Alexandra Scott Billings is an American actress, singer, and teacher. Billings, a trans woman, played one of TV's first openly transgender characters in 2005 made-for-TV movie Romy and Michele: In the Beginning. She is also known for portraying the recurring character Davina in the Amazon series Transparent and has played transgender characters in ER, Eli Stone, How to Get Away with Murder, Grey's Anatomy and The Conners.
Lorrainne Sade Baskerville is an American social worker, activist, and trans woman best known for founding transgender advocacy group transGENESIS.
Parker Molloy is an American writer and blogger. Molloy was an editorial and news contributor to Advocate.com, focusing on transgender issues. She has also written for other publications, such as Media Matters for America and The New Republic.
The LGBTQ community in Chicago is one of the United States' most prominent, especially within the Midwest, alongside those of San Francisco and New York City, and holds a significant role in the progression of gay rights in the country. With a population of around 3 million, Chicago is the third biggest city in the US, and around 150,000 of those people identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, questioning, or other.
Charles "Chuck" Renslow was an American businessman, known for pioneering homoerotic male photography in the mid-20th-century US, and establishing many landmarks of late-20th-century gay culture and leather culture, especially in the Chicago area. His accomplishments included the cofounding with Tony DeBlase of the Leather Archives and Museum, the co-founding with Dom Orejudos of the Gold Coast bar, Man's Country bathhouse, and the International Mr. Leather competition, and the founding by himself alone of Chicago's August White Party, and the magazines Triumph, Rawhide, and Mars. He was a romantic partner of Dom Orejudos as well as Chuck Arnett, Samuel Steward, David Grooms, and Ron Ehemann.
William B. Kelley was a gay activist and lawyer from Chicago, Illinois. Many laud him as an important figure in gaining rights for gay people in the United States, as he was actively involved in gay activism for 50 years.
Chicago Gay Crusader was a periodical about gay issues in Chicago and the United States. It was created in 1973 by Michael Bergeron and William B. Kelley, becoming defunct in 1976. The first issue in May 1973 marked Chicago's "first successful attempt at producing a serious gay newspaper", following another paper that only lasted two issues. Richard W. Pfeiffer wrote a monthly column for the newspaper.
Renee C. Hanover was an American lawyer and civil rights advocate who practiced in Chicago. As a lawyer, she defended groups and individuals involved in civil rights cases dealing with gender, LGBT issues and race. She was part of the Women's Law Center and fought for intersectional equality. Hanover was one of the first openly gay lawyers to practice in the United States.
The National LGBTQ Wall of Honor is a memorial wall in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, dedicated to LGBTQ "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes". Located inside the Stonewall Inn, the wall is part of the Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the country's LGBTQ rights and history. The first fifty inductees were unveiled June 27, 2019, as a part of events marking the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. Five honorees are added annually.
Tony Midnite was a female impersonator, costume designer, activist, and book reviewer.
Margaret Ann "Peg" Grey was an American physical education teacher and sports organizer based in Chicago. She was the first female co-chair of the Federation of Gay Games. She was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1992.
Joanne E. Trapani was an American activist and politician. She was the first open lesbian elected official in Illinois when she won a seat on the village board of Oak Park in 1997, and she was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1993.
Marcia Lipetz was a leader in the nonprofit community of Chicago. She helped set up the Center on Halsted and in the 1980s, was the first full time executive director at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago as well as what was to become the Alphawood Foundation. She served on the board of the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Lana Hostetler was an educator and activist.
Caprice Carthans, a trans woman of color and resident of Marquette Park (Chicago), was a co-chair of the Intergraded Community Advisory Board (CAB) at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) and is an inductee of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2020.
Zahara Monique Bassett is the founder and CEO of Life Is Work. Life is Work is a social service agency on the West Side of Chicago. She is also “a nationally recognized visionary activist and long-time advocate for trans human rights, social justice, health equity, and LGBT equality.”
Charlotte Newfeld (1930–2022) was an American LGBT activist.
Barbara "Robie" Smith (1946–2015) was an American activist from Chicago known for co-founding the Affinity Community Services foundation, a support group for Black lesbians, in 1995.
