Latine/Hispanic Heritage Month(September 15 – October 15) serves as a national celebration to honor the history, culture and influence of the generations who have come from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
Cultural Calendar
A diverse array of events, engaging panel discussions, valuable resources, community spotlights, and much more!
September
September 15 - October 15
National Hispanic Heritage Month
Jenée Chizick-Agüero
Jenée Chizick-Agüero is the founder and publisher of Motivos, the nation’s largest bilingual magazine with youth-generated content.
Eduardo Esquivel
Eduardo Esquivel is the president of the Kensington Neighborhood Association and a social worker who has lived and worked in Kensington since 2010. During this time he has worked at multiple non-profits with those experiencing chronic homelessness and struggling with mental health and substance abuse.
Hernán Guaracao
Hernán Guaracao is Editor in Chief and CEO of AL DÍA News Media.
Hernán has served as President of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) as well as a Board Member of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR), a national organization revolutionizing the inclusion and recognition of U.S. Latinos in corporate America today in the areas of employment, procurement, philanthropy, and governance. Hernán is an entrepreneur and a journalist with a very pronounced track record of public service. He is the 2014 recipient of the Paragon Legacy Award from the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC).
Danilo Burgos
Danilo Burgos, 41, took office Jan. 1 as the first Dominican to serve in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The legislator was appointed to serve in leadership committee roles with Agriculture and Rural Affairs; the Oil and Gas Caucus; Children and Youth; Human Services; and Gov. Wolf’s Census Commission.
Cristina Martinez
Cristina Martinez is a Mexican-born chef and immigration activist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Martinez is a native of Capulhuac, Mexico, and she is an undocumented immigrant who crossed the border from Juárez into the United States.
She and her husband, American citizen Benjamin Miller, opened their successful restaurant, South Philly Barbacoa, which was named by Bon Appétit magazine one of the top ten best new restaurants in America in 2016.
Cristina and Miller are active in supporting undocumented immigrants in the restaurant industry, establishing an organization, the Popular Alliance for Undocumented Workers’ Rights. Her story has been featured in an award-winning podcast, and she was featured in an episode of Netflix’s Chef’s Table in 2018.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of the Democratic Party.
Rubén Amaro Jr.
A native of North Philadelphia, Rubén Amaro Jr. is an American former professional baseball outfielder and General Manager. Amaro played in Major League Baseball from 1991 to 1998. He was named the GM of the Philadelphia Phillies on November 3, 2008, succeeding Pat Gillick and remained in that position until September 10, 2015.
Odín Palacio
Odín Palacio, 36, is better known as the bilingual hip-hop artist Udini La Voz. He is a Philadelphia-based entertainment producer recognized for his artistic work and efforts empowering Latino youth. In 2019 he received two citations from City Councilperson David Oh and was named Artist of the Year by City Council. The native of Panama City, Panama, co-founded the urban media and entertainment production house Higher Than 7 with Anis Tayler and Travis Ruscil in 2014.
Quiara Alegría Hudes
Quiara Alegría Hudes (born 1977), a graduate of Central High School, is an American playwright, lyricist and essayist. She is best known for writing the book for the musical In the Heights, and screenplay for its film adaptation. Hudes’ play Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; she received the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Water by the Spoonful.
Raquel Salas Rivera
Raquel Salas Rivera, 34, is a queer poet, raised in Puerto Rico and the Philadelphia area, who served as Philadelphia’s fourth poet laureate, a civic position overseen by the Free Library. Salas Rivera spent the past year promoting literacy and encouraging literary expression in service work, workshops, readings, and mentorship programs.
Amy Eusebio
Amy Eusebio, 34, is the first Afro Latina to lead Philadelphia’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
The daughter of Dominican immigrants, Eusebio began working for the city in 2018 as director of the Municipal ID Program, where she led and launched the affordable photo identification program the following year. More than 10,000 people obtained their PHL City ID within the first six months of its launch, surpassing the city’s goal for the first year of the program.
September 21
International Day of Peace
A day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
click here to readOctober
October 1-31
LGBTQIAA+ History Month
LGBT History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson. LGBT History Month provides role models, builds community, and represents a civil rights statement about the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community.
Student Resources
Click Here for Student LGBTQIAA+ Resources, Name/Gender Change Process, and District Policies.
Teacher/Staff Resources
Pride Month Toolkit – Learn more
This Toolkit includes a variety of resources, images, sample social media, and publications to support you in amplifying the voices and experiences of LGBTQ youth—this month, and every month!
Listen, Learn, & Share: Learn about LGBTQIA+ History by listening to these LGBTQIA+ Icons.
Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde (February 18, 1934–November 17, 1992) is an American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist. Lorde was a self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” who dedicated her life and her work to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, capitalism, heterosexism, and homophobia. In her novel Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Lorde focuses on how her many different identities shape her life and the different experiences she has because of them. She shows us that personal identity is found within the connections between seemingly different parts of one’s life, based on lived experience, and that one’s authority to speak comes from this lived experience.
Sylvia Rivera
Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951–February 19, 2002) was an American gay liberation, and transgender rights activist who was also a noted community worker in New York. Rivera, who identified as a drag queen,[participated in demonstrations with the Gay Liberation Front. With close friend Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens, gay youth, and trans women.
Brian Sims
Brian Sims (Sept 16th, 1978) is a Democrat member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives of the 182nd District. He was elected in 2012 as the First Openly Gay Legislator in the History of Pennsylania. He won Reelection in November 2018. He is 42 years old. Mr. Sims is also a Lawyer, and Gay Rights Acitivist. Mr. Sims has worked tirelessly to push a progressive agenda throughout his tenure as a State Rep. He is currently considering a run for Lieutenant Governor.
Harvey Bernard Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930–November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay elected official in the history of California. Milk served almost eleven months in office, during which he sponsored a bill banning discrimination in public accommodations, housing, and employment on the basis of sexual orientation. The Supervisors passed the bill by a vote of 11–1, and it was signed into law by Mayor George Moscone. On November 27, 1978, Milk and Moscone were assassinated by a disgruntled city supervisor.
RuPaul Charles
RuPaul Charles (November 17, 1960), known mononymously as RuPaul, is an American drag queen, actor, model, singer, songwriter, television personality, and author. Since 2009, he has produced and hosted the reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race, for which he has received eight Primetime Emmy Awards. He is considered the most commercially successful drag queen in the United States. In 2017, he was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In 2019, Fortune noted him as “easily the world’s most famous” drag queen.
