LGBT history was cemented, literally, into the fabric of San Francisco’s Castro district this week with the official unveiling of 20 bronze sidewalk plaques honoring LGBT individuals who left a lasting mark on society.
Known as the Rainbow Honor Walk, the project aims to educate visitors and residents of the city’s gay neighborhood about often overlooked aspects of the LGBT community’s contributions to the arts, sciences, and social policy through a select group of deceased men and women who lived openly as either gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
“I am completely thrilled this is happening. We all have ridden on the shoulders of the LGBT people who came before us. It is important to honor them,” said author Armistead Maupin, who helped dedicate the plaque for author Virginia Woolf. “They showed pride in who they were. As a consequence, they became great leaders and great artists.”
Among the several hundred people who attended the dedication service under foggy skies Tuesday, September 2 was Glenne McElhinney, a California oral historian and filmmaker who has documented the state’s LGBT history.