BY: DM
Published 5 hours ago
The LGBTQIA+ community in New York City found a permanent way to honor pioneers and advocates. The National LGBTQ+ Wall of Honor is a monument that commemorates the community’s past trailblazers. In addition, it actively inspires new generations to continue the fight for equality. When visitors step inside the famed Greenwich Village bar, they are greeted by a vibrant display of names and stories.
The Wall of Honor itself is hard to miss. Dozens of hexagonal plaques shine against a rainbow-colored backdrop, each inscribed with the name of an LGBTQIA+ hero. Here is a look at the history behind the wall, which has a significant past
The Wall of Honor pays tribute to LGBTQIA+ icons.
The LGBTQ+ Wall of Honor was constructed in June 2019, as part of Stonewall’s 50th anniversary celebration. That initial ceremony honored 50 trailblazers in the struggle for equality, marking half a century since Stonewall’s patrons fought back against a police raid in 1969. Since then, the wall has stood as a testament to those who “paved the road to liberation” for LGBTQIA+ folks.
The National LGBTQ+ Wall of Honor was born directly out of Stonewall’s legacy. The project is a joint effort by the Imperial Court System (a longstanding LGBTQIA+ charity organization) and the National LGBTQ Task Force. Community leaders dedicated the wall in the very bar where the modern LGBTQIA+ activist movement began, giving each honoree “their own space” in the place that made history.
Nicole Murray Ramirez – a San Diego city commissioner, drag queen activist, and Queen Mother of the Americas in the Imperial Court – spearheaded the campaign. “I founded the National LGBTQ Wall Of Honor because I believe that a community, indeed a civil rights movement, that doesn’t know where it came from and whose shoulders it stands on doesn’t really know where it’s going,” Ramirez said.
Fresh faces have been added to the wall.
The inaugural class of 50 names was selected by a board of LGBTQIA+ leaders to represent a broad cross-section of the movement. They include icons like Marsha P. Johnson, a Black transgender woman widely credited with throwing the first brick at Stonewall. From the start, organizers made it clear that this is not just another list of famous names. The wall also includes the names of people who may not be as famous.
“There are some people honored here who have done amazing things, that the world doesn’t necessarily know about,” noted Richard Dworkin, a musician who attended the 2019 unveiling to see his late partner, Michael Callen, included on the wall, per Reuters.
Since 2019, more names have been added to this rolling honor roll. Organizers induct a new class of honorees annually around Pride Month, followed by a ceremony at the Stonewall Inn. Leslie Jordan, the beloved gay actor and comedian, was added in 2023 after his passing. She joins other recent inductees like celebrated playwright Terrence McNally and Chicago transgender activist Gloria Allen. For 2025, they’ve nominated an all-trans class, including Sam Nordquist and Jiggly Caliente.
Whose name would you like to see added to the National LGBTQ+ Wall of Honor and why?
