We Belong.
Every story matters.
Luminescent
- LGBTQIA+ humanitarians who fought for everyone's rights -
Pauli Murray
Anna Pauline (Pauli) Murray: America has rarely seen the likes of Pauli Murray. As an African American, she was the granddaughter of a slave and great-granddaughter of a slave owner. As a woman, she was a suffragist, as an activist, she was arrested for not giving up her seat – 15 years before Rosa Parks, and as an attorney, she framed the arguments that both advanced equal rights for women and formed the foundation for Brown v. Board. Thurgood Marshall called her work the “bible of the Civil Rights movement.” She was gender nonconforming, non-straight, an author, poet and Mademoiselle magazine woman of the year. She was Yale Law School’s first African American Doctor of Juridical Science and the first woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest. Despite being female, an ethnic minority and LGBTQ+, few people have contributed more to the American story.
Anna Pauline (Pauli) Murray: America has rarely seen the likes of Pauli Murray. As an African American, she was the granddaughter of a slave and great-granddaughter of a slave owner. As a woman, she was a suffragist, as an activist, she was arrested for not giving up her seat – 15 years before Rosa Parks, and as an attorney, she framed the arguments that both advanced equal rights for women and formed the foundation for Brown v. Board. Thurgood Marshall called her work the “bible of the Civil Rights movement.” She was gender nonconforming, non-straight, an author, poet and Mademoiselle magazine woman of the year. She was Yale Law School’s first African American Doctor of Juridical Science and the first woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest. Despite being female, an ethnic minority and LGBTQ+, few people have contributed more to the American story.
Kiyoshi Kuromiya
A third-generation Japanese American, Kiyoshi was actually born in an internment camp in Wyoming. But that’s not all. He was an anti-Vietnam war protestor and deeply involved in the Civil Rights movement. As a member of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), he participated in sit-ins and marches, was in Selma where he was assaulted along with Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, and was friends with both , as well as with James Baldwin and a host of other civil rights icons. He was so close to the King family that in the aftermath of Martin’s death, he was on hand to help care for the kids. But that’s still only part of Kiyoshi’s story. Kiyoshi, in April 1968, just three weeks after Martin’s death, instigated the largest antiwar demonstration in Penn's history. As a gay man, he cofounded Gay Liberation Front, the organization that grew out of Stonewall, spoke about LGBT rights at the 1970 Black Panther Party Convention, cofounded ACT UP, and spearheaded the creation of the ACT UP Standard of Care for people living with HIV/AIDS. He was part of the FDA panel that recommended approval of the first protease inhibitors, was part of several cases that went before the Supreme Court, and worked on variegated human rights issues throughout his life.
A third-generation Japanese American, Kiyoshi was actually born in an internment camp in Wyoming. But that’s not all. He was an anti-Vietnam war protestor and deeply involved in the Civil Rights movement. As a member of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), he participated in sit-ins and marches, was in Selma where he was assaulted along with Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, and was friends with both , as well as with James Baldwin and a host of other civil rights icons. He was so close to the King family that in the aftermath of Martin’s death, he was on hand to help care for the kids. But that’s still only part of Kiyoshi’s story. Kiyoshi, in April 1968, just three weeks after Martin’s death, instigated the largest antiwar demonstration in Penn's history. As a gay man, he cofounded Gay Liberation Front, the organization that grew out of Stonewall, spoke about LGBT rights at the 1970 Black Panther Party Convention, cofounded ACT UP, and spearheaded the creation of the ACT UP Standard of Care for people living with HIV/AIDS. He was part of the FDA panel that recommended approval of the first protease inhibitors, was part of several cases that went before the Supreme Court, and worked on variegated human rights issues throughout his life.
Willem Arondeus
A Dutch artist and author, Willem was one of the many non-Jewish members of the anti-Nazi resistance movement. Willem, along with others, bombed an Amsterdam public records office to keep information about Dutch Jews out of Nazi hands. Though no lives were lost, Willem was arrested and, shortly thereafter, executed. Self-embracing, even back then, Willem refused to hide. His final words were: “Tell the world that homosexuals are no less courageous than anyone else.”
A Dutch artist and author, Willem was one of the many non-Jewish members of the anti-Nazi resistance movement. Willem, along with others, bombed an Amsterdam public records office to keep information about Dutch Jews out of Nazi hands. Though no lives were lost, Willem was arrested and, shortly thereafter, executed. Self-embracing, even back then, Willem refused to hide. His final words were: “Tell the world that homosexuals are no less courageous than anyone else.”
