Women's History Month:Honoring LGBTQ WomenWho Changed History

Celebrating leaders who shaped our movement and continue to inspire equality in South Carolina

Women’s History Month is a time to honor the women whose courage, intellect, and organizing transformed our country—and our communities—for the better. For LGBTQ people, that history is inseparable from the leadership of queer women and transgender women who fought for visibility, dignity, and equal protection under the law long before it was safe or popular to do so. Many of the rights we defend today were secured because women refused to be silent, refused to be erased, and refused to accept injustice as inevitable.

At South Carolina Equality, we know that progress does not happen by accident. It happens because bold leaders speak out, build community, and demand that systems change. In a moment when LGBTQ rights—especially the rights of transgender women and girls—are under attack across the South, it is more important than ever to remember that our movement was built by women who understood the power of intersectionality, resilience, and collective action.

This month, we are highlighting five LGBTQ women whose leadership reshaped history and whose legacies continue to guide our work here in South Carolina. Their stories remind us that equality is not just an idea—it is something fought for, protected, and carried forward by each generation

Women’s History Month 2026

Weekly Spotlight Series: LGBTQ Women Who Changed History

Marsha P. Johnson

Marsha P. Johnson

Marsha P. Johnson was a Black transgender woman and activist whose courage helped ignite the modern LGBTQ rights movement. She was present at the Stonewall uprising in 1969 and became a visible force in the fight for queer liberation at a time when trans women of color were routinely marginalized—even within the movement itself. Alongside Sylvia Rivera, she co-founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), an organization that provided housing and support for unhoused transgender youth. Marsha believed deeply that liberation had to include the most vulnerable members of the community. Her activism centered joy, resilience, and mutual aid long before those concepts were mainstream. Despite facing violence, poverty, and discrimination, she remained committed to visibility and collective care. Today, her legacy reminds us that the LGBTQ movement was built by Black trans women—and that our advocacy must continue to center those most at risk.

Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde was a self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” whose writing reshaped feminist and civil rights discourse. She challenged movements that failed to address racism, sexism, and homophobia simultaneously, arguing that true liberation requires confronting all systems of oppression. Her essays and speeches introduced powerful frameworks around intersectionality, difference, and the importance of speaking truth to power. Lorde believed that silence would not protect marginalized communities—a message that resonates deeply in today’s legislative climate. Through her poetry and activism, she empowered queer women to claim space unapologetically. Her work continues to shape how we understand identity, justice, and collective responsibility. Audre Lorde’s legacy reminds us that our differences are not weaknesses—they are sources of power.

Quote:“Your silence will not protect you.”

Barbara Gittings

Barbara Gittings

Barbara Gittings was one of the earliest architects of the modern gay rights movement in the United States. In the 1950s and 1960s, she organized some of the first public demonstrations for LGBTQ equality, including pickets at the White House and Independence Hall. She played a critical role in successfully pressuring the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in 1973—an historic turning point that reshaped public understanding and reduced institutional stigma. Gittings believed deeply in the power of visibility and education to change hearts and policy. Her advocacy laid the groundwork for later battles over employment nondiscrimination, healthcare access, and marriage equality. At a time when coming out could cost someone everything, she stood publicly and proudly for dignity. Her work proves that policy change begins with courageous individuals demanding recognition.

Quote:“Gay people are the largest minority in the world. We are everywhere.”

Pauli Murray

Pauli Murray

Pauli Murray was a groundbreaking civil rights lawyer, Episcopal priest, poet, and LGBTQ trailblazer whose legal scholarship influenced the fight against racial and gender discrimination. Murray’s legal arguments helped lay the foundation for the strategy used in Brown v. Board of Education and later shaped Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s approach to sex discrimination cases. Though Murray did not publicly use modern language around gender identity, historians widely recognize that Murray wrestled with gender identity throughout their life and would likely be understood today as transgender or nonbinary. Murray coined the term “Jane Crow” to describe the double discrimination faced by Black women. Their work bridged racial justice, women’s rights, and LGBTQ liberation long before those movements were widely connected. Pauli Murray’s life reminds us that intersectional advocacy is not new—it has always been essential. Their legacy challenges us to see equality struggles as deeply interconnected.

Quote:“When my brothers try to draw a circle to exclude me, I shall draw a larger circle to include them.”

Mandy Carter

(Southern LGBTQ Organizer)

Mandy Carter is a longtime Black lesbian Southern organizer whose leadership has shaped LGBTQ political power in the South for decades. Based in North Carolina, she co-founded Southerners on New Ground (SONG), a regional organization building LGBTQ leadership across the South. Carter has spent her career connecting racial justice, anti-poverty work, and queer liberation in deeply conservative environments. She was instrumental in organizing around Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign and later focused on Southern grassroots infrastructure. Her work demonstrates that progressive change is possible in Southern states through coalition-building and community organizing. Carter’s leadership model emphasizes resilience, intersectionality, and long-term movement building. For organizations like SC Equality, her work offers a roadmap: show up consistently, organize locally, and build power across differences.

Quote:“The South is not a lost cause—it is a front line.”

The women we honor this month did not wait for permission to lead. They organized, testified, wrote, protested, built institutions, and changed laws. Because of their courage, generations of LGBTQ people live with greater visibility, dignity, and protection than ever before.

But history also teaches us something else: progress is never permanent.

Here in South Carolina, LGBTQ rights—especially the rights of transgender women and girls—continue to face coordinated legislative attacks. The work of protecting equality does not end with celebration. It requires strategy, persistence, and community investment.

At South Carolina Equality, we are carrying forward the legacy of these trailblazing women by fighting for inclusive policies, defending healthcare access, mobilizing testimony at the State House, and building long-term power across our state. Visibility has always come at a cost—but resilience builds the future.

If their stories moved you, consider taking the next step.

Make a donation today to power equality in South Carolina.Your gift supports legislative advocacy, community education, and the defense of LGBTQ families across our state.If you’re able, consider becoming a recurring monthly donor to sustain this work year-round.

The next chapter of equality is being written right now.Help us ensure it is one defined by courage, dignity, and justice.

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