06/01/2026
June is a month to uplift individuals of the LGBTQ+ community. Historically — violence and silence has created harm for those who navigate a world that challenges their existence. The Exchange celebrates the leaders of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Happy Pride Month! 🏳️🌈
Below is a nonexhaustive list of leaders who have defended democracy, demanded diversity, and defeated poverty.
•Ritchie Torres — American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for New York’s 15th congressional district.
•Andrea Jenkins — American politician, activist, poet, and artist. Made history as the first Black openly transgender woman elected to public office in the United States.
•Barbara Johnson - civil rights leader, attorney, and university professor. First Black woman elected to Texas Senate in 1966.
•Bayard Rustin - civil rights leader, key player in the labor right movement. Organized the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Labor.
•James Baldwin — American writer involved in the civil rights movement speaking on racism and homophobia in America.
•Marsha P. Johnson — Transgender right activist, drag queen, and one of the key figures of the Stonewall uprising in 1969.
•Pauli Murray — lawyer, writer, poet, organizer and Episcopal priest. Became the first Black person to earn a Doctor of Law in 1965 and went to con-found the National Organization from Women.
•Mondaire Jones — American attorney and politician in the United States Congress.
•Malcolm Kenyatta — American politician serving as Pennsylvania State Representative for the 181st district.
•Lori Lightfoot — American attorney and politician who served as the 56th mayor of Chicago (2019-2023).
