African-American

Ford Foundation President

b. August 28, 1959

“We have to significantly change our practices so that we can create an inclusive capitalism that works for everyone.”

Darren Walker is the president of the Ford Foundation, the second largest American philanthropic organization, with assets of $13 billion. Walker has dedicated most of his life to promoting social justice through eradication of economic and racial inequities.

Walker was born in a charity hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana. Raised in rural Texas by his single mother, he “felt both gratitude and rage” growing up poor, Black and gay in the South. He credits his grandmother with illuminating his world and pushing him to greater aspirations.

Walker was part of the first generation who benefited from the Head Start Program for public schools. He went on to attend the University of Texas (UT) at Austin on a Pell Grant and graduated in 1982 with a B.A. in government and a B.S. in communication. Four years later, he earned his J.D. from the UT School of Law. Throughout his education, Walker felt “his country was cheering [him] on.”

Walker spent the next seven years in Switzerland, working first as a lawyer and then in the capital markets. He left investment banking to battle systemic injustice. He moved to Harlem, where he worked at a community development organization and volunteered at a local school.

In 2002 Walker joined the Rockefeller Foundation. By 2006 he had advanced to vice president for international initiatives. At the Rockefeller Foundation, he launched recovery programs for the Southern states devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

In 2010 Walker joined the Ford Foundation as the vice president of education, creativity and free expression. When he became president in 2013, he doubled down on social justice, the principle he calls “fundamental to the DNA of a successful America.” Walker believes that, between the best private philanthropy in the world and a robust nonprofit sector, America can reduce the inequality he experienced as a child.

Walker has received 16 honorary degrees and university distinctions, including UT Austin’s Distinguished Alumnus Award and Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Medal. He serves on numerous boards, including PepsiCo, Ralph Lauren and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture. In 2016 TIME magazine named him one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.”

Walker is openly gay. His partner of 26 years died in 2019.

Rock & Roll Pioneer

b. December 5, 1932
d. May 9, 2020

“Elvis may be the King of Rock and Roll, but I am the Queen.”

Richard Penniman, “Little Richard,” was a musical pioneer of the 1950s and one the first Black crossover artists. Known for his legendary hits — such as “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly Miss Molly” — and flamboyant, gender-bending style, Little Richard has been called the “architect of rock and roll.”

Born in Macon, Georgia, during the Great Depression, Richard was one of 12 children of evangelical Christian parents. His father was a church deacon, a moonshine bootlegger and a nightclub owner. Richard’s love of music began as a child, singing in the church choir.

Richard’s early years were rife with abuse. Peers bullied him and mocked his walk. Richard’s father would strip him, tie him up and dispense “bloody beatings” for his effeminate behavior and deliberately androgynous appearance. His father “wanted seven boys,” Richard once said, and he “was messing it up.”

When Richard was 19, his father was murdered. Richard took a job as a dishwasher to provide for the family. He wrote some of his first and most celebrated tracks at that sink, including “Tutti Frutti,” the song that launched his career.

Released in 1955, “Tutti Frutti” rose to No. 2 on the Billboard rhythm and blues (R&B) chart and climbed the pop chart. It sold over a million copies to enthusiastic interracial fans. “From the get-go, my music was accepted by whites,” Richard said. The song’s introductory phrase, “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom” became one of the most iconic in contemporary music history.

Richard’s backbeat rhythms, vocal style and frenetic stage performances helped give rise to the rock and roll genre and significantly impacted R&B. His long pompadour hairdo and eye makeup inspired countless artists to come, from David Bowie to Prince. Paul McCartney credits Little Richard’s signature shrieks with informing his own singing screams.

Richard became a born-again Christian in 1957 and gave up rock and roll for gospel music and the ministry. “I’ve been gay all my life and I know God is a God of love, not of hate,” he said. He returned to rock after the Beatles recorded a rendition of “Long Tall Sally” in 1964.

Over the years, Little Richard’s songs have inspired covers by countless artists. He later appeared in movies and TV shows. Along with dozens of other honors, he was one of the first 10 artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the U.S. Library of Congress added “Tutti Frutti” to the National Recording Registry.

Little Richard died in Tennessee from bone cancer. He was 87.

Singer, Songwriter & Actor

b. December 1, 1985

“I’ve never lived my life in a binary way.”

