:

• Georgina Beyer, first transgender member of a national Parliament

• Mark Bingham, 9/11 hero

• Margarethe Cammermeyer, military officer, GLBT service members advocate

• Rachel Carson, environmental pioneer

• Bertrand Delanoe, first openly gay Mayor of Paris

• Melissa Etheridge, Grammy and Oscar Award-winning singer/songwriter

• Harvey Fierstein, Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor, playwright and screenwriter

• E.M. Forster, author of “A Room with a View,” “Howard’s End,” and “Maurice”

• Allen Ginsburg, revolutionary poet and activist

• Philip Johnson, innovative, internationally-renowned architect and designer

• Bill T. Jones, Tony Award-winning dancer and choreographer

• Cleve Jones, GLBT activist, founder of NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt

• Sheila Kuehl, first openly gay elected to the California legislature

• Tony Kushner, Tony, Emmy and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright

• Greg Louganis, Olympic Gold Medal diver

• Robert Mapplethorpe, groundbreaking photographer

• Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon, founders of nation’s first lesbian organization and first same-sex couple married in San Francisco

• Margaret Mead, cultural anthropologist and author

• Michelangelo, Renaissance painter, sculptor and architect

• Rosie O’Donnell, comedian, talk-show host, actress, winner of 11 Emmy Awards

• Troy Perry, spiritual leader and founder of Metropolitan Community Churches

• Gene Robinson, first openly gay Bishop in the Episcopal Church

• Anthony Romero, ACLU Executive Director

• Randy Shilts, New York Times best-selling author and groundbreaking AIDS journalist

• Stephen Sondheim, theatrical lyricist/composer, multiple Tony Award winner

• Gianni Versace, fashion designer and entrepreneur

• Alice Walker, author and feminist, Pulitzer Prize winner for “The Color Purple”

• Andy Warhol, American pop artist and avant-garde filmmaker

• John Waters, filmmaker, actor, and author of “Hairspray”

• Jann Wenner, co-founder and publisher of “Rolling Stone”

• Tennessee Williams, prolific American playwright, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner

“From Renaissance artist Michelangelo to environmental pioneer Rachel Carson, the 31 Icons for 2008 combined with the 62 Icons for GLBT History Month 2006 and 2007, are extraordinarily impressive,” stated Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director, Equality Forum. “For a community deprived of its history, GLBT History Month teaches our heritage, provides role models, builds community, and makes the civil rights statement of our valuable national and international contributions.”

GLBT History Month was conceived in the mid-1990’s by educators and embraced by major GLBT organizations. In 2006, Equality Forum took responsibility for this communal project and solicits Icon nominations from state, national and international executive directors and other community leaders. The criteria are persons living or deceased, who have distinguished themselves in their field of endeavor, are a national hero or have made a significant contribution to GLBT civil rights.

All 2008 nominations were reviewed by GLBT History Month Co-Chairs Professors Sharon Ullman, History Department, Bryn Mawr College, and Kenji Yoshino, Yale Law School and were approved by the Equality Forum Board of Directors.

Each day in October 2008, an Icon is featured with a video, biography, bibliography and other educational resources. The resources for GLBT History Month 2008 Icons will be available at www.glbtHistoryMonth.com. Educational resources for 2006 and 2007 Icons are archived on the site.

GLBT History Month Icon videos are expected to be broadcast on Logo and here! and streamed on major gay portals. The videos are offered without charge to educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, for profit companies and the public. More than 300 educational institutions, organizations and companies hosted GLBT History Month 2007 on their Web sites.

Equality Forum is a national and international GLBT civil rights organization with an educational focus. Equality Forum coordinates GLBT History Month, produces documentary films, undertakes high impact initiatives and presents annually the largest national and international GLBT civil rights forum.

Posted by: Sapphocrat

Permalink | |