Malcolm Kenyatta
Malcolm Kenyatta is a Democrat Member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives of the 181st District. He was elected in 2018. He is one of the youngest people ever to be elected to the State Legislature at 28 years old. He is also the First Openly Gay Man of Color ever to be elected to either House of the State Legislature in Pennsylvania History.
Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox (May 29, 1972) is an American actress and LGBTQ+ advocate. Cox is a trailblazer for the transgender community, and has won numerous awards for her activist approach in spreading awareness. Her impact and prominence in the media has led to a growing conversation about transgender culture, specifically transgender women, and how being transgender intersects with one’s race. She is the first transgender person to be on the cover of Time magazine, be nominated for a Primetime Emmy, have a wax work in Madame Tussauds, as well as the first transgender woman to win a Daytime Emmy as an executive producer. In May 2016, Cox was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from The New School in New York City for her progressive work in the fight for gender equality.
Kiyoshi Kuromiya
Kuromiya was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He was a Japanese American author and civil rights and anti-war activist. Kuromiya became an aide to Martin Luther King Jr. He served as an openly gay delegate to the Black Panther Convention that endorsed the gay liberation struggle and was one the founders of America’s Gay Liberation Front/Philadelphia. He was also the editor of ACT UP’s Standard of Care, the first medical treatment and cultural competency guidelines to be produced for people living with HIV by people living with HIV/AIDS.
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (October 25, 1940) often referred to as Miss Major, is a trans woman activist and community leader for transgender rights, with a particular focus on women of color. She served as the original Executive Director for the Transgender Gender Variant Intersex Justice Project, which aims to assist transgender persons, who are disproportionately incarcerated under the prison-industrial complex. Griffin-Gracy has participated in activism for a wide range of causes throughout her lifetime, including the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City.
Layshia Renee Clarendon
Layshia Renee Clarendon (May 2, 1991), is an American basketball player and is the first WNBA player that openly identifies as transgender and non-binary. In 2020, when the WNBA announced the upcoming season to be “Social Justice Season,” Clarendon was a key driver of this work. Clarendon, with the help of other players, and WNBA Director of Player Relations, Jayne Appel-Marinelli, are leading the Social Justice Council. The Social Justice group plans to “educate, amplify and mobilize for action”. Clarendon has stood out as a figure for transgender and non-binary people and has shifted the path for others that identify as such to be able to play in the WNBA and feel represented in sports.
Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson (August 24, 1945–July 6, 1992), was an American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen. Johnson said the “P” in their name stood for “Pay It No Mind,” which is what Johnson would say in response to questions from people about her gender. Johnson quickly became a prominent fixture in the LGBTQ community serving as a “drag mother” helping homeless and struggling LGBTQ youth. Johnson was an extremely successful drag queen and known as an outspoken advocate for gay rights. Johnson was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. One of Johnson’s most famous quotes was: “No Pride For Some Of Us Without Liberation For All of Us!”
Tammy Duckworth
The first Thai American woman with a disability elected to Congress, not to mention the first U.S. senator to give birth in office! Now a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel with a Purple Heart, she is celebrated for her brave service in Iraq, where she suffered a grenade attack while flying a helicopter.
Cecilia Chung
Cecilia Chung is an internationally recognized civil rights leader and social justice advocate. She is a transgender woman living openly with HIV and currently serves as Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Evaluation of Transgender Law Center. Chung was the first transgender woman and first Asian to be elected to lead the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Celebration.
Arn Chorn-Pond
Arn Chorn-Pond is a Cambodian musician, human rights activist, and survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime. He is an advocate for the healing and transformative power of the arts, especially music.
Michelle Zauner
Michelle Chongmi Zauner is a Korean-American singer, musician, director, and author. She is best known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the indie rock band Japanese Breakfast She is also the author of the best selling memoir, Crying in H Mart.
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King (November 22, 1943) is an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player. King is an advocate for gender equality and has long been a pioneer for equality and social justice. In 1973, at age 29, she won the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match against men’s tennis champion Bobby Riggs. She was also the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation.
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912–August 24, 1987) Born in West Chater PA Bayard was, American civil rights activist who was an adviser to Martin Luther King, Jr., and who was the main organizer of the March on Washington in 1963. In 1953 Rustin, was arrested in California for being homosexual. He served 50 days in jail. Bayard’s sexuality caused him to have to work behind the scenes, but he was still hugely influential within the civil rights movement.
Abby Stein
Abby Stein (October 1, 1991) is an American transgender author, activist, blogger, model, speaker, and rabbi. She is the first openly transgender woman raised in a Hasidic community. In 2015, she founded the first support group nationwide for trans people of Orthodox Jewish background. Stein is also the first woman, and the first openly transgender woman, to have been ordained by an Orthodox institution, having received her rabbinical degree in 2011. Stein currently works in many capacities as a rabbi. In 2018, she co-founded Sacred Space, a multi-faith project “which celebrates women and non-binary people of all faith traditions.”
Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Glenn-Copeland is a singer, songwriter, and transgender activist from Philadelphia. In 1961, Glenn-Copeland was one of the first black students to study at McGill University in Montreal. Glenn-Copeland has released acclaimed folk-jazz and synth explorations that are considered ahead-of-their-time masterpieces.
Fallon Fox
Fallon Fox (November 29, 1975) is the first who is openly transgender American mixed martial artist. As a transgender woman and feminist in a male dominated sport, Fox has been an advocate and trailblazer for trans-inclusion in sports. Fox was born in the industrial city of Toledo, Ohio and grew up the middle child of three. She joined her high school wrestling team her senior year in order to get into shape and have a base for self defense. After high school, Fox served in the United States Navy for 4 years, as an Operations Specialist. Fox later attended the University of Toledo, where she studied transgender/transsexual issues/concepts in order to better understand herself. In addition to MMA, Fox speaks publicly of her story, and how Mixed Martial Arts and other contact sports can empower all women.
Gloria Casarez
Gloria Casarez (December 13, 1971 – October 19, 2014) was an American civil rights leader and LGBT activist in Philadelphia. Casarez served as Philadelphia’s first director of Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) affairs. During her tenure as director, Philadelphia ranked as the number one city nationwide for LGBT equality after adopting the broadest LGBT rights protections in the nation, when Mayor Nutter signed Bill No. 130224 into law.
