Women's History Month Honoraries

• LGBTQ+ Rights and Visibility: Kehlani identifies as a lesbian and uses she/they pronouns, frequently advocating for the queer and trans community. They have donated $50,000 to various LGBTQ centers across the U.S. that provide mental health services and safe spaces for at-risk youth.

• Humanitarian Aid (Palestine, Sudan, Congo): Kehlani has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian people, raising over $555,000 for families in Gaza, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo through merchandise sales related to their song "Next 2 U". This activism has faced industry backlash, resulting in canceled deals and performance opportunities.

• Immigrant Rights:During their 2026 Grammy acceptance speech, Kehlani made a bold political statement against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), urging fellow artists to unite against such institutions.

• Native American and Indigenous Representation: As a Native American artist, Kehlani works to open doors for underrepresented backgrounds, participating in discussions regarding indigenous rights and the protection of Native lands.

• Mental Health: They openly discuss their own mental health journey, connecting their musical reflections to their emotional state and advocating for mental health initiatives within marginalized communities.

• LGBTQ+ and Racial Equality: As a Black lesbian, she established the Catch One nightclub in 1973 (often referred to as Jewel's Catch One), which acted as a safe haven for Black LGBTQ+ individuals facing discrimination in other venues.

• HIV/AIDS Advocacy: During the AIDS crisis, she co-founded the Minority AIDS Project in 1987 to provide education and resources to underserved communities of color, served on the board of AIDS Project Los Angeles, and co-founded Rue’s House, a shelter for women and children with HIV/AIDS.

• Community Health: She founded the Village Health Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to providing holistic, affordable healthcare to low-income residents, addressing issues like nutrition, diabetes, and obesity.

She was recognized for her work with the naming of "Jewel Thais-Williams Square" in Los Angeles.

• Civil Rights: She challenged segregation long before the 1950s, refusing to move to the back of a bus in 1940 and pushing for desegregation at the University of North Carolina.

• Gender Equality: Murray coined the term "Jane Crow" to describe the intersectional discrimination faced by Black women. Her legal scholarship was cited in the Supreme Court’s Reed v. Reed (1971) decision, which first recognized that the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause prohibited sex discrimination.

• Legal Activism: She co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and argued that "separate but equal" was inherently unconstitutional, providing groundwork for Brown v. Board of Education.

• Intersectionality: Her work consistently highlighted how race, gender, and economic status intersect, making her a trailblazer for modern intersectional feminism.

• Ordination of Women: She became the first African American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1977, fighting for women's roles in the church. 

• Southern Unity Movement: She serves as a leader of this organization, which focuses on community progress and fighting against injustice.

• Rustin/Lorde Breakfast: As a co-founder of this annual event, she celebrates the legacies of social justice champions Bayard Rustin and Audre Lorde while addressing modern-day threats such as voter suppression and violence against trans and LGBTQ+ individuals.

• Atlanta Pride Grand Marshal: In recognition of her relentless advocacy, she was named a 2024 Atlanta Pride Grand Marshal. 

• Racism and homophobia in government and business institutions.

• Violence against trans people, immigrants, women, and girls.

• The erosion of civil freedoms and voter suppression. 

• HIV/AIDS Awareness: She has served as the Chief Operations Officer of the Minority AIDS Project (MAP) in Los Angeles, a nonprofit agency that provides services to Black, brown, gay, and transgender individuals affected by HIV/AIDS.

• LGBTQ+ Inclusion: As the pastor of the Unity Fellowship Church in Los Angeles and a Black queer artist, she advocates for spiritual spaces that embrace diverse identities.

• Spiritual Community: She leads the Inspire Spiritual Community, which is described as a spiritual community for LGBTQ+ individuals and others, focused on themes such as "stepping into your greatness."

• Sex Education: She has advocated for churches to lead frank discussions on sex education and values to prevent young people from only learning about these topics "in the streets." 

• Reflecting on life experiences, including pain, joy, and the reality of racism.

• Eliciting reflection and creating a sense of peace for the viewer.

