Gay and Here to Stay
Five Influential GLBT People of Our Time
Jamie Wiesner
Issue date: 10/29/08 Section: Opinion
October is officially GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) History month, established to commemorate and honor those that paved the way for today's GLBT community and the future of civil rights. These individuals were not only proud of who they were, but they also embraced diversity and helped to further the dream of total equality.
Elton John
Bisexual
(March 25, 1947-)
"There's nothing wrong with going to bed with somebody of your own sex. I think everybody's bisexual to a certain degree. I don't think it's just me. It's not a bad thing to be. I think you're bisexual. I think everybody is," said Elton John to Rolling Stone magazine in 1976. Since coming out, he has founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation, one of the largest AIDS non-profit organizations, and has raised millions towards the cause.
George Washington Carver
Gay
(July 12, 1864-Jan. 5, 1943)
Carver was a scientist most notoriously known for his experiments with peanuts and the discovery of more than 300 uses for them. He was the first African American to attend Iowa State University and to become a faculty member and he was a brother of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, which also has a chapter at Frostburg State University. Over the course of his life, he entertained many intimate relationships with men, but remained devoted to his assistant and boyfriend of over 10 years, Austin W. Curtis, Jr.
Karen Frances Ulane
Male-to-Female Transsexual
(-May 22, 1989)
Ulane, a former Vietnam War combat pilot, was fired from Eastern Airlines following her sex reassignment surgery in 1980. Karen, known as Kenneth Ulane prior to her sexu reassignment surgery, was a devoted employee for more than 12 years. Ulane took the case to the Supreme Court and in Ulane v. Eastern Airlines, the court ruled that she was covered under 1964 federal anti-discrimination laws, and therefore unlawfully dismissed from her job. Her historical supreme court case set precedent for transgender law.
Elton John
Bisexual
(March 25, 1947-)
"There's nothing wrong with going to bed with somebody of your own sex. I think everybody's bisexual to a certain degree. I don't think it's just me. It's not a bad thing to be. I think you're bisexual. I think everybody is," said Elton John to Rolling Stone magazine in 1976. Since coming out, he has founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation, one of the largest AIDS non-profit organizations, and has raised millions towards the cause.
George Washington Carver
Gay
(July 12, 1864-Jan. 5, 1943)
Carver was a scientist most notoriously known for his experiments with peanuts and the discovery of more than 300 uses for them. He was the first African American to attend Iowa State University and to become a faculty member and he was a brother of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, which also has a chapter at Frostburg State University. Over the course of his life, he entertained many intimate relationships with men, but remained devoted to his assistant and boyfriend of over 10 years, Austin W. Curtis, Jr.
Karen Frances Ulane
Male-to-Female Transsexual
(-May 22, 1989)
Ulane, a former Vietnam War combat pilot, was fired from Eastern Airlines following her sex reassignment surgery in 1980. Karen, known as Kenneth Ulane prior to her sexu reassignment surgery, was a devoted employee for more than 12 years. Ulane took the case to the Supreme Court and in Ulane v. Eastern Airlines, the court ruled that she was covered under 1964 federal anti-discrimination laws, and therefore unlawfully dismissed from her job. Her historical supreme court case set precedent for transgender law.
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