The Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M) is a community archives, library, and museum located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by Chuck Renslow and Tony DeBlase in 1991, its mission is "making leather, kink, BDSM, and fetish accessible through research, preservation, education and community engagement." The LA&M is a leading conservator of queer erotic art. Its permanent collection features some of the most iconic LGBT artists of the twentieth century, including the complete works of Bill Schmeling and many of Dom Orejudos' drawings and murals.
Alexandra Scott Billings is an American actress, teacher, and singer. Billings played a transgender character in the 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.
Chuck Renslow was an American businessperson, known for pioneering homoerotic photography in the mid-20th-century US, and establishing many landmarks of late-20th-century gay male culture, especially in the Chicago area. His accomplishments included the cofounding with Tony DeBlase of the Leather Archives and Museum, the cofounding with Dom Orejudos of the Gold Coast bar, Man's Country Baths, 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 the romantic partner of Dom Orejudos and later 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.
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 an American memorial wall in Greenwich Village, Lower Manhattan, New York City, dedicated to LGBTQ "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes". The wall is located inside of the Stonewall Inn and is a part of the Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history. The first fifty nominees were announced in June 2019, and the wall was unveiled on June 27, 2019, as a part of the Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019 events. Each year five additional names will be added.
Tony Midnite was a female impersonator, costume designer, activist, and book reviewer.
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.
Tania “Chef Tania” Callaway (1952-2000) was a chef and caterer from Chicago, Illinois. Her parties were legendary in the African-American lesbian community and for about ten years, was chef at Heartland Cafe, beginning in the 1980s.
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.”
Patricia “Patty the Pin Lady” Latham was a LGBT activist and AIDS fundraiser known for selling pins in Chicago. As of 2017, she had raised over $50,000. At the time of that estimate, she had been fundraising for over 25 years and battling stage 3 Melanoma for eight years. in 2022, she was a posthumous inductee into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.
Charlotte Newfeld (1930–2022) was an American LGBT activist.
Renae Ogletree was an activist in Chicago known for co-founding the Chicago Black Lesbians and Gays organization.
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.