Janelle Monáe is an eight-time Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter and an award-winning actor and activist. Known for her bold fashion choices and music videos, which she calls her “emotion pictures,” Monáe describes herself as a nerdy polymath, Afrofuturist storyteller and pansexual android.

Janelle Monáe Robinson was born to working-class parents in Kansas City, Kansas. Her father struggled with addiction. Her mother devoted herself to God and family and, along with her grandmother, supported Monáe’s participation in musicals, talent shows and playwriting groups. Monáe credits her family with her intense work ethic.

By age 16, Monáe had established her own record label. When the American Musical and Dramatic Academy awarded her a college scholarship, she moved to New York City. As the only Black woman in her drama classes, she felt typecast and grew frustrated. She dropped out and moved to Atlanta.

In Atlanta, Monáe established an artist’s collective, the Wondaland Arts Society. In 2005 she made her professional debut as a featured artist on several OutKast tracks. Two years later, she released a solo concept EP, “Metropolis: Suite 1,” on which she introduced herself as an android. She received her first Grammy nomination for the album.

Monáe carried the android persona into her next two albums, “The ArchAndroid” (2010) and “The Electric Lady” (2013). In 2013 she made her first appearance as a musical guest on “Saturday Night Live.” When asked about her signature black-and-white tuxedo, she explained, “My mother was a janitor and my father collected trash, so I wear a uniform too.”

In 2016 Monáe made her film debut in “Moonlight” and played Mary Jackson, one of the starring roles, in “Hidden Figures.” Monáe received Critics Choice Award nominations for both. She won for “Moonlight,” as part of the ensemble cast.

In 2018 Monáe came out publicly as a “queer Black woman.” She founded Fem The Future, a mentoring organization and movement for women, and released the radical, critically acclaimed album, “Dirty Computer.” She said she wanted “young girls, young boys, nonbinary, gay, straight, [and] queer people who are having a hard time dealing with their sexuality …” to know she saw them. “This album is for you,” she said. “Be proud.”

In 2019 Monáe appeared as Marie in “Harriet,” a biopic about the abolitionist Harriet Tubman. In 2020 she starred in the horror film “Antebellum.”

Among countless awards and nominations for her music, videos and acting, Monáe has also received a GLAAD Media Award, an NAACP Image Award and two Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards. Monáe resides in Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Deputy White House Press Secretary

b. August 13, 1977

“America is progressing towards a stronger, more inclusive future — and I know women of color are a driving force in that evolution.”

An immigrant, an activist and an author, Karine Jean-Pierre was named principal White House deputy press secretary in January 2021. She made history as the first Black person in 30 years — and the first out lesbian — to address the White House press corps.

Jean-Pierre was born in Martinique, the eldest child of Haitian parents who fled the dictatorship of François Duvalier. When Jean-Pierre was 5, her family moved to Queens, New York, in pursuit of the American dream. Instead, like so many immigrants, her parents faced financial hardship. Her father, a trained engineer, drove a taxi to support the family. Her mother worked as a home health aide.

Feeling like the ultimate “outsider” and under immense pressure to succeed, Jean-Pierre suffered from depression and attempted suicide in early adulthood. She discusses her struggles and achievements and offers advice to aspiring young changemakers in her political memoir, “Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, and the Promise of America” (2019).

Jean-Pierre earned a bachelor's degree from the New York Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in public affairs in 2003 from Columbia University. After graduate school, she served as a regional political director of John Edwards’s 2004 presidential campaign and Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. When Obama was elected president, Jean-Pierre was named regional political director for the White House Office of Political Affairs. In 2012 she became the deputy battleground states director of President Obama’s reelection campaign.

In 2014 Jean-Pierre began teaching at Columbia University and served as campaign manager for the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Initiative. She joined MoveOn.org, the progressive policy advocacy group, in 2016. She became its chief public affairs officer and provided regular commentary on MSNBC and NBC News.

In 2019, during a political forum she was moderating, Jean-Pierre jumped between presidential candidate Kamala Harris and an angry protester who rushed the stage. “Here comes this guy with all of his male privilege,” Jean-Pierre said, recounting the experience as both scary and insulting. He insisted he had something “better to talk about.”

In 2020 the Biden campaign tapped Jean-Pierre to serve as a senior advisor. She became campaign chief of staff for Harris, then the vice presidential nominee, making Jean-Pierre the first Black person and the first out lesbian to hold the position. In 2021 the Biden administration named Jean-Pierre principal deputy press secretary in a historic move that also placed her on the first all-female White House communications team.

