The International Imperial Court System and the National LGBTQ Task Force are honoring seven legends of the LGBTQ+-rights movement as 2023 National LGBTQ Wall of Honor inductees at NYC's historic Stonewall Inn on June 22, per a press release.
One of the honorees will be the late transgender-rights activist Gloria Allen. She ran a charm school for transgender youth in Chicago's Center on Halsted. Allen's school lasted only a few yearsshe was not paid, and she often used her own money to prepare students' mealsbut inspired Philip Dawkins' hit play Charm. Her experiences were also chronicled in the documentary film Mama Gloria.
In 2014, Allen received the Living Legend Award at the Trans 100 awards from transgender activists Janet Mock and Precious Brady-Davis. In 2021, she received the Carmen Vazquez Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging Issues from SAGE, an advocacy organization for LGBTQ elders, at the National LGBTQ Task Force's Creating Change conference.
The other honorees will include actor Leslie Jordan, playwright Terrence McNally, activist Achebe Betty Powell, philanthropist J. Frederic "Fritz" Lohman, drag icon Darcelle XV and drag figure/Trannyshack founder Heklina.
Andrew Davis