‘Queering Black history’: Here are 5 LGBTQ pioneers to know

This month, in K-12 classrooms across the country, many students are learning a Black history curriculum that has long remained stagnant.

Right now, they might be embarking on the Underground Railroad’s journey to freedom, learning varying interpretations about the central cause of the Civil War, or revisiting key events of the civil rights movement.

Lucy Hicks Anderson (1886 - 1954)

Lucy Hicks Anderson was an African-American socialite and chef best known for her time spent in Oxnard, California, from 1920 to 1946. She was assigned male at birth but adamant from an early age that she was a girl, and supportive parents and doctors reaffirmed her in living as one.

Gladys Bently (1907 - 1960)

Gladys Alberta Bentley was an American blues singer, pianist, and entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance. Her career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry's Clam House in New York in the 1920s, as a black, lesbian, cross-dressing performer.

Bayard Rustin (1912 - 1987)

Bayard Rustin was an African American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Rustin worked with A. Philip Randolph on the March on Washington Movement, in 1941, to press for an end to racial discrimination in employment.

Pauli Murray (1910 - 1985)

Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray was an American civil rights activist who became a lawyer, women's rights activist, Episcopal priest, and author. Drawn to the ministry in 1977, Murray was the first African-American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest, in the first year that any women were ordained by that church.

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (1940 - present)

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, often referred to as Miss Major, is a trans woman activist and community leader for transgender rights, with a particular focus on women of color.

You can read more about these pioneers at The Washington Post.