Jean-Pierre lives in Washington, D.C., with her wife, Suzanne Malveaux, a national CNN correspondent, and their daughter, Soleil.

Journalist & Commentator

b. March 11, 1972

“This is the gay agenda: equality. Not special rights, but the rights that are already written by [our Founding Fathers].”

Elzie Lee “LZ” Granderson is a groundbreaking, openly gay American sportswriter and commentator. His work for major news outlets such as CNN, ESPN and ABC News has increased the visibility of racial justice and LGBTQ equality in athletics.

Granderson’s passion for sports began early. Born in Detroit to a poor family, he suffered abuse from his stepfather and turned to drugs and gangs as an adolescent. Sports helped save him. “I’d be bleeding from being whipped and go to sleep reading the NBA Almanac,” he said in a 2012 interview. “It was my blanket that helped me heal. I read every line about every player.”

Granderson began his career as an actor. He attended Western Michigan University on a theater scholarship and landed his first film role in “Zebrahead” at the age of 20. A few years later, he appeared in “To Sir, With Love II” (1996), with Sidney Poitier reprising his original role.

Granderson got his start in journalism at the The Grand Rapids Press. During the 1990s, when he was trying to break into sportswriting, the industry was deeply homophobic.

Granderson, who was open about his sexuality, recalls one interviewer asking him, “What does a gay guy know about the NBA?” Undeterred, Granderson broke into sportswriting at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, after a stint as a home-design writer. He went on to serve as a writer and columnist for ESPN Page 2, co-host of ESPN’s “SportsNation” and afternoon co-host on ESPN LA710. He quickly developed a reputation for incisive columns that combined sports with social commentary on race, gender and sexual orientation.

Granderson has taken his unique perspective to numerous media outlets. He served as a CNN columnist and a contributor to “Erin Burnett OutFront,” “Newsroom with Don Lemon” and “Anderson Cooper 360.” He regularly contributed to ABC’s “Good Morning America,” “This Week” and “Nightline,” in addition to co-anchoring ABC’s coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. He joined the LA Times in 2019 as the sports and culture columnist and an op-ed writer.

In 2009 Granderson won the GLAAD Media Award for digital journalism for his ESPN article, “Gay Athletes Are Making Their Mark.” The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association honored him in 2008 and 2010. Granderson’s Ted Talk on LGBTQ equality, “The Myth of the Gay Agenda,” has received more than 1.6 million views.

Granderson lives with his partner, Steve Huesing. He has one child from a previous marriage.

Transgender State Representative

b. October 7, 1940

“It pays not to quit when you want something. You have to keep working until you get it.”

Althea Garrison was the first elected transgender state legislator in the United States. She served one term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995.

The youngest of seven children, Garrison was born male in the tiny town of Hahira, Georgia. At 19 she moved to Boston, planning to attend beauty school. Garrison instead attended Newbury Junior College, then received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Suffolk University. She went on to earn a master’s degree in management from Lesley College and a certificate in special studies in administration and management from Harvard University. Garrison transitioned in Boston. She became Althea Garrison in 1976, legally changing both her first and last names.

In 1982 Garrison ran for the Massachusetts state legislature as a Democrat. It was her first bid for public office. Throughout the next decade, she ran and lost elections for a variety of seats, gradually moving from a Democrat to an Independent to a Republican.

In 1992 Garrison ran as a Republican for the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Although her transgender identity was an open secret among local politicians, it was unknown to her constituents. Days after winning the election, she was outed by a reporter who found her birth certificate and made her original name and sex public.

While in office, Garrison served as a member of the Housing Committee and the Election Law Committee. She sponsored and passed legislation to introduce mail-in voter registration and strongly supported workers’ rights. Despite endorsements from eight local unions and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, she lost reelection.

Garrison spent the next 34 years working as a human resources clerk in the Massachusetts State Comptroller’s Office and continually running for office. She often devoted her vacation to campaigning. Although her political affiliation has been fluid, she has identified as an independent conservative since 2012.

In 2017 Garrison finished as the first runner-up in the Boston City Council election. The following year, Boston Councilmember Ayanna Pressley won a congressional bid and had to vacate her seat. Garrison was appointed to fill Pressley’s remaining term. In 2019 Garrison became the most conservative member of the otherwise Democratic Boston City Council.

