In early 2019, the Imperial Court System decided to create the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor in New York City to commemorate LGBTQ+ trailblazers in all walks of life who have already died. This year, three prominent LGBTQ+ Chicagoans are among those to be honored, including activist and author Miss Major Griffin Gracy; activist and Equality Illinois Co-Founder Rick Garcia; and business owner and activist Chuck Renslow.
The Wall of Honor is located inside the Historic Stonewall Inn and is now a part of the Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. National Monument designated to honor the country’s LGBTQ+ community and their history. This year’s annual Wall of Honor ceremony takes place at the Historic Stonewall Inn on Thursday, June 25, at 4:30 p.m. EST.
“Rick Garcia helped build the ground LGBTQ+ people in Illinois stand on today,” said Equality Illinois CEO Channyn Lynne Parker. “He led the fight for Chicago’s antidiscrimination ordinance. He helped write our protections into the Illinois Human Rights Act. He never asked if equality would come. He only asked when. Placing his name on the Wall of Honor at Stonewall puts him where he belongs, among the trailblazers who turned courage into law. Equality Illinois exists because Rick helped build it, and we carry his work forward every day.”
“The Leather Archives & Museum is deeply honored to see our founder Chuck Renslow recognized on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor at the Stonewall Inn,” said Leather & Archives Museum Executive Director Gary Wasdin. “For more than six decades, Chuck built the spaces, institutions and movements that gave the leather and LGBTQ+ communities a home, a history and a voice. From the fight for LGBTQ+ legal protections to his stand against censorship, and through his enduring influence on politics and culture, Chuck’s work helped shape the freedoms our community lives today.”
Other inductees include Barbara Gittings, Loraine Hutchins, Luisa Rivera and Soraya Santiago Sollo.
Wall of Honor founder, Imperial Court System titular leader “Empress Nicole the Great, Queen Mother of the Americas” and LGBTQ+ and Latino activist Nicole Murray Ramirez said in a statement, “Now more than ever when we have a presidential administration that is trying to erase the histories of many of our communities, the International LGBTQ Stonewall Wall of Honor’s annual ceremonies at the historic Stonewall Inn are a reminder that a community that does not know where it came from and indeed whose shoulders it stands on does not really know where it’s going.”
National LGBTQ Task Force Director of Communications Wall of Honor presentation leader Cathy Renna said in a statement ahead of the event, “One of the things that’s most gratifying to me is when I’m in the Stonewall Inn and see other people look at the Wall of Honor and pull out their phones to do the research on who these people were. It is sacred ground and a place where their contributions can’t be erased.
“This year, we continue to highlight changemakers who have passed on and hold on a special place in both the LGBTQ+ community’s hearts and culture. This is a very personal year for the Task Force, with the addition of Miss Major, whose fierce demand for LGBTQ+ livelihood inspired generations of activists with her participation in the Stonewall Uprising and founding the House of GG. These honorees were mentors, inspirations and guiding lights for so many of us, and their presence through the Wall of Honor will stand testament to that and offer visitors of the historic Stonewall Inn the chance to learn about all the individuals on the wall—including names they may not be familiar with.”
The TaskForce Facebook page will provide a livestream of the ceremony for those who cannot attend in person.
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