GSA honors black queer icons

During Black history month, you usually hear about historical figures like Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcom X–but LGBTQ+ historical rights figures don’t really get the recognition like others. The Gay Straight Alliance held an event on Feb. 25 for LGBTQ+ historical figures.

They had a table set up in the A.Lincoln Commons. They displayed a board with pictures of Bayard Rustin, Langston Hughes, Patricio Manuel, Josephine Baker, Marsha P Johnson and Barbara Jordan with information including the day of birth and death date, their sexual orientation, and information about them on who they were and what they did for the community. They also gave out rainbow pins.

Cierra Rose, an active member of GSA, said, “The meaning behind the event was to educate people on the forgotten black historical figures of the LGBTQ+ community.”

“I do think the event was successful. We ran out of rainbow pins and a lot of people came up to learn and talk to us. Overall, the event had a lot of positive feedback and there was a lot of positive people that came up to talk and read the information we have,” Rose said.

Madison Mings, a member of the GSA club, can be reached at [email protected].