13/10/2026
There is no q***r history without Black history. 🌈✊🏿
October is Black History Month in the UK, and this year’s theme is “Honouring Your Communities.” It feels especially fitting for this post, as we celebrate some of the Black q***r people whose activism, writing and community-building have helped shape our movement. ✨
At a time when our communities can feel divided, remembering the people and collective effort that brought us here can remind us of the importance of showing up for one another.
Marsha P. Johnson ❤️
A prominent gay liberation activist and a participant in the Stonewall uprising. She went on to co-found STAR with Sylvia Rivera, creating support for LGBTQ+ young people experiencing homelessness. Marsha’s activism was rooted in caring for people who were too often excluded, even within q***r communities.
Stormé DeLarverie 💛
A butch le***an performer, singer and drag king, and a veteran of the Stonewall uprising. She spent decades looking out for q***r people in New York’s Greenwich Village, earning a reputation as a fierce protector of her community.
William Dorsey Swann 💚
A formerly enslaved Black man who hosted drag balls in Washington, D.C., in the late 19th century. He called himself the ‘queen of the balls’ and resisted police efforts to shut them down. His gatherings created space for Black people to express themselves and come together at a time when doing so carried many risks.
Audre Lorde 🩵
A Black le***an poet, essayist and activist whose writing explored race, sexuality, gender, class and power. Through her poetry and essays, she challenged people to recognise how these parts of our lives intersect, and to build solidarity across difference. Her work continues to shape conversations about feminism, justice and liberation.
Bayard Rustin 💙
A gay civil rights organiser and strategist. He was the deputy director and chief organiser of the 1963 March on Washington, helping bring one of the most significant demonstrations in q***r history to life. Because of the prejudice he faced as a gay man, much of his work was pushed out of public view for years.
Lady Phyll 💜
A British human rights defender and the founder of UK Black Pride. T