Jaci Adams
Was a trailblazer and leader in the Philadelphia transgender community, impacting individuals, organizations, and the city as a whole. Jaci lead numerous efforts to ensure transgender people were treated with dignity and respect by advocating for decent housing and education. Jaci Adams legacy lives on in the many organizations in Philadelphia that serve the trans community to this day.
Celena Morrison
Celena Morrison currently serves as the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs. In 2020, she became the first openly transgender person to ever lead an office in the city of Philadelphia.
November
November 1-30
Native American Heritage Month
Native American Heritage Month, also known as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month in honor of the diverse indigenous populations here in America. This month is a time to reflect on the difficult history of colonization that affects many Native Americans who cultivated this land before most of us. It is a time to celebrate and uplift the voices that have historically been silenced by our history books and remember the importance of preserving histories that were almost forgotten.
Part of the equity work we are doing here in Philadelphia – work that is ongoing nationwide – is acknowledging, reflecting, appreciating, learning and more deeply understanding our history, especially the history of marginalized populations who have historically been mistreated. The Lenapehoking (Lenni-Lenape) people are native to the Philadelphia territory where we reside, work, or attend school. The City of Philadelphia has honored the Lenapehoking people through a land acknowledgement – a formal recognition of the indigenous population that came before us who were, often violently, removed due to colonization. This is a small, but vital, first step toward acknowledging our difficult histories and seeking restoration.
Curtis Zunigha
Curtis Zunigha is an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma. He is director of Cultural Resources at the tribe and has served for over 30 years in many capacities of culture and community. Mr. Zunigha is co-founder and co-director of the Lenape Center, a nonprofit corporation based in New York City which promotes the history and culture of the Lenape people through the arts, humanities, and social identity. As a tradition-bearer of the Lenape culture he has proficiency in language, history, customs, singing and leading Lenape social dances.
Tamanend
The Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the Peace Treaty with William Penn. Tamanend is best known as a lover of peace and friendship.
Chester “Chet” Brooks
Chester “Chet” Brooks had spent 35 years helping to lead the tribe in Bartlesville, in the same town he was born. He served on the Delaware Tribe’s council and trust boards before he was elected chief in November 2014.
When his tribe’s federal recognition was imperiled in the 1970s, Brooks met the Secretary of the Interior on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. He brought with him a list of 26 treaties that proved the Delaware existed.
Kaitchkona Winema
Kaitchkona Winema, also known as Toby Riddle, was a Modoc woman who served as an interpreter in negotiations between the Modoc tribe and the United States Army during the Modoc War.She and her family toured with Meacham after the war, starring in his lecture-play “Tragedy of the Lava Beds”, to inform American people about the war. Meacham later published a book about Winema, which he dedicated to her. In 1891 Toby Riddle was one of the few Native American women to be awarded a military pension by the United States Congress, for her heroic actions during the peace negotiations in 1873.
Janet Alkire
Janet Alkire was born and raised in Fort Yates on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. Over the last 15 years, Janet has continued to work towards tribal sovereignty and effective governance. She worked for Senator Heidi Heitkamp, the Northern Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center (NPTEC), United Tribes Technical College (UTTC), and other tribal nations. She served as Executive Director of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe again in 2017. She currently serves as the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairwoman.
Winona LaDuke
Winona LaDuke is an American economist, environmentalist, writer and industrial hemp grower, known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development.
Secretary Deb Haaland
Secretary Deb Haaland made history when she became the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. She is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and a 35th-generation New Mexican.
Heather Purser
Heather Purser is an LGBT advocate, diver, and member of the Suquamish tribe in Seattle, Washington. She is known for pioneering same-sex marriage rights for her tribe, making the Suquamish tribe the second Native American tribe to amend their laws to recognize same-sex marriage, the first being the Oregon Coquille tribe.Purser is openly lesbian and came out during her teens.
Edmonia Lewis
One of the first Black professional sculptors, Edmonia Lewis broke down both racial and gender barriers with her works of art standing tall in the Smithsonian and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Born in 1844 to a Haitian father and Ojibwe mother, Lewis has a shared African and Indigenous American heritage, though she was orphaned by the age of 7. Her most famous work of art is the marble “The Death of Cleopatra,” which was carved in 1876 and acquired by the Smithsonian in the 1990s. Lewis spent time sculpting in Europe, and many of her sculptures speak to the Black experience throughout history.
Sacheen Littlefeather
Sacheen Littlefeather made history at the 1973 Academy Awards when she accepted the award for Best Actor on behalf of Marlon Brando. Littlefeather’s speech, which protested the film industry’s treatment of Indigenous people, may have caught the audience off guard, but she is proud to be the first Indigenous woman to have used the Academy Awards as a platform.
John Herrington
When the STS-113 Endeavour launched from Kennedy Space Center in November 2002, it carried the first Indigenous American into space. John Herrington carried the Chickasaw Nation flag, a traditional flute, and a few other personal items with him. His journey has seen him as a naval officer, a NASA astronaut, and on the big screen, in the IMAX movie “Into America’s Wild.” With a passion for Indigenous oral storytelling and a love for science, Herrington travels the world to tell his stories from the stars. He wants to encourage more Indigenous youth to get into the STEM fields and reclaim their ancestral legacy of engineering, astronomy, and science.
Tommy Orange
Author Tommy Orange is a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, but he wasn’t surrounded by the Indigenous community in his hometown of Oakland, California. His debut novel, “There There,” won an award at the 2018 National Book Circle Awards. In sharing the Indigenous perspective in a contemporary way, Orange speaks about the relocation of his people to the cities and how assimilative culture has left many Indigenous communities feeling “voiceless” and underrepresented.
- Indigenous Peoples Day Philly
- Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania
- Penn Museum- Native American Voices
- Indigenous Pennsylvania
- Administration for Native Americans (ANA)
- Philadelphia’s Forgotten Forebears: How Pennsylvania Erased the Lenape From Local History
- Center for Native American and Indigenous Research
- National Museum of the American Indian logo
November 13-20
Transgender Awareness Week & Transgender Day of Remembrance
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
The week before TDOR, people and organizations around the country participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise visibility for transgender people and address issues the community faces.