The Luminaries
Pauli, Kiyoshi and Willem are prime examples of Luminescent Luminaries – heroic individuals who, though LGBTQ+ (and in Pauli's and Kiyoshi's cases, ethnic minorities), their work extended far beyond what we’d perceive to be their “tribe” to encompass humanity at large. They made the world itself better. But far too often, either the entire story of their extraordinary lives is overlooked and downplayed, or the fact that they were LGBTQ+, ignored. The goal of Luminescent is to tell their stories, from James Baldwin and Bayard Rustin to the Queer Eye guys, from Congresswoman Barbara Jordan to playwright and civil rights activist Lorraine Hansberry, so that even when they're gone, they're never forgotten.
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Forthcoming additions to Luminescent's social history, listed in alphabetical order by first name:
Alan Turing (mathematician, WWII code-breaker)
Barbara Jordan (politician)
Billie Jean King (professional athlete, women's rights activist)
Barney Frank (politician)
Bayard Rustin (civil and global human rights activist)
Brad Hoylman (politician)
Christine Jorgensen (soldier, trans pioneer)
Ellen DeGeneres (entertainer)
Elliot Page (entertainer)
Hank Wilson (human rights activist)
Harvey Milk (politician)
James Baldwin (Author and activist)
Josephine Baker (singer, activist and WWII spy)
Langston Hughes (poet and author)
Larry Kramer (playwright and author)
Lily and Lana Wachowski (filmmakers)
Lorrene Hansberry (playwright and activist)
Rachel Maddow (News commentator)
Sally Ride (astronaut)
Tammy Baldwin (politician)
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Finally, if you have suggestions for this oral history, we'd love to hear about them.
They do not need to be famous to be included. The stories of those in the background -- teachers and social workers, police officers and Peace Corps members, relatives and neighbors, the people who collect our garbage and deliver our mail -- are just as important as those at the forefront. There are only two requirements: First, they need to have either identified as some version of LGBTQ+ or be someone who was openly known to be (rather than something rumored or speculated about - they, and only they get to decide how they identify). And second, they need to be people who have lived their life in a manner that made others' lives and the world better. If information about them isn't readily available online, tell us their story, along with what, in your opinion, makes them a
Luminescent Luminary.
Pauli, Kiyoshi and Willem are prime examples of Luminescent Luminaries – heroic individuals who, though LGBTQ+ (and in Pauli's and Kiyoshi's cases, ethnic minorities), their work extended far beyond what we’d perceive to be their “tribe” to encompass humanity at large. They made the world itself better. But far too often, either the entire story of their extraordinary lives is overlooked and downplayed, or the fact that they were LGBTQ+, ignored. The goal of Luminescent is to tell their stories, from James Baldwin and Bayard Rustin to the Queer Eye guys, from Congresswoman Barbara Jordan to playwright and civil rights activist Lorraine Hansberry, so that even when they're gone, they're never forgotten.
--
Forthcoming additions to Luminescent's social history, listed in alphabetical order by first name:
Alan Turing (mathematician, WWII code-breaker)
Barbara Jordan (politician)
Billie Jean King (professional athlete, women's rights activist)
Barney Frank (politician)
Bayard Rustin (civil and global human rights activist)
Brad Hoylman (politician)
Christine Jorgensen (soldier, trans pioneer)
Ellen DeGeneres (entertainer)
Elliot Page (entertainer)
Hank Wilson (human rights activist)
Harvey Milk (politician)
James Baldwin (Author and activist)
Josephine Baker (singer, activist and WWII spy)
Langston Hughes (poet and author)
Larry Kramer (playwright and author)
Lily and Lana Wachowski (filmmakers)
Lorrene Hansberry (playwright and activist)
Rachel Maddow (News commentator)
Sally Ride (astronaut)
Tammy Baldwin (politician)
--
Finally, if you have suggestions for this oral history, we'd love to hear about them.
They do not need to be famous to be included. The stories of those in the background -- teachers and social workers, police officers and Peace Corps members, relatives and neighbors, the people who collect our garbage and deliver our mail -- are just as important as those at the forefront. There are only two requirements: First, they need to have either identified as some version of LGBTQ+ or be someone who was openly known to be (rather than something rumored or speculated about - they, and only they get to decide how they identify). And second, they need to be people who have lived their life in a manner that made others' lives and the world better. If information about them isn't readily available online, tell us their story, along with what, in your opinion, makes them a
Luminescent Luminary.