Pride month is a time to not just celebrate ourselves, but the best parts of our community and that includes the LGBTQ+ activists fighting to make the world better.Theres a lot to be said for just being publicly out, and showing queer excellence from day to day. But not everyone has the grit and wherewithal to organize and be the face of a movement and thats okay! But it also means that LGBTQ+ activists like these are all the more important in the continued march towards equality.1. Harleigh Walker[/media-credit] Harleigh made two visits to the White House this year, one for Trans Visibility Day and another, pictured, for a concert honoring Sir Elton John.Harleigh Walker is a trans teen in the small town of Auburn, Alabama. She endured bullying over her gender identity and transformed into an LGBTQ+ activist, speaking to high-ranking politicians about the importance of just letting trans kids live as themselves.2. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS)[/media-credit] Rep. Sharice DavidsRep. Sharice Davids was an MMA fighter, and now shes fighting for the LGBTQ+ community as one of Kansas representatives. One of the many bills shes put forward is the Pride in Mental Health Act, which would improve resources for at-risk queer youth.3. Dr. Julian L. Watkins[media-credit name=Provided align=center width=1080][/media-credit]Dr. Julian L. Watkins the physician in charge of the Riverside Sexual Health Clinic in the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygienes Bureau of Sexually Transmitted Infection Control focuses on what he calls health justice. Not only is he working on the front lines of health care, he has also had an online show, The Peoples Clinic, which helps make health information more accessible.4. Jaymes Black[/media-credit] Family Equality CEO Jaymes BlackJaymes Black is the president and CEO of Family Equality, a group advocating for queer families. Fighting for families has become essential as pandering politicians in red states pass laws making it more difficult for gay people to adopt.5. Joe Barb[/media-credit] Homeless youth advocate Joe Barb with his son Jaden.Homelessness among queer youth is, sadly, a longtime problem. Thankfully, people like Joe Barb are out there. Barb launched a community center in South Dakota for LGBTQ+ kids, which offers services and activities, and hes also working to provide transitional housing for the community.6. Zander Moricz[/media-credit] Zander MoriczNot many people would take the fight directly to Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, but then Zander Moricz isnt most people. Moricz confronted her at a school board meeting after it was discovered she was looking for another woman to have a sexual relationship with, telling her, A politicians job is to serve their community, not to police personal lives. So, to be extra clear Bridget, you deserve to be fired from your job because you are terrible at your job. Hes also sued Florida over the states Dont Say Gay law.7. Kelley Robinson[/media-credit] Kelley Robinson, President, Human Rights CampaignKelley Robinson has some serious activist bonafides. She was the head of Planned Parenthood when the Supreme Court overturnedRoe v. Wade, and shes now the president of the Human Rights Campaign. Shes been working to bring back progressive voters disillusioned by politics, and to fight against the tide of anti-queer, anti-trans legislation from the right.8. Jack Knoxville[media-credit name=Trans Empowerment Project align=center width=562][/media-credit]Jack Knoxville founded the Trans Empowerment Project in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The TEPs first event was a clothing swap for trans folks to come together and get new, gender-affirming clothing. From there, the group has expanded to provide food, shelter, care packages, and more to trans people in need.9. Annise Parker[/media-credit] Annise Parker, former Houston mayor.Annise Parker was elected mayor of Houston in 2010, making her city the most populous one to elect an openly gay mayor until Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoots 2019 election. Parker created affordable housing in her city, and after leaving office, went on to become the executive director of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, an organization devoted to electing queer candidates across the United States.10. Jenn Burleton[/media-credit] Jenn Burleton, program director for the TransActive Gender Project.Jenn Burleton is the program director for the Oregon-based TransActive Gender Project, which provides education and legal advocacy for families with trans children. She also recently called out The New York Times for misleading coverage of trans issues, comparing the papers coverage to that of Tucker Carlson.11. V SpeharV Spehar of Under the Desk News and the podcast V Interesting. Photo provided by V Spehar.V Spehar is a citizen journalist, who took to TikTok with theirUnder The Desk program to deliver news in one-minute chunks. Spehar makes complex topics, like recent anti-trans bills and voter engagement, into easy-to-digest bites of information.12. Annie Hex[/media-credit] Annie Hex reads from one of her zines.Annie Hex is a poet, witch, and the unofficial queer mayor of Batavia, Illinois. Hex also hosts a weekly weather permitting all-ages queer art class in a park, and gives out queer-positive merchandise at the local farmers market. She has also set up a queer prom for all those people who couldnt go to their high school proms with their actual partners.13. Nadine Smith[/media-credit] Nadine Smith, Executive Director of Equality FloridaFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is one of the most anti-LGBTQ+ politicians in the country the man is so petty, he wont let a bridge have rainbow lights for Pride Month. Luckily, folks like Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith are fighting for us. She has been instrumental in repealing the gay adoption ban in Florida, the states marriage ban, and more.14. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)[/media-credit] Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)Congressman Mark Pocan may be a Democrat, but hes calling on Republicans to excise Trumpism from their party. He rightly sees Trumpism as just hate, and points out that outside of the rabid base, most people including most Republicans dont really care about demonizing the LGBTQ+ community. Pocan is the chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus to advance LGBTQ+ rights in spite of the anti-LGBTQ+ extremist speaker of the House.15. Okan Sengun[/media-credit] Okan Sengun, Co-Founder of the LGBT Asylum ProjectNot every country in the world is as accepting of queer folks as they should be. Okan Sengun, co-founder of the LGBT Asylum Project, is working to provide help for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in these countries. Despite the 13% success rate of unrepresented asylum seekers, his group has a 100% success rate with the refugees it has advocated for.16 & 17. Doug and Brent MunsterBrent and Doug Munster with their sonsBrent and Doug Munster adopted two children and provided them with a wonderful home. But they didnt just stop there they founded the Georgia chapter of Gift of Adoption, which helps raise money for couples who want to adopt but cant afford the process. Over seven years, theyve raised over $600,000 for families in need.18. Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D-MT)[/media-credit] Montana Rep. Zooey ZephyrState Rep. Zooey Zephyr is the first out transgender woman to serve in the Montana House. She was briefly banned from the House chamber for telling her Republican colleagues that if they voted for an anti-trans bill, I hope the next time you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands. But instead of stifling her speech, the story went national, giving her an even bigger platform to fight for her constituents.19. Cynthia Lee FontaineDrag Out the Vote co-chair Cynthia Lee Fontaine. Photo provided.Austin drag queen Cynthia Lee Fontaine isnt just aDrag Race alum shes also the co-chair of Drag Out the Vote, an organization putting queens to work registering folks to vote. Drag Out the Vote was launched by Fontaines manager Jackie Huba in 2019, and in the following presidential election, there was a 37% increase in equality voters. And her message is even more important as the right-wing ramps up its idiotic fight against drag.20. Dr. Tracey Wiese[/media-credit] Dr. Tracey Wiese, right, with her wife and their 11 year-old daughter.Dr. Tracey Wiese of Anchorage, Alaska saw a problem: there were no LGBTQ+ clinics in her state. So she solved that problem, opening Full Spectrum Health.Wiese began working 80 to 90 hours a week, not just seeing patients but dealing with all the behind-the-scenes work. So she joined with the non-profit Identity Health to keep the clinic open while maintaining her sanity. Though based in Anchorage, the clinic has embraced telehealth, so anyone, even in rural Alaska, can get help.