January
January 16
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Upcoming Events
January 15, 8:30am – 1:00pm MLK Day of Service at McClure School – Volunteers Needed
Alexander K. McClure Elementary School, 600 W Hunting Park Ave, Philadelphia, PA Learn More
January 15, 9am – 1pm – MLK Day of Service at Samuel Gompers School – 5701 Wynnefield Ave, Philadelphia, PA
January 15 – Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service. Learn More
February
February 1-28
Black History Month
Black History Month was created in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Initially called Negro History Week, the celebration expanded to a full month in 1976, in order to focus even greater attention on the contributions of African Americans in the United States and throughout the diaspora. Today, Black History Month continues to amplify and deepen the exploration and elevation of African Americans and their contributions to society through film screenings, museum exhibits, and by encouraging the study of the accomplishments of African Americans year-round.
Upcoming Events
February 6 | 5pm – 6:30 pm
Panel Discussion: Unapologetically Black Education: Strategies for Dismantling Systems of Domination
Dan Rodden Theater – La Salle University Union Building (1900 W Olney Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19141)
Register Here
February 9 | 5pm-9pm
Second Annual Rosa Parks Birthday Celebration
Free Library of Philadelphia – 1901 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Register Here
February 15, | 12:30pm – 2:30 pm
Living Wax Museum
Kearny School – 601 Fairmount Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19123
February 29 | 4-6pm
The Sound of Philadelphia: A Black History Month Dance & Music Production
Edward Gideon School 2817 West Glenwood Ave Philadelphia, PA 19121
Children $3 | Adults $5
Marcus Garvey
Inspired millions of Black people worldwide advocating for unity, self-determination, and racial pride. Founded the Negro World newspaper and, with his wife Amy Ashwood Garvey, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1919 that had over 1 million members.
bell hooks
Author, poet, educator, feminist, and activist dedciated to centering the most marginalized voices in her writing and teaching. Helped develop the idea of radical relationship building inside and outside the classroom.
Octavius Catto
A leading post-Civil War political activist in Philadelphia, educator at the Institute for Colored Youth (now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania) and co-founder of the Philadelphia Pythians baseball team. He was assassinated in Philadelphia on election day in 1876.
Kamala Harris
As the 49th vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris is the highest-ranking female elected official in U.S. history, and the nation’s first female, first African American and first Asian American vice president.
Daniel Hale Williams
Williams founded the first interracial hospital in America in 1891. The hospital served as the first school for black nurses in the country.
Constance E. Clayton, PhD, EdD, Former School Superintendent
An American educator and civic leader, who served as the first African American and female Superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia.
Joyce Wilkerson
Joyce Wilkerson is one of the first nine members appointed by Mayor Kenney to the Philadelphia Board of Education. Joyce also serves as a mayoral appointee and Chair of the School Reform Commission.
Sandra Dungee Glenn
First female, African-American chair of the School District of Philadelphia’s School Reform Commission. Has been a champion for education students for over 20 years as a Member of the SRC and the CEO of Harambee Charter School.
Mary Jane Patterson
Mary Jane Patterson is the first African-American woman to receive a B.A. degree. She received her degree from Oberlin College and went on to work at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, before becoming the first black principal at Dunbar High School in Washington D.C.
Michelle Alexander
A highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate, legal scholar and author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness — the bestselling book that helped to transform the national debate on racial and criminal justice in the United States.
Edmund Gordon
Is a professor of psychology and was the founder of the federal Head Start program which promotes the school readiness of children from low-income families through agencies in their local community.
Inez Beverly Prosser
Was the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate in psychology, her dissertation documented the psychological harm from racism to Black children learning in integrated schools.
Alain LeRoy Locke
A Philadelphia native and Harvard graduate, was the first African American to win a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship in 1907. Known as the “Dean” or “Father of the Harlem Renaissance”, was an educator, writer, and philosopher.
Ella Baker
Civil rights leader, organizer and human rights advocate who dedicated her life to the betterment of American society. Founding inspiration for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SLCLC) and NAACP.
John Henrik Clarke
A pioneer in the development of Africana Studies in the United States. Served as chairman of the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College of the City University of New York, co-founded the African Heritage Studies Association with Leonard Jeffries.
Marian Wright Edelman
An American activist for children’s rights, Marian Wright Edelman is an iconic champion for disadvantaged Americans and founder and president emerita of the Children’s Defense Fund.
Jeffrey Canada
Geoffrey Canada is an American educator, social activist and author. Since 1990, Canada has been president of the Harlem Children’s Zone in Harlem, New York, an organization that states its goal is to increase high school and college graduation rates among students in Harlem.
William R. Hite, Jr., PhD
The first African-American male Superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia; With a focus on equity, innovation and quality.
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander
First African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in economics in the United States (1921), and the first woman to receive a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She was the first African-American woman to practice law in Pennsylvania
Shirley Chisholm
The first African American woman in Congress (1968) and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties (1972).
Carter G. Woodson
Celebrated as the “Father of Black History” for his 1926 role in establishing Negro History Week, which would eventually be recognized as Black History Month in 1976. He was a PhD and educator for over 30 years — instrumental in providing Black history-related material and content for K-12 classrooms.
Arturo Schomberg
Puerto Rican born Black historian, researcher, writer, and curator dedicated to the study of global African history. Influenced Black thinkers like Zora Neale Hurston during the Harlem Renaissance. Namesake of The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City’s Library system where many pieces of his rare writings are held.
Ida B. Wells
Journalist, educator, and anti-lynching activist, Ida B. Wells was a leading African American leader on an international scale. She was a founding member of the National Association of the Advanced of Colored People (NAACP) and active in several women organizations seeking increased civil rights.
Paul Robeson
A true renaissance man, Robeson rose to international fame as an actor/singer, breaking barriers for Black entertainers at the time. The son of an escaped slave, he advocated for the liberation of Black people in the U.S. and oppressed people across the globe. Spent his last decade with his sister in West Philadelphia.
Frances (Fanny) Jackson Coppin
A former slave, Fanny eventually attended Oberlin College in 1860. Became the first Black teacher at Oberlin Academy and later, the first Black woman principal at Philadelphia’s Institute for Colored Youth (now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania). Philadelphia’s Andrew Jackson Elementary was renamed Fanny Jackson Coppin Elementary in 2021.
Amanda Gorman
Activist and author Amanda Gorman is the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, delivering The Hill We Climb at the 49th Presidential Inauguration.
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and advisor to multiple presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African American community and of the contemporary black elite.
Thurgood Marshall
As a lawyer, Thurgood Marshall succeeded in having the Supreme Court declared segregated public schools unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). He would later become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.
