Marcus Arana

Two-spirit transgender educator

San Francisco, CA

Born in Anchorage, Alaska in 1957, Marcus Arana was given the name Mary by his parents. As one of three children in a working class...
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Al Baum

Lawyer, urban planner, psychotherapist, philanthropist

San Francisco, CA

Al Baum was born in 1930 and raised in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. His father was a successful investment counselor, and hoped that...
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Carolyn Brandy

Drummer, creator of women's drumming spaces

Cheltenham, PA

Carolyn Brandy was born in Tampa, Florida on July 20, 1946. With a father in the US Army special forces, Carolyn lived in Georgia, Maryland,...
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Gwenn Craig

Mentee of Harvey Milk, activist for human rights and the Democratic Party

Daly City, CA

Gwenn Craig was born on April 14, 1951 in Atlanta, Georgia. She grew up on the Gammon Theological Seminary campus where her father worked as...
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Tom Dyer

gay newspaper publisher

Winter Park, FL

Tom Dyer was born in Lancaster, Ohio in 1955. When he was 7 or 8, Tom was discovered by his brother and father playing Barbies...
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Lillian Faderman

Award-Winning Lesbian Author, Scholar, Historian

San Diego, CA

Lillian Faderman, born on July 18th, 1940 in the Bronx,  moved with her mother to Boyle Heights in Los Angeles in 1948. Lillian’s father refused...
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Chuck Forester

Author, critic, HIV rights educator

Sebastopol, CA

Chuck Forester was born on February 23, 1944, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He grew up in Wausau, WI, where his father worked as the Yawkey estate...
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Phyllis Randolph Frye

first openly transgender judge in U.S.

Houston, TX

At her birth in 1948, Phyllis Randolph Frye was named Phillip. Growing up in Texas, Phillip became an Eagle Scout and was the commander of...
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James Gribben

actor, dancer, music director

Gun Barrel City, TX

Jim Gribben was born in 1943 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Though his childhood was difficult, Jim’s “small but mighty” mother taught him strength and resilience. As...
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Mel Heifetz

Philanthropist and gay nightlife figurehead

Philadelphia, PA

Mel Heifetz was born in Philadelphia on November 4, 1935, and raised in South Philadelphia. His parents could not afford to purchase property, and his...
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Geoff Kors

LGBTQ+ policymaker, Former Mayor of Palm Springs

Palm Springs, CA

Geoff Kors was born on April 30, 1961 in New York City, the grandchild of Eastern European immigrants. His father was a lawyer and his...
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June Lagmay

AAPI lesbian activist; ceiling-smashing civil servant

Temple City, CA

June Lagmay was born in Yokohama, Japan and grew up in Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles. In high school in 1968, she and Rita Romero...
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Mark Leno

1st Openly Gay CA State Senator

San Francisco, CA

Mark Leno was born on September 24, 1951 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mark grew up in a reform Jewish household; his social justice-oriented parents taught him...
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Steve Pieters

pastor, HIV survivor, “Eyes of Tammy Faye” interviewee

Los Angeles, CA

Steve Pieters was born on August 2nd, 1952 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He grew up on the campus of Phillips Academy, Andover, where his father worked...
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David Cameron Strachan

Intersex activist, giant, early legally non-binary person

San Francisco, CA

David Cameron Strachan was born in 1947 in Deep River, Ontario, and grew up in Walnut Creek, California. His family was very religious and attended...
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Stephan Thorne

Trans Police Officer

Oakland, CA

Stephan 'Steph' Thorne was born on September 2nd, 1954, in Hillsboro, Oregon. He grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, where his mother moved the family to...
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