• Serving as a refuge and a reminder that "life is beautifully beautiful in spite of it all."

• LGBTQ+ Visibility: Since coming out publicly, she has emphasized that "there should be no shame in being gay," stressing the importance of living openly. Her advocacy is reflected in her professional work; in the 2023 Night Court revival, her iconic character Roz was portrayed as a gay woman marrying her partner, a narrative shift Warfield noted would not have been possible during the show's original 1980s run.

• Representation in Entertainment: Warfield is recognized as a trailblazer whose success helped open doors for generations of Black performers. She continues to advocate for diverse storytelling and the inclusion of marginalized voices within the industry.

• Social and Political Issues: In her return to stand-up comedy and public life after a nearly 20-year hiatus, she has been vocal about various issues including politics, the experience of being a Black woman in society, and the challenges of aging in the public eye.

• Intersectionality & Inclusivity: As a Chicana lesbian, she pushed for feminist spaces to include women of color, lesbian voices, and queer theory, particularly through her groundbreaking work, This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color.

• "Borderlands" Identity & Theory: Through her famous book, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, she championed the experience of living between cultures, languages, and identities, redefining it as a source of strength and creativity rather than division.

• Linguistic Freedom & Spanglish: She championed the right to speak and write in "Chicano Texas Spanish" and other "border tongues," fighting against the shame associated with non-standard English or Spanish.

• Nepantla (The Middle Ground): She coined the term Nepantla and Nepantlera to champion the experience of living in the "middle" of conflicting worlds, navigating, transforming, and bringing together different realities.

• Social Justice & "Spiritual Activism": She encouraged bridging differences and forging connections to dismantle oppression, advocating for an inclusive, often spiritually based, form of activism that begins with personal change. 

Anzaldúa's work remains central to studies in literature, women's studies, and sociology, promoting a world that embraces "otherness" and rejects oppressive, separatist systems.

• Labor Rights and Farmworkers: She played a critical role in securing better wages, safer working conditions (including reducing harmful pesticide exposure), and benefits for farmworkers, negotiating historic contracts in the 1960s and 70s.

• Civil Rights and Social Justice: She has worked to end discrimination against Latinos and immigrants, advocating for voting rights, education reform, and improved infrastructure in underserved communities.

• Women's Rights and Empowerment: Huerta has been a champion for gender equality, leading campaigns to encourage Latinas to run for political office and advocating for reproductive freedom.

• Grassroots Organizing: Through the Dolores Huerta Foundation (founded in 2003), she continues to organize communities and train new leaders in civic engagement.

For her life’s work, Huerta was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

• Stigma Reduction: She worked to dismantle the shame associated with HIV/AIDS, showing that "those living with HIV and AIDS were everyday people and should be treated with respect".

• Public Education: Broadbent appeared on national platforms like The Oprah Winfrey Show and at the 1996 Republican National Convention to educate the public, educate parents on unconditional love, and encourage safe practices.

• Advocacy for Youth: As a child activist, she became "the face of children with AIDS in America," advocating for improved care, research, and prevention.

• HIV/AIDS Prevention: She worked with organizations like the Magic Johnson Foundation to promote prevention and encourage testing. 

Broadbent continued her advocacy for nearly four decades, emphasizing that HIV was a manageable chronic condition rather than a death sentence. Born HIV-positive in 1984, she became one of the youngest and most influential voices in the movement, dedicating over 30 years to advocacy before her passing in February 2024.

• Health and Wellness: She advocates for increased access to competent healthcare for transgender people, including HIV prevention and treatment services. She founded the Center for Violence Prevention & Transgender Wellness, a specialized facility in Los Angeles.

• Transgender Rights and Advocacy: Salcedo fights against discrimination and works to ensure that marginalized voices are heard in governmental and policy spaces.

• Immigration Support: She supports trans immigrants and undocumented youth, particularly those navigating ICE detention centers.

• Intersectionality: Her work addresses the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, HIV status, and housing, tackling issues like homelessness and incarceration.