James Baldwin
James Baldwin was a writer and activist whose works explore the complexity of race, class and sexual orientation as they relate to living in America. Some of his most notable works include Notes of a Native Son and If Beale Street Could Talk.
Frederick Douglass Patterson
The third president of Tuskegee University and the founder of the United Negro College Fund. At Tuskegee, he founded the School of Veterinary Medicine. He served on President Harry Trumans’ Commission on Higher Education, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan in 1987.
Jahana Hayes
Jahana was recognized as National Teacher of the Year in 2016 for her emphasis on teaching kindness, compassion and customer service as well as traditional subjects. Currently Jahana is serving as the first African-American woman and first African-American Democrat to represent the state of Connecticut in Congress.
Dr. Jami Valentine
Was the first African American woman to graduate with a PhD in physics from Johns Hopkins University. She created the website AAWIP.com, which celebrates African American Women in Physics; Dobbins graduate.
Molefi Kete Asante
Is a professor and philosopher, who created the country’s first African-American studies Ph.D. program at Temple University in 1987.
Septima Poinsette Clark
A black American educator and civil rights activist. Clark developed the literacy and citizenship workshops that played an important role in the drive for voting rights and civil rights for African Americans.
Little Rock 9
Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas and Carlotta Walls were black students who enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957. Their attendance was a test of a landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
Dr. Asa G. Hilliard
Scholar, psychologist, historian and respected educator who greatly influenced the education of African-American students. Wrote more than 200 reports, books and articles on ancient African history, teaching strategies, African culture and child development during his career.
W.E.B. DuBois
Considered the foremost American intellectual of the 20th century, he was an educator, writer, activist, sociologist, and the first African American to obtain a PhD from Harvard. Co-founded the NAACP. Performed the first modern sociological study in Philadelphia’s Black 9th ward.
Anna Julia Cooper
Educator, sociologist, and women’s rights activist, who focused on advocating education as a liberatory tool for Black women. International scholar who is recognized as one of first women to give voice to Black feminism.
Ruby Bridges
Ruby Nell Bridges Hall is an American civil rights activist. She was the first African-American child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis on November 14, 1960.
Brenda A. Allen, PhD
Current president of Lincoln University, and lifelong educator, Brenda has spent her life improving educational opportunities for students of color. Brenda Allen has held professorship positions at Yale University, Smith College, Brown University, and Winston Salem State University.
Ruth Wright Hayre
Dr. Ruth Wright Hayre became Philadelphia’s first African-American high school principal in 1956. She graduated from West Philadelphia High School at 15 and earned a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania by age 20. Richard Wright Elementary is named after her grandfather.
Toni Morrison
An American novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Octavia Butler
Internationally renowned sci-fi author with over a dozen novels translated in at least 10 languages. As a Black author, she explored gender and race centering Black woman protagonists in stories ranging from past explorations of American identity to Afro-futurist dystopian tales.
March
March 1-31
Womens History Month
Women’s History Month began as a week-long celebration in March of 1982. In 1987, following the petitioning of the National Women’s History Project, March was declared “Women’s History Month.” Since then, Presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating March as “Women’s History Month.” These proclamations celebrate the contributions of women to our nation and their achievements over the course of American history, in a variety of fields.
This month, the School District of Philadelphia celebrates and acknowledges the contributions women have made to our District, city, and nation.
Upcoming Events
Quinta Brunson
Brunson is a writer, producer, comedian, and actress from West Philadelphia. She is the creator, executive producer, writer, and star of the ABC comedy Abbott Elementary.
Nellie Bly
Elizabeth Jane Cochran, better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was a journalist, industrialist, inventor, and charity worker. She was a pioneer in her field and launched a new kind of investigative journalism.
Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte
Susan La Flesche Picotte was a Native American doctor and reformer in the late 19th century. She is widely acknowledged as one of the first Indigenous peoples, and the first Indigenous woman, to earn a medical degree.
Sadie Alexander
Sadie Alexander was an economist, lawyer, and civil rights advocate who achieved multiple firsts as a Black woman. She was one of the first African American women in the United States to earn a doctoral degree and to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania’s law school.
Quiara Alegria Hudes
Central High graduate Quiara Alegría Hudes is a playwright, producer, lyricist and essayist. She is best known for writing the book for the musical In the Heights. Her book My Broken Language is the 2022 pick for One Book One Philadelphia.
Betsy Ross
Betsy Ross was a businesswoman and working mother, she was representative of so many women of her time who, although largely forgotten by history, were the backbone of colonial America.
Yuri Kochiyama
Yuri Kochiyama was an American civil rights activist. Influenced by her Japanese-American family’s experience in an American internment camp, she advocated for many causes, including the anti-war movement, reparations for Japanese-American internees, and the rights of political prisoners.
Jill Scott
Girls High graduate Jill Scott is a singer-songwriter, model, poet, and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winner and a New York Times best-selling poet.
Tina Sloan Green
Girls High graduate Tina Sloan Green was the first black head coach in the history of women’s intercollegiate lacrosse and the only Temple coach in any sport to win three national titles. Green focused on providing opportunities for black girls and women in sports.
Charlene Arcila
Transgender activist Charlene Arcila was known for both her advocacy and activism; among her achievements, she founded the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference and filed a discrimination complaint against SEPTA’s use of gender markers, which it ultimately removed.
Hulleah Tsinhnahjinni
Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie is a two-spirit Seminole-Muscogee-Navajo photographer, museum director, curator, and professor. They are known for artwork depicting Native women and families and urban Native people.
- Mayor’s Office of Engagement for Women
- Health & Wellbeing Resources for Families from the Office of Family & Community Engagement
- Philadelphia Resources for Black Women
- West Philadelphia Skills Initiative
- Economic Empowerment Resources for Women
- Women’s Opportunity Resource Center– WORC provides training, individual business assistance, incentive savings program, job placement, and access to business and financial resources.
- Women in Nontraditional Careers
- Self Employment Training Program
- Women’s Way – To inspire and mobilize the community to invest in organizations and leaders that will advance the rights of and opportunities for women and girls, and achieve gender equity for all.
- SCORE for Women Entrepreneurs – SCORE is here to help you fulfill your business ownership goals and achieve greater success. Along with resources and tools created especially for women entrepreneurs, SCORE offers free and confidential business advice. SCORE mentors, many of them successful women small business owners, are ready to help you achieve your business goals.
