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LGBT History Month profile: Filmaker, poet, activist Marlon Riggs
Marlon Riggs was a filmmaker, educator, poet and gay rights activist. He examined race and sexuality in his documentaries for which he received an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award.
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LGBT History Month profile: Sally Ride, first female American astronaut in space
On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. She later became the only person to serve on the presidential commissions investigating both of the nation’s space shuttle tragedies — the Challenger explosion (1986) and the Columbia disaster (2003).
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LGBT History Month profile: Blues singer, recording artist Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey, called the “Mother of the Blues,” was one of the earliest known American blues singers and recording artists. She is recognized as one of the great female blues vocalists.
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LGBT History Month profile: First out black writer Bruce Nugent
Bruce Nugent was a writer and artist during the Harlem Renaissance. He was the first out black writer.
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LGBT History Month profile: South African activist Simon Nkoli
Simon Nkoli was a South African anti-apartheid, gay rights and AIDS activist. He is recognized as the founder of South Africa’s black gay movement.
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LGBT History Month profile: ‘Hip-Hop’s First Lady,’ Queen Latifah
Known as “Hip-Hop’s First Lady,” Queen Latifah is an acclaimed entertainer in music, film and television. She has received a Grammy, a Golden Globe and two Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.
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LGBT History Month profile: Emmy, Tony award winning actor Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane is an award-winning film, television and theater actor. He has received three Emmys, two Tony Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
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LGBT History Month profile: Activist, ‘Mother of Pride’ Brenda Howard
Brenda Howard was an LGBT activist. She organized the first Pride parade and is known as the “Mother of Pride.” Born in the Bronx, Howard was raised on Long Island. In the 1960s, she became involved in the anti-war and feminist movements.
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LGBT History Month profile: Artist Touko Laaksonen, a.k.a. ‘Tom of Finland’
Tom of Finland was an artist whose sexually charged drawings of musclemen impacted gay culture. He is known as the most influential creator of homoerotic images.
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LGBT History Month profile: Historian and playwright Martin Duberman
Martin Duberman is a historian, a playwright, an LGBT activist and the founder of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School. He is an acclaimed author of more than 20 books.