Recognizing Black History Month as an important time to celebrate the remarkable and unique contributions of all LGBTQI+ Black Americans in United States history.

Whereas Black History Month is a historic tradition beginning in 1926 to honor and celebrate the aspirations and accomplishments of Black individuals, both past and contemporary; Whereas our Nation has been enriched by the countless contributions of generations of LGBTQI+ Black individuals, most of whom have never been seen or recognized; Whereas untold LGBTQI+ Black individuals have experienced the compounding impacts of racism and anti-LGBTQI+ bias and hatred, but nonetheless continued to fight for justice and equity; Whereas it is critically important to reflect upon and celebrate the unique contributions that Black LGBTQI+ leaders have made throughout the history of our Nation; Whereas Alvin Ailey was a famed dancer and choreographer, who moved audiences with his thrillingly theatrical dance moves for decades; Whereas James Baldwin was a powerful novelist, playwright, and social critic, who educated and prodded our Nation’s conscience with his words; Whereas Glenn Burke, a Major League Baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics, was the league’s first openly gay player and delighted the world by inventing the high-five; Whereas Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza, two of the three founders of Black Lives Matter, inspired a civil rights movement grounded in justice and equality; Whereas Andrea Jenkins is the first openly transgender woman to be elected to public office in the State of Minnesota and the first Black transgender woman elected to public office in the Nation; Whereas Martin Jenkins made history in 2020 as the first openly gay California Supreme Court Justice and just the third Black man to serve on the State’s highest court; Whereas Marsha P. Johnson was a transgender rights activist and drag performer who fought anti-LGBTQI+ police raids and helped lead the Stonewall Uprising in June 1969; Whereas Barbara Jordan was a lawyer, civil rights leader, and the first African American elected to the House of Representatives from Texas; Whereas Simone Bell made history as the first out Black lesbian ever elected to serve in a State legislature; Whereas Stormé DeLarverie, born in 1920, was a drag king performer of the Jewel Box Revue and a community advocate; Whereas Lori Lightfoot made history in 2019, when she was elected the first openly LGBTQI+ person and first Black woman to serve as mayor of Chicago, the Nation’s third largest city; Whereas Karine Jean-Pierre made history in 2022, when she was selected the first openly LGBTQI+ person and first Black woman to serve as White House Press Secretary; Whereas Angela Davis has been a radical champion of civil rights and social justice as an author, professor, scholar, and activist for LGBTQI+ rights, gender equity, and anti-racism; Whereas Audre Lorde, an acclaimed poet, author, and essayist, gave countless readers the gift of her insights on race, class, and gender; Whereas Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a transgender activist and Stonewall Uprising veteran, has spoken out for justice for marginalized communities for decades; Whereas Frances Thompson, a former slave, made history as the first transgender woman to testify before a congressional committee in 1886; Whereas Pauli Murray, LGBTQI+ feminist, author, lawyer, and minister was the first Black woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest; Whereas Ron Oden made history in Palm Springs, California, as the first Black openly gay mayor of a United States city; Whereas Bayard Rustin was a civil rights activist who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington; Whereas Sean Saifa Wall, a Black intersex and transgender activist, speaks out against surgical and medical interventions on intersex infants and fights for intersex liberation entwined with Black liberation; Whereas Bria Brown-King was the first intersex person to speak about intersex issues on the steps of the Supreme Court; Whereas Jewel Thais-Williams founded Jewel’s Catch One in 1973 as an inclusive, welcoming space for Black LGBTQI+ Angelenos to gather and celebrate alongside legendary performers such as Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Donna Summer, and Whoopi Goldberg; Whereas Jahni Leggett is a passionate advocate for intersex youth of color and fights against medically unnecessary surgeries performed on intersex babies and children; Whereas Black advocates have deep and valuable experience promoting equality and are now leading major LGBTQI+ advocacy groups, including Kelley Robinson at the Human Rights Campaign, Imani Rupert-Gordon at National Center for Lesbian Rights, Kierra Johnson at National LGBTQ Task Force, David Johns at National Black Justice Coalition, Gabriel Foster at Trans Justice Funding Project, Carter Brown at Black TransMen Inc., Melanie Willingham-Jaggers at GLSEN, and Stacey Stevenson at Family Equality Council; and Whereas Phill Wilson is the visionary founder of the Black AIDS Institute and a tireless advocate for people living with HIV: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives recognizes Black History Month as an important time to celebrate the remarkable and unique contributions of all LGBTQI+ Black Americans in United States history—those whose names we easily recognize and those whose names we will never know.

Summary: This resolution recognizes Black History Month as an important time to celebrate the unique contributions of all LGBTQI+ Black Americans in U.S. history.