- The Wardrobe
- City of Philadelphia: Education Resources for Women and Girls
- Renegament Center
- City of Philadelphia Health and Wellness Resources for Women and Girls
- Women In Transition – offers free and confidential services in Philadelphia: telephone and crisis counseling, peer support groups, individual empowerment counseling, client advocacy and referrals, community education trainings, and WAVE empowerment self-defense classes.
- Resources for Human Development– RHD’s Family House programs – operating in Philadelphia and Norristown – remains one of the few programs in the country that works with mothers and children together in a residential treatment setting. RHD also provides a full network of supportive services for parents and their children in programs like Families in Transition, a transitional housing program that features intensive case management.
- Womenshelters.org
- Hope Pregnancy Centers
- Elect Program
- Maternity Care Coalition
- Women’s History Month Website
- National Women’s History Museum
- National Women’s History Alliance
- National Archives-Women’s Rights
- National Parks Service- Women’s History
- Unladylike 2020
- New York Historical Society’s Center for Women’s History
- Women’s Way
- Amnesty International Women’s Rights
- U.S. Department of State- Global Women’s Issues
- Womenkind Worldwide
- UN Women
- How Men Can be Better Allies to Women
- UNICEF Gender Equality
- 9 Ways Men can become Allies for Equal Rights
- Girls’ Education and Gender Rights Issues
April
April 1-30
Arab American Heritage Month
This April the School District of Philadelphia celebrates Arab American Heritage Month. Honoring the rich contributions of the diverse population of Arab Americans, April has been recognized as Arab American Heritage Month since 2017.
An estimated 3.7 million Americans have Arab roots, according to the Arab American Institute, with ancestries traced to 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and others.
In a letter to the Arab America and the Arab American Foundation, President Biden wrote, “Diversity is one of our greatest strengths, and it is essential that we continue celebrating, promoting, and educating others about the myriad ways that the Arab people have advanced human civilization and contributed to the well-being of our nation.”
Upcoming Events
April 1-30
Diversity Month
Celebrate Diversity Month takes place in April every year. It was initiated in 2004 to recognize and honor the diversity of the world around us. It is a time to recognize and understand our differences, be it gender, race, ethnicity, faith, sexual orientation, and other factors, while honoring the common essence of humanity.
Adelmise Warner
Adelmise is VP, Global Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Learning and Development for Sirius XM and Pandora and is a cultivator of Diverse and Inclusive Workforces. She strongly believes that being inclusive is good for morale, and can strengthen a company’s bottom line.
Michelle Kim
Michelle has been a social justice activist and community organizer serving on organizations like the San Francisco LGBTQ Speakers Bureau, UC LGBTIQ Association Steering Committee, San Francisco Human Rights Commission’s Advisory Committee, and LYRIC youth nonprofit’s Board of Directors.
Candice Morgan
Candice Morgan leads strategy and programs at Pinterest to enhance a diverse and inclusive company. She has over a decade of experience in diversity strategy and practice from her time at Catalyst, the leading nonprofit for research, advisory, and practices on women in business, and is a frequent speaker and advisor at conferences and events worldwide.
Asif Sadiq
Asif is a Multi-Award-Winning Diversity and Inclusion expert with over 15 years’ experience. He is currently the Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging for The Telegraph.
Anj Handa
Anj Handa is the founder of Inspiring Women Changemakers (IWC), a global, women-led movement of changemakers who are focused on the advancement of women. One of the things that IWC is dedicated to is lobbying on social issues that hold women back.
Deborah Dagit
Deborah is a highly regarded diversity/inclusion expert & former Fortune 100 CDO with 20+ years of experience. She was a key lobbyist for passage of the American with Disabilities Act, leader of Learning Communications and Diversity at Silicon Graphics and head of Strategic Cultural Initiatives for Sun Microsystems and CDO at Merck for 11 years.
Torin Perez
Torin Perez is a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant on a mission to inspire authenticity and inclusive leadership in the workplace. He is also a sought-after speaker and the author of the book Who Am I to Lead? The World Is Waiting for You.
John Marble
John Marble is the founder of Pivot and is a writer and speaker on innovation, autism, and neurodiversity. In 2009, he was appointed by President Obama to the United States Office of Personnel Management
Stephen Shore
Diagnosed with “Atypical Development and strong autistic tendencies” and “too sick” for outpatient treatment. Shore was recommended for institutionalization. Nonverbal until four, and with much support from his parents, teachers, wife, and others, Stephen is now a professor at Adelphi University where his research focuses on matching best practices to the needs of people with autism.
Multilingual/Linguistic Resources
- Multilingual Family Support
- Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs (OMCP)
- Multilingual Contact
- Philly Language Services
- Philadelphia Translation Services
- Translators
Neurodiversity Resources
- Neurodiversity Network
- Neurodiversity Work How More Inclusive
- Specialized Services
- Neurodiverse Social Communication
- Neurodiversity Articles
Accessibility/Disability Resources
- Office for people with disabilities
- Accessibility standards in the US
- Accessibility-checklists
- Workplace Accessible
- 5 Documentaries to watch on the importance of accessibility and inclusion
- Liberty Resources
- Disability Pride PA
Cultural/Immigration Resources
May
May 1-31
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is observed in the United States during the month of May, and recognizes the contributions and influence of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States.
Upcoming Events
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Month – 2022– This comprehensive guide offers resources for studying AAPI from a variety of perspectives.
- AAPI Heritage Official Website
- History of AAPI in Philadelphia
- Power of Words Handbook A Guide to Language about Japanese Americans In World War II
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Month – 2022
- AAPI Population in Pennsylvania
- Mayors Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs
- AAPI Data
- Korean American Historical Society
- AANHPI Resource Center
- Central Asian American Course
- South Asian American Digital Archive
- The History of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
- Erasure and Resilience: The Experiences of LGBTQ Students of Color
- Coming Out Sheets: Multilingual
- Family is Still Family PSA’s
- Unspoken: Asian Americans on Coming Out to Immigrant Parents
- Telling Our Own Stories: Queer Asian Youth Writing Project
- I am Asian American
- First Queer Generation
- Kumu Hina: A Place in the Middle
- Always Love: Joanna Fang
- 10 South Asian LGBTQ Books that Changed My Life
- Q&A Space: Stories and Resources for the API LGBTQ Community
Kiyoshi Kuromiya
Kiyoshi Kuromiya was a Japanese American author and civil rights, anti-war, gay liberation, and HIV/AIDS activist.
