“United We Stand, Divided They Catch Us One by One” – Jose’ Julio Sarria (Veteran, Singer, Political Activist, and Empress)
Welcome to Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15th to October 15th). Being the diverse community that our LGBTQ+ family is, it is important that we celebrate our Hispanic LGBTA+ trailblazers.
Did you know that the first known openly gay candidate for public office in the U.S. was a Latinx political activist and legendary drag queen?
In 1961, Jose’ Sarria became the first openly gay candidate to run for public office when he ran for the San Francisco City Board of Supervisors. While Mr. Sarria did not win, his candidacy created awareness within the community and paved the way for candidates such as Harvey Milk who was elected 15 years later.
Jose’ Sarria was an army veteran, a singer, a political activist, and founder of the Imperial Court System which is a charitable organization that raised money for various queer causes. Mr. Sarria passed away in 2013 at the age of 90. He is an inspiration to the thousands of LGBTQ+ political candidates who follow in his footsteps.
https://josesarria.org/
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/jose-sarria-legendary-drag-queen-and-queer-activist/18304/