• Youth Empowerment: She has developed programs for trans youth, such as the "Angels of Change" calendar and runway show to promote self-presentation and safety.

She has been honored as a "trailblazer" in public health and a powerful voice for equity.

• LGBTQ+ and Transgender Liberation: A Stonewall Inn uprising participant, Rivera was a vocal advocate for transgender visibility and inclusion, often arguing against the exclusion of trans people from gay rights political agendas.

• STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries): Alongside Marsha P. Johnson, she founded STAR in 1970 to provide food, clothing, and shelter for homeless queer youth and transgender individuals.

• Intersectionality and Advocacy: She emphasized intersectional activism, advocating for the rights of gender non-conforming people, people of color, and those facing systemic poverty.

• Legal Protections: She fought for the passage of the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) in New York, which protects against discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations.

• Social Justice: Her activism extended to the Black Liberation movement and the anti-war movement.

Her legacy continues through organizations like the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, which provides legal services to ensure people can self-determine their gender identity.

• Health Care: A leader in protecting coverage for pre-existing conditions and expanding affordable health care, she helped pass the Affordable Care Act, allowing young adults to stay on parents' insurance.

• LGBTQ+ Equality: As the first openly gay U.S. Senator, she led the Respect for Marriage Act to secure marriage equality.

• Manufacturing & Jobs: Championed Buy America rules in federal legislation to support Wisconsin manufacturing and jobs.

• Reproductive Rights: A vocal advocate for women's reproductive health freedom, including contraception and abortion access.

• Families & Community: Focuses on affordable housing, child care, and mental health services, earning recognition from Habitat for Humanity for her advocacy. 

She is also recognized for advocating for dairy farmers and securing investments in science and innovation.

• Family Leave and Labor: As a State Senator, she passed the Healthy Delaware Families Act, implementing paid family and medical leave.

• Health Care and Reproductive Freedom: She is a strong advocate for expanding Medicaid, lowering health costs, and protecting abortion access, including supporting the Women’s Health Protection Act.

• LGBTQIA+ Equality: A long-time advocate, she previously worked with the Human Rights Campaign and has been a leading voice against gender-based discrimination and violence.

• Environmental and Social Issues: She supports investing in green technologies, fighting climate change, and strengthening public schools, including promoting mental health and media literacy education.

• Transgender Visibility and Empowerment: Mock is widely known for starting the social media campaign #GirlsLikeUs in 2012, which encourages trans women to live visibly, connect, and share their stories to foster solidarity.

• Media Representation: She has worked to change how trans people are portrayed, notably as a writer/director/producer on the FX series Pose, which broke records for having the largest cast of transgender actors in series regular roles.

• Advocacy for Trans Women of Color: She consistently advocates for the safety and rights of trans women of color, who face disproportionate levels of violence and discrimination, often highlighting the need for intersectional feminism.

• Author and Storyteller: Her books, Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More (2014) and Surpassing Certainty (2017), provided critical, first-person narratives about growing up as a young trans person.

• LGBTQ+ Rights and Social Justice: She has served on the board of directors for the Arcus Foundation and works with organizations like GLSEN and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project.

• Combatting Gendered Expectations: Mock frequently addresses the stigma surrounding gendered expectations and advocates for the freedom to live authentically.

By becoming the first openly transgender woman of color to write and direct an episode of television and secure a major studio deal with Netflix, she has expanded opportunities for trans creators in Hollywood.

• Transgender Visibility and Representation: Cox made history as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category and the first to appear on the cover of TIME magazine. She has worked to change the narrative around trans lives in media, particularly through her executive producer role in the documentary Disclosure.

• Transgender Rights and Equality: She is a vocal advocate against discrimination, anti-trans violence, and harmful legislation. She frequently campaigns for improved access to healthcare, housing, and safe environments for the transgender community, especially for those who are most at-risk.

• Intersectionality: Cox focuses on the intersecting issues of race, gender, and class, highlighting the unique challenges faced by Black transgender women.

• "Trans Joy" and Empowerment: Beyond fighting discrimination, she champions the celebration of transgender joy and liberation as a form of resistance.