Grace Lee Boggs
Grace Lee Boggs was an American author, social activist, philosopher, and feminist. She is known for her years of political collaboration with C. L. R. James and Raya Dunayevskaya in the 1940s and 1950s.
Haunani-Kay Trask
Haunani-Kay Trask was a Hawaiian activist, educator, author, and poet. She served as leader of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and was professor emeritus at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Pang Xiong Sirirathasuk Sikoun
Pang Xiong Sirirathasuk is a master paj ntaub artist (Intricate textile art, translates to flower cloth, or story cloth), has been active in encouraging other Hmong women to maintain this art, and is dedicated to passing it on to the next generation. She has taught paj ntaub and other Hmong arts to young people in museums, at the Smithsonian folklife festival, and in community settings.She was among the tens of thousands of refugee Hmong who fled the communist-backed Pathet Lao government following years of war in Southeast Asia.
Hasan Minhaj
Hasan Minhaj is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host of Indian descent. His Netflix show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj won two Peabody Awards and two Webby Awards.
Bhairavi Desai
Bhairavi Desai is a founding member of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a union representing approximately 15,000 taxi drivers in New York City. She is known as a social activist, including her efforts for social justice for the “Cuba, Palestine, and El Salvador solidarity movements”
Jordan Mailata
Jordan Mailata is a Samoan Australian professional offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He previously played rugby league for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs under-18s team and the South Sydney Rabbitohs on their under-20s team.
Tammy Duckworth
The first Thai American woman with a disability elected to Congress, not to mention the first U.S. senator to give birth in office! Now a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel with a Purple Heart, she is celebrated for her brave service in Iraq, where she suffered a grenade attack while flying a helicopter.
Cecilia Chung
Cecilia Chung is an internationally recognized civil rights leader and social justice advocate. She is a transgender woman living openly with HIV and currently serves as Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Evaluation of Transgender Law Center. Chung was the first transgender woman and first Asian to be elected to lead the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Celebration.
Arn Chorn-Pond
Arn Chorn-Pond is a Cambodian musician, human rights activist, and survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime. He is an advocate for the healing and transformative power of the arts, especially music.
Michelle Zauner
Michelle Chongmi Zauner is a Korean-American singer, musician, director, and author. She is best known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the indie rock band Japanese Breakfast She is also the author of the best selling memoir, Crying in H Mart.
Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka is a Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. She is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion.
May 1-31
Jewish American Heritage Month
The School District of Philadelphia honors and recognizes Jewish American Heritage Month. Jewish American Heritage Month began as a week of recognition in 1980. Then, in 2006, at the behest of Congress and, the President, began to proclaim May was proclaimed as Jewish American Heritage Month. The sentiment in this proclamation is for people to learn more about Jewish Americans, their experiences and their rich contributions to our nation.
To support your efforts to teach and learn about Jewish American culture, not only in May but all year long, please refer to these resources provided by the Anti-Defamation League.
Upcoming Events
June
June 1-31
Pride Month (LGBTQIAA+)
Each year, we acknowledge Pride Month to affirm and uplift the LGBTQIA+ community throughout the United States. Initially celebrated in June in honor of the 1969 Stonewall Riots,, Pride began as a protest, While strides have been made toward mitigating oppression for the LGBTQIA+ community, there is still much to protest. Anti-LGBTQ legislation is harming this community all over the country. It is a time not only to celebrate the many contributions that the LGBTQIA+ community have contributed to society, but to also speak out as allies against the bills and legislation that harm one of our most vulnerable populations. Whether you support LGBTQIA+ businesses, engage in Pride events and parades, donate to organizations that support this community, or speak up and engage in political action, this is a time to come together and show that love is stronger than hate.
Upcoming Events
Student Resources
Click Here for Student LGBTQIAA+ Resources, Name/Gender Change Process, and District Policies.
Teacher/Staff Resources
Pride Month Toolkit – Learn more
This Toolkit includes a variety of resources, images, sample social media, and publications to support you in amplifying the voices and experiences of LGBTQ youth—this month, and every month!
Listen, Learn, & Share: Learn about LGBTQIA+ History by listening to these LGBTQIA+ Icons.
Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde (February 18, 1934–November 17, 1992) is an American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist. Lorde was a self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” who dedicated her life and her work to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, capitalism, heterosexism, and homophobia. In her novel Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Lorde focuses on how her many different identities shape her life and the different experiences she has because of them. She shows us that personal identity is found within the connections between seemingly different parts of one’s life, based on lived experience, and that one’s authority to speak comes from this lived experience.
Sylvia Rivera
Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951–February 19, 2002) was an American gay liberation, and transgender rights activist who was also a noted community worker in New York. Rivera, who identified as a drag queen,[participated in demonstrations with the Gay Liberation Front. With close friend Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens, gay youth, and trans women.
Brian Sims
Brian Sims (Sept 16th, 1978) is a Democrat member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives of the 182nd District. He was elected in 2012 as the First Openly Gay Legislator in the History of Pennsylania. He won Reelection in November 2018. He is 42 years old. Mr. Sims is also a Lawyer, and Gay Rights Acitivist. Mr. Sims has worked tirelessly to push a progressive agenda throughout his tenure as a State Rep. He is currently considering a run for Lieutenant Governor.
Harvey Bernard Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930–November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay elected official in the history of California. Milk served almost eleven months in office, during which he sponsored a bill banning discrimination in public accommodations, housing, and employment on the basis of sexual orientation. The Supervisors passed the bill by a vote of 11–1, and it was signed into law by Mayor George Moscone. On November 27, 1978, Milk and Moscone were assassinated by a disgruntled city supervisor.
RuPaul Charles
RuPaul Charles (November 17, 1960), known mononymously as RuPaul, is an American drag queen, actor, model, singer, songwriter, television personality, and author. Since 2009, he has produced and hosted the reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race, for which he has received eight Primetime Emmy Awards. He is considered the most commercially successful drag queen in the United States. In 2017, he was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In 2019, Fortune noted him as “easily the world’s most famous” drag queen.
Malcolm Kenyatta
Malcolm Kenyatta is a Democrat Member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives of the 181st District. He was elected in 2018. He is one of the youngest people ever to be elected to the State Legislature at 28 years old. He is also the First Openly Gay Man of Color ever to be elected to either House of the State Legislature in Pennsylvania History.
Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox (May 29, 1972) is an American actress and LGBTQ+ advocate. Cox is a trailblazer for the transgender community, and has won numerous awards for her activist approach in spreading awareness. Her impact and prominence in the media has led to a growing conversation about transgender culture, specifically transgender women, and how being transgender intersects with one’s race. She is the first transgender person to be on the cover of Time magazine, be nominated for a Primetime Emmy, have a wax work in Madame Tussauds, as well as the first transgender woman to win a Daytime Emmy as an executive producer. In May 2016, Cox was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from The New School in New York City for her progressive work in the fight for gender equality.
Kiyoshi Kuromiya
Kuromiya was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He was a Japanese American author and civil rights and anti-war activist. Kuromiya became an aide to Martin Luther King Jr. He served as an openly gay delegate to the Black Panther Convention that endorsed the gay liberation struggle and was one the founders of America’s Gay Liberation Front/Philadelphia. He was also the editor of ACT UP’s Standard of Care, the first medical treatment and cultural competency guidelines to be produced for people living with HIV by people living with HIV/AIDS.
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (October 25, 1940) often referred to as Miss Major, is a trans woman activist and community leader for transgender rights, with a particular focus on women of color. She served as the original Executive Director for the Transgender Gender Variant Intersex Justice Project, which aims to assist transgender persons, who are disproportionately incarcerated under the prison-industrial complex. Griffin-Gracy has participated in activism for a wide range of causes throughout her lifetime, including the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City.
Layshia Renee Clarendon
Layshia Renee Clarendon (May 2, 1991), is an American basketball player and is the first WNBA player that openly identifies as transgender and non-binary. In 2020, when the WNBA announced the upcoming season to be “Social Justice Season,” Clarendon was a key driver of this work. Clarendon, with the help of other players, and WNBA Director of Player Relations, Jayne Appel-Marinelli, are leading the Social Justice Council. The Social Justice group plans to “educate, amplify and mobilize for action”. Clarendon has stood out as a figure for transgender and non-binary people and has shifted the path for others that identify as such to be able to play in the WNBA and feel represented in sports.
Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson (August 24, 1945–July 6, 1992), was an American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen. Johnson said the “P” in their name stood for “Pay It No Mind,” which is what Johnson would say in response to questions from people about her gender. Johnson quickly became a prominent fixture in the LGBTQ community serving as a “drag mother” helping homeless and struggling LGBTQ youth. Johnson was an extremely successful drag queen and known as an outspoken advocate for gay rights. Johnson was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. One of Johnson’s most famous quotes was: “No Pride For Some Of Us Without Liberation For All of Us!”
Tammy Duckworth
The first Thai American woman with a disability elected to Congress, not to mention the first U.S. senator to give birth in office! Now a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel with a Purple Heart, she is celebrated for her brave service in Iraq, where she suffered a grenade attack while flying a helicopter.
Cecilia Chung
Cecilia Chung is an internationally recognized civil rights leader and social justice advocate. She is a transgender woman living openly with HIV and currently serves as Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Evaluation of Transgender Law Center. Chung was the first transgender woman and first Asian to be elected to lead the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Celebration.
Arn Chorn-Pond
Arn Chorn-Pond is a Cambodian musician, human rights activist, and survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime. He is an advocate for the healing and transformative power of the arts, especially music.
Michelle Zauner
Michelle Chongmi Zauner is a Korean-American singer, musician, director, and author. She is best known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the indie rock band Japanese Breakfast She is also the author of the best selling memoir, Crying in H Mart.
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King (November 22, 1943) is an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player. King is an advocate for gender equality and has long been a pioneer for equality and social justice. In 1973, at age 29, she won the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match against men’s tennis champion Bobby Riggs. She was also the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation.
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912–August 24, 1987) Born in West Chater PA Bayard was, American civil rights activist who was an adviser to Martin Luther King, Jr., and who was the main organizer of the March on Washington in 1963. In 1953 Rustin, was arrested in California for being homosexual. He served 50 days in jail. Bayard’s sexuality caused him to have to work behind the scenes, but he was still hugely influential within the civil rights movement.
Abby Stein
Abby Stein (October 1, 1991) is an American transgender author, activist, blogger, model, speaker, and rabbi. She is the first openly transgender woman raised in a Hasidic community. In 2015, she founded the first support group nationwide for trans people of Orthodox Jewish background. Stein is also the first woman, and the first openly transgender woman, to have been ordained by an Orthodox institution, having received her rabbinical degree in 2011. Stein currently works in many capacities as a rabbi. In 2018, she co-founded Sacred Space, a multi-faith project “which celebrates women and non-binary people of all faith traditions.”
Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Glenn-Copeland is a singer, songwriter, and transgender activist from Philadelphia. In 1961, Glenn-Copeland was one of the first black students to study at McGill University in Montreal. Glenn-Copeland has released acclaimed folk-jazz and synth explorations that are considered ahead-of-their-time masterpieces.
Fallon Fox
Fallon Fox (November 29, 1975) is the first who is openly transgender American mixed martial artist. As a transgender woman and feminist in a male dominated sport, Fox has been an advocate and trailblazer for trans-inclusion in sports. Fox was born in the industrial city of Toledo, Ohio and grew up the middle child of three. She joined her high school wrestling team her senior year in order to get into shape and have a base for self defense. After high school, Fox served in the United States Navy for 4 years, as an Operations Specialist. Fox later attended the University of Toledo, where she studied transgender/transsexual issues/concepts in order to better understand herself. In addition to MMA, Fox speaks publicly of her story, and how Mixed Martial Arts and other contact sports can empower all women.
Gloria Casarez
Gloria Casarez (December 13, 1971 – October 19, 2014) was an American civil rights leader and LGBT activist in Philadelphia. Casarez served as Philadelphia’s first director of Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) affairs. During her tenure as director, Philadelphia ranked as the number one city nationwide for LGBT equality after adopting the broadest LGBT rights protections in the nation, when Mayor Nutter signed Bill No. 130224 into law.
Jaci Adams
Was a trailblazer and leader in the Philadelphia transgender community, impacting individuals, organizations, and the city as a whole. Jaci lead numerous efforts to ensure transgender people were treated with dignity and respect by advocating for decent housing and education. Jaci Adams legacy lives on in the many organizations in Philadelphia that serve the trans community to this day.
Celena Morrison
Celena Morrison currently serves as the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs. In 2020, she became the first openly transgender person to ever lead an office in the city of Philadelphia.