June is known as Pride Month, a time to celebrate those who identify as LGBTQAI+, and commemorate the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) culture and community.
There are many activists who identify as LGBTQAI+ and also identify as having a disability. Read on to learn more about four individuals who are contributing to making changes in their communities.
Jen Deerinwater
Jen Deerinwater is a journalist, writer, and founder of Crushing Colonialism, an organization that is dedicated to uplifting Indigenous voices. She is a bisexual, Two-Spirit, multiply-disabled, citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma whose writing and photography have been featured in many publications.
Lady Francesca
Lady Francesca is considered the world’s first Black drag queen superstar with Down syndrome. She performs with Drag Syndrome. Lady Francesca is an advocate for disability awareness and inclusivity in the drag community.
Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson a Black transgender activist, was a prominent leader in New York City’s gay rights movement during the 1960s and 1970s. She played a key role in the Stonewall Riots and co-founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), one of the first organizations supporting LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness.
Living with psychiatric and physical disabilities, Johnson understood how overlapping forms of discrimination affect people’s lives. She advocated for dignity, personal choice, and respectful care, reminding us that people with disabilities have long been powerful leaders in movements for justice.
Jerron Herman
Jerron Herman is a well-known choreographer and dancer, who also teaches with Dream Project at the National Dance Institute for children with disabilities. Herman himself has Hemiplegia Cerebral palsy, which has him experience involuntary movement on the left side of his body. He often allows his symptoms to be part of his dance moves.