• HIV Advocacy: She has collaborated with organizations like the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) to raise awareness about the decriminalization of HIV.

Cox has often described herself as a "possibility model," aiming to show that transgender people can live successful and authentic lives. 

• Intersectional Feminism: She insisted that the struggles against racism, sexism, and homophobia were inseparable, arguing there is "no hierarchy of oppressions".

• LGBTQ+ Rights: As a prominent lesbian activist, she fought against heterosexism and for queer liberation.

• Women of Color Media: She co-founded the Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press in 1981 to publish and support Black feminists and writers.

• Social Justice & Solidarity: She worked for international solidarity, including fighting against apartheid in South Africa.

• Empowerment through Voice: She urged marginalized individuals to use their rage and experiences as tools for fighting oppression, acting as a "warrior" who made her meaning known.

• LGBTQ+ Rights: She is heavily involved with the L.A. LGBT Center, which provides services such as housing for homeless youth and seniors.

• Equality and Social Justice: She frequently supports causes dedicated to equality and has been involved in supporting narratives that highlight trailblazers like Billie Jean King.

• Cultural and Arts Support: She and Jane Wagner have supported the center's Cultural Arts Center.

• Animal Welfare: A dedicated activist for animals, she particularly focuses on the protection of elephants. She narrated the documentary An Apology to Elephants and serves on the boards of organizations like Actors and Others for Animals and the Shambala Sanctuary.

• Women’s Rights: She has been a fierce advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and has supported numerous female political candidates. She has also worked with organizations like
  Rosie’s Place the first shelter for homeless women in the U.S.

• Aging with Dignity: In her recent work, particularly in the series Grace and Frankie, she has been recognized by AARP for dismantling stereotypes about aging and fighting ageism in the entertainment industry.

• Humanitarian Efforts: She has been honored for her impact in breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty, receiving the Golden Heart Award from the Honickman Foundation.

• Social and Racial Equity: She advocated for the creation of a Social Justice Task Force in West Hollywood to address systemic racism and inequalities.

• Affordable Housing and Renters' Rights: Her platform consistently prioritizes housing affordability and protections for renters over the interests of large developers.

• LGBTQ+ and Marginalized Groups: As the first LGBTQ+ Iranian-American elected to office, she has championed policies such as gender-neutral bathroom ordinances and increased visibility for queer and BIPOC business owners.

• Mental Health and Public Safety: She spearheaded the development of the city's Behavioral Health Crisis Response Unit to reduce law enforcement involvement in homelessness and mental health crises.

• Economic Justice: Shyne advocates for fair wages, small business recovery, and incentives for women and people of color to start local businesses.

• Climate Action: She supports aggressive climate policies and environmental justice. 

Her work is frequently described as "people-powered" and focused on building inclusive communities.

• Gender Equality: As the director of the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, she argued landmark cases in the 1970s against sex-based discrimination.

• Equal Protection: She successfully argued that the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause applies to gender.

• Reproductive Rights: She consistently defended a woman’s right to abortion and contraception.

• Individual Rights: As a Justice, she focused on protecting individuals against government overreach, particularly regarding civil liberties and the rights of defendants.

Known as the "Notorious RBG," she served on the Supreme Court from 1993 until 2020, solidifying her legacy as a defender of marginalized groups and a proponent of equality.

• Gender Equality & Women's Rights: As a litigator for the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, which she co-founded, Ginsburg argued six landmark cases before the Supreme Court, winning five. She systematically challenged laws that assumed women were dependent on men or incapable of certain roles.

• Reproductive Rights: She was a steadfast defender of reproductive freedom, viewing it as essential to a woman’s autonomy and "equal citizenship stature".

• Voting Rights: In her later years on the Supreme Court, she became a powerful voice against voter suppression. Her 2013 dissent in Shelby County v. Holder is legendary for comparing the removal of voting protections to "throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet".

• Worker & Pay Equity: She championed the rights of workers to be free from discrimination, notably inspiring the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 through her dissent in a 2007 pay discrimination case.