“I never quit,” 78-year-old Garrison explained. “I’m constantly running, and I knew it would pay off.” Despite advocating for affordable housing measures, including rent control and eviction protections, Garrison lost reelection to a Democratic challenger in 2020.

Garrison lives in Boston. She has appeared on the city’s ballot more than 25 times.

Rapper

b. April 9, 1999

“I 100% want to represent the LGBT community.”

Montero Hill, known as Lil Nas X, is a Grammy Award-winning rapper and social media sensation. A trailblazer in the hip-hop community as a gay rapper who speaks freely about his sexuality, Nas X entered the international spotlight with his single “Old Town Road.”

Nas X was born outside of Atlanta, Georgia. His father is a gospel singer. His parents divorced when he was 6, and he spent much of his childhood living in housing projects.

As a youth struggling with his sexual orientation, Nas X spent most of his time alone. At age 13, he turned to social media and experimenting with memes. He eventually carved a niche for himself as an internet personality, working to create catchy content he hoped would go viral. He began with short Facebook videos and finally found success on Twitter, where he accumulated more than four million followers. He amassed nine million followers on YouTube. As his songwriting progressed, he adopted his stage name as an homage to the rapper Nas.

In December 2018, Nas X bought beats online and recorded the country rap song “Old Town Road.” He promoted the song on social media with hundreds of memes and with a musical “challenge” on the video-sharing app TikTok. Popular with all kinds of listeners, the song rapidly jumped to the radio, then to the Billboard charts.

With its unique blend of country and hip-hop, “Old Town Road” provoked controversy about its place on the country music charts. Nas X and the country star Billy Ray Cyrus subsequently recorded a remix. Released in April 2019, the single shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for 19 weeks—longer than any song in history. It went 10 times platinum. Only 34 songs have ever achieved that status.

In June 2019, Nas X released “7,” his debut EP on Columbia Records. The seven-track recording features “Old Town Road” and the single “Panini,” which peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100. Nine days after the EP’s release, Nas X came out as gay on Twitter. He is the first artist to do so with a No. 1 hit currently on the charts.

Nas X was nominated for six Grammy Awards in 2020. He won two for “Old Town Road” and also became the first LGBT artist to win a Country Music Association (CMA) Award. He was named to the TIME 100 Next list and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

Transgender Rights Advocate

b. November 28, 1980

“My mission is to prove that everyone has the right to pursue their dreams.”

Angelica Ross is a television actor and the founder and CEO of TransTech Social Enterprises, an organization that helps transgender people find work in the technology industry.

Born male, Ross grew up in Racine, Wisconsin. Perceived as feminine by the eighth grade, she came out as gay at age 17. Her evangelical Christian mother responded so negatively, Ross attempted suicide.

Ross entered the University of Wisconsin-Parkside but dropped out after one semester and joined the U.S. Navy to qualify for the G.I. Bill. After six months of service and harassment, Ross requested and received a discharge under the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.

At age 19, Ross transitioned to female. Her mother and stepfather rejected her gender identity. Ross eventually went to live with her biological father in Roanoke, Virginia, where she waitressed so she could attend cosmetology school. After facing discrimination in Roanoke, she moved to Hollywood, Florida, where she overhauled a website for her employer and taught herself computer code. She used the experience to start her own web design and consulting firm, while she studied acting.

Ross later found a position as the employment coordinator at the Trans Life Center in Chicago, helping transgender people secure jobs and health care. In 2014 she launched her own nonprofit, TransTech Social Enterprises, to train transgender workers in technical computer skills and help them find employment. In 2015 she participated in the White House LGBTQ Tech and Innovation Summit as a featured speaker.

In 2016 Ross landed a role in “Her Story,” a web series about transgender women in Los Angeles. The same year, the program was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama. Ross also served as executive producer and star of the short film “Missed Connections,” a black transgender love story. “Missed Connections” was an official selection at the 2017 Outflix and Outfest film festivals.

In 2018 Ross joined the cast of the critically acclaimed television series “Pose,” about New York City’s underground black and Latinx LGBT ballroom culture of the 1980s. The following year she starred as a psychologist in the FX television network series “American Horror Story.”

