Bayard Rustin and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
Bayard Rustin 1912 - 1987
Bayard began his career in activism alongside Martin Luther King Jr, teaching reverend about Gandhi's belief in non-violence and civil disobedience. He is also credited with organizing and planning the famous March on Washington, according to PBS. As an openly gay man, Bayard often spoke about the importance of fighting for gay rights, and even shifted his focus from civil rights to LGBTQ activism in the 80s.
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, born 1940
Miss Major is a black transgender woman and activist at the forefront of the fight for trans rights. She has faced many hurdles during her life - including homelessness and incarceration - and its there challenges that fuelled her activism. in 2005, Miss Major joined San Francisco-based Trans Gender Variant and Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP) as a staff organizer, and later as executive director, to lead the group's efforts advocating for incarcerated trans women. She has often spoken out against the prison system, which she says contributes to the incarceration of transgender individuals, particularly trans people of colour and those with low incomes. Now 80 Miss Major, known to many simply as 'mama, resides in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she continues to be a vocal activist.
Source: https://www.insider.com/black-lgbtq-icons-throughout-history-2021-2
