Celebrating LGBTQ History Makers & Our Community at “Reunion: Making History”
Illustrations by Andy Chiang.
Celebrating LGBTQ History Makers & Our Community at “Reunion: Making History”
We may not be able to offer you canapés through your screens, but our virtual Gala on October 16, “Reunion: Making History,” will nevertheless dish up a delicious menu of fantastic performances while honoring LGBTQ pioneers. This year, the GLBT Historical Society is recognizing five extraordinary individuals whose work has advanced the cause of LGBTQ history, arts, culture, society and political leadership.
History Maker Awards
The society is bestowing three History Maker Awards, an honor presented annually to individuals “for significant artistry and contributions to LGBTQ history and culture.” The first honoree is Miss Major, a Black, transgender elder and activist, and veteran of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, who has spent five decades fighting for a better world for the trans and gender-nonconforming community. Miss Major currently mentors Black trans and gender-nonconforming leaders from the South at the House of GG, a retreat center in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Our second honoree is San Francisco-based artist Pamela Peniston. She is a founding member and artistic director of the city’s Queer Cultural Center, where she has provided leadership for the National Queer Arts Festival since 1998 and has commissioned works from many LGBTQ activists and artists of color.
Finally, the third History Maker Award goes to Dr. Maggi Rubenstein, a bisexual activist, educator, sex therapist and sexologist who has devoted her life to social and sexual justice, sex-positive education and health, and community organizing. Over the course of five decades, she cofounded three major sex-education institutions and three bisexual-support organizations. “‘B’ wasn’t originally there in ‘LGBTQ,’” she says. “So I thought it was important to educate people that bisexual people were part of the community, too.”
Clio Award
The Clio Award, given “for advancing understanding of LGBTQ history,” is being presented to historian Gerard Koskovich, a founding member of both the GLBT Historical Society and the Collectif Archives LGBTQI in Paris. He has been active in the movement to create LGBTQ archives and museums for nearly four decades. “The society has been an anchor for many of my efforts as a queer public historian over the past 35 years,” he says. “It has provided invaluable resources, not least of which are the national and international networks of scholars, curators, archivists, collectors, activists and lovers of LGBTQ history it has helped build and sustain.”
Founders Award
Last but not least, the Willie Walker Founders Award is presented “for steadfast support, philanthropy, and leadership.” This year’s honoree is the inimitable Juanita MORE!, who has dedicated her time to raising funds for LGBTQ charities for three decades. The society was the 2019 beneficiary of her legendary Pride party, when Miss MORE declared, “Our future is only as vibrant as it is informed by our past, and I’m honored to help keep that history alive.”
In a year that has disrupted our lives in more ways than we ever thought possible, gathering together — even if only virtually — to honor these five remarkable individuals is an opportunity to reaffirm our sense of belonging to our community. Register for the Gala now!