In 2018 the Financial Times named Ross a top 10 LGBT executive. In 2019 she served as a celebrity ambassador of the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Late in 2019, she became the first transgender person to host a national presidential candidate forum, when she hosted the official discussion of LGBTQ+ issues with the 2020 Democratic candidates. In January 2020, the luxury brand Louis Vuitton featured Ross in its ad campaign.

Award-Winning Broadway Actor

b. September 21, 1969

“Pride is a protest. It’s a march, not a parade.”

Billy Porter is an Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award-winning actor and singer whose roles are frequently LGBT-themed. He was the first openly gay black man to win a Primetime Emmy Award in a lead acting category.

Porter was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father abandoned the family, and his stepfather sexually abused him. His mother suffered from a neurological disorder. A flamboyant child, Porter was suspected of being mentally ill and frequently bullied.

Porter found his escape in performing. He graduated from the Musical Theater Program at the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School. He earned a BFA in drama from Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama in 1991 and completed a professional certificate in screenwriting from UCLA.

Porter received his first major national award 1992, winning Male Vocalist Grand Champion on the television program “Star Search.” In the following decade, he established himself as a rising star, performing on Broadway in the revival of “Grease” (1994), Off Broadway in “Myths and Hymns and Songs for a New World” (1995), and at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in “Dreamgirls” (2004). He also starred in several films, including the gay-themed “Twisted” (1996) and in “The Broken Hearts Club” (2000), which portrayed stories of gay romance.

In 2005 Porter performed a one-man autobiographical show, “Ghetto Superstar: The Man That I Am,” at Joe’s Pub, a noted Manhattan performance space. “Ghetto Superstar” earned Porter an Outstanding New York Theater nomination at the 2006 GLAAD Media Awards.

In 2013 Porter originated the principal role of Lola, the cabaret drag queen, in the hit Broadway musical “Kinky Boots.” The same year, he captured both the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. In 2014, as part of the cast performance of “Kinky Boots,” he won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

In 2018 Porter began starring as the character Pray Tell in the television series “Pose” about 1980s New York ballroom culture. In 2019 the role earned him a Golden Globe nomination and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. The Emmy made him the first gay black man to be nominated and to win in a lead acting category. On the red carpet, Porter’s often wild, gender-bending fashion statements have added to the media attention he attracts.

Porter lives in Manhattan with his spouse, Adam Smith.

Mayor of Chicago

b. August 4, 1962

“Breaking the back of the Chicago machine, it's quite monumental.”

Lori Lightfoot won a historic landslide victory in Chicago’s 2019 election to become the city’s first openly gay and first black female mayor. It is her first elective office.

Lightfoot grew up in a struggling working-class family in southern Ohio. Her father, who suffered hearing loss, often juggled three jobs. Lightfoot credits her family’s difficulties and her mother’s fierce strength with her own determination to succeed. Her mother insisted that Lightfoot pursue education, strive for excellence and “take on hard fights,” regardless of the consequences.

Lightfoot earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, paying for her own education through loans and work-study jobs. She attended the University of Chicago law school on a full scholarship. After graduation, she spent six years working in private practice.

Lightfoot entered public service as assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, prosecuting defendants accused of drug crimes, bankruptcy fraud and public corruption. Thereafter, she was appointed chief administrator of the Chicago Police Department Office of Professional Standards, which investigates alleged cases of police misconduct, including shootings of civilians.

After Lightfoot served as top administrator in the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, Mayor Richard Daley hired her as deputy chief of the Chicago Department of Procurement Services. There, Lightfoot made waves, targeting powerful wheeler-dealers and a top Daley fundraiser.

Mayor Daley’s successor, Rahm Emanuel, appointed Lightfoot president of the Chicago Police Board, which decides disciplinary cases. Under Lightfoot’s leadership, the board changed course, terminating police officers in 72% of misconduct cases. As chair of a special Police Accountability Task Force, Lightfoot filed a report critical of the police department's practices. She pushed Mayor Emanuel to more aggressively pursue police reform.

In May 2018, Lightfoot announced her candidacy for mayor of Chicago. She ran on a platform of outsider politics and progressive change, promising to reverse decades of political corruption and bring opportunity to neglected neighborhoods. In April 2019 Lightfoot defeated her opponent with over 74% of the popular vote, winning a majority among white, black and Latinx voters. Her victory made Chicago the largest city in U.S. history with an openly LGBTQ mayor and the largest city led by a woman.

Lightfoot and her spouse, Amy Eshleman, have a daughter.