Queer Heroes NW!
Oregon Queer History Collective (née Gay & Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest) and Portland's Q Center began Queer Heroes NW in 2012, as a way to make some friends, honor service and accomplishment in our community – and teach a little history.
Our criteria were simple: we were looking for some combination of risk, sacrifice, service, example and inspiration from individuals, living or dead, who had somehow helped make the world an easier place to be queer. We wanted to acknowledge the celebrities who usually got attention in our movement, and include the folks whose hard work was seldom recognized.
We recognized a Queer Hero for every day in June on our website and social media, and friends in the community shared and amplified each day's post.
After the first year or two, we started convening panels of former Queer Heroes to screen the nominations that came in year-around through our website (check out the nomination link at the bottom of the left-hand menu!).
That worked well for nine years, but in 2022, post-COVID chaos caught up with us, and we managed to post only fifteen Queer Hero profiles that year.
We skipped 2023 and 2024 altogether. We hope to be back in 2025, if our capacity permits.
Here are the links to previous years' Queer Heroes.
| QUEER HEROES 2021 | QUEER HEROES 2020 | ||||
| QUEER HEROES 2018 |
QUEER HEROES 2017 |
QUEER HEROES 2016 |
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| QUEER HEROES 2014 |
QUEER HEROES 2013 |
QUEER HEROES 2012 |
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The first Queer Hero – June 1, 2012
On June 1, 2012, GLAPN & Q Center announced the first Queer Hero(es) – the two individuals who began organizing the Gay Liberation Front in Portland in 1970 (link to profiles). Multiple community groups picked up the posts each day. Just before Portland Pride began, we hosted a reception at Q Center to unveil the heroes' posters at Q Center's Aaron Hall Gallery, and a duplicate set of posters went to Q Center's booth at Portland Pride 2012.
Watch a video from the 2012 Queer Heroes reception at
Q Center.
P.O. Box 3646 • Portland, OR 97208-3646 • info@glapn.org
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