Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

ASIAN AMERICAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH

LGBT Heroes of the Asian American & Pacific Islander Community GLSEN is proud to honor Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by celebrating the communities contributions to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Below are some notable individuals whose achievements have bettered the lives of the LGBT community.

Jenny Shimizu Jim Toy Esera Tuaolo

Jenny Shimizu is a Japanese American Jim Toy is a Chinese American activist, Esera Tuaolo is openly gay and a former supermodel and actress. Born and raised social worker, and a pioneer of the LGBT professional football player. Born in in California, she attended California State movement in Michigan. He received his Honolulu, Hawai’i, his family members University on a basketball scholarship. Masters in Social Work from the University were Samoan banana farmers. In 1986, After graduation, she opened a car garage of Michigan (UMI) and is hailed as the first he received a scholarship to attend Oregon in LA, where she worked as a mechanic person to come out publicly as queer in State University, where he continued to and was eventually discovered. She started Michigan, which he did at an anti-Vietnam play football. In 1990, he was drafted as modeling with Calvin Klein and was later rally in 1970. Throughout his long history a nose tackle for the Green Bay Packers. featured by various designers and in of activism, he has been a founding Nine years later he played in the Super numerous magazines, including Versace member of several organizations, including Bowl with the Minnesota Vikings. After and Italian Vogue. Her image appears in the Ann Arbor and the Detroit Gay retiring, Esera came out as gay in 2002 on books and art exhibits around the world. Liberation Movements, PFLAG/Ann Arbor, an episode of HBO’s Real Sports. Since In 1993, Jenny shifted to film and video, Transgender Advocacy Project, Washtenaw coming out, Esera has worked to fight first appearing in Madonna’s music video, Rainbow Action Project, Out Loud Chorus, homophobia in sports, especially football. Rain. Following this she starred in a few Washtenaw Faith Action Network, LGBT He serves as an advisory board member of independent movies, such as Foxfire in Retirement Center Task Force, and GLSEN the Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation. 1996 and Itty Bitty Titty Committee in Ann Arbor. He also helped set up the Ann He wrote a memoir, which was released in 2007. Jenny has also been on television in Arbor Gay Hotline, the HIV/AIDS Resource 2006, entitled Alone in the Trenches: My the series Dante’s Cove and an episode of Center, and the HIV/AIDS Task Force. Jim Life as a Gay man in the NFL. Esera has Ellen, as well as appearing on reality shows, co-authored a non-discrimination policy been a vocal advocate supporting marriage like RuPaul’s Drag Race, America’s Next around sexual orientation for the city and equality and other LGBT causes. Top Model, and Make Me a Supermodel. the university and the first LG Pride Week Jenny has been ranked on various lists of Proclamation from a governing body in the powerful and influential women and Asian US. Jim is most well known for his work Americans in Hollywood and in 2006 in establishing UMI’s Lesbian-Gay Male received a Lesbian Icon Award. Programs Office, the first LGBT center in an institution of higher learning in the US, where he served as coordinator from 1971-1994. Jim has worked as a therapist, counselor, trainer, facilitator, educator and advocate on the behalf of all LGBT people.

Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network T (212) 727 0135 · F (212) 727 0254 · glsen@glsen.org 90 Broad Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10004 www.glsen.org · facebook.com/glsen · twitter: @glsen Pauline Park June Millington Jose Antonio Vargas

Pauline Park is a community activist in June Millington is a musician, most famous Jose Antonio Vargas is an award winning NYC. She received her M.Sc. from the for her participation in the band, Fanny. journalist, filmmaker, and activist. Born in London School of Economics and Political Born in Manila, Philippines, June moved the Philippines, Jose moved to the US to Science and her Ph.D. from the University with her family to California in 1961. live with his grandparents in 1993. While of Illinois. Throughout her career, she Starting with a ukulele, she played music in high school, he become interested in helped found the Queens Pride House, with her younger sister Jean when they journalism and pursued internships at Iban/Queer Koreans of NY, the Out People were kids and throughout high school. various newspapers, which he continued of Color Political Action Club, the Guillermo Eight years after moving to the states to do as he attended San Francisco State Vasquez Independent Democratic Club and after many band attempts, June and University. After graduation, Jose went on of Queens, the Transgender Health Jean formed the band, Fanny, which was to work at the Washington Post, where he Initiative of NY, and the NY Association for one of the first all-female rock bands to wrote about the AIDS crisis in DC, which Gender Rights Advocacy, which she still be signed to a major label. They started inspired the documentary, The Other City. chairs. Pauline advocated for passage recording and touring worldwide, including In 2009, he joined the Huffington Post, as of a transgender rights law in NYC and an appearance on the Tonight Show. The a senior contributing editor. Throughout inclusion of gender identity/expression band released five albums, had two singles his career, he has won a Pulitzer Prize for in a safe schools law for NY. She has reach the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, Breaking News Reporting and the Sidney been published in various journals and and performed as the session musicians Award for social conscious journalism, as written and edited training sessions for Barbra Streisand’s first rock album. well as being named as one of 50 Politicos and publications about transgender After Fanny, June formed other bands and to Watch by Politico. The New York Times sensitivity and health care for a wide range experimented with studio work, becoming Magazine published an article in which of organizations. She won a Fulbright an important figure in the women’s music he came out as undocumented in 2011, Fellowship, the Orgullo Translatina award, movement. Although she continues to spurring a cover story in Time magazine and has been named on many lists of the record and perform with her sister, June the following year on undocumented top influential LGBT icons. She was the first has also founded the Institute for the immigrants. He later founded Define openly transgender grand marshal of the Musical Arts, an institution for women American, an organization to redefine NYC Pride March in 2005 and the subject and girls offering support, education on the national dialogue on immigration, of the documentary, Envisioning Justice: the music business, and opportunities to and has been an outspoken advocate for The Journey of a Transgendered Woman. record. June is a pioneer who has been an immigration reform. inspiration for many other all-female rock bands.

“I THINK WE NEED TO SEE THAT TRANSGENDER IS SIMPLY A NATURAL VARIANCE IN GENDER IDENTITY AND EXPRESSION…HELPING ALL OF US BREAK OUT OF THESE BOXES SO WE CAN ALL LIVE LIVES FREE OF DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE RELATED TO GENDER IDENTITY AND EXPRESSION.”

– Pauline Parks

Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network T (212) 727 0135 · F (212) 727 0254 · [email protected] 90 Broad Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10004 www.glsen.org · facebook.com/glsen · twitter: @glsen Urooj Arshad Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla George Takei

Urooj Arshad is an advocate and award Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla is a novelist, George Takei is an actor, comedian, winning activist. She grew up in Karachi, filmmaker, and activist. He was born in personality, and activist. Born in LA to Pakistan, until age 16, when her family Mombassa, Kenya, but currently calls LA Japanese American parents, George and was eligible to immigrate to the US through his home. His first article appeared inVIVA his family were forced to move into an her uncle’s sponsorship. She came out as at the age of 13 and he has continued to internment camp in Arkansas in 1942. queer a few years later, while attending the publish in various magazines, including When the war ended, he returned to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Genre and Details. In 2002, Ghalib California, where he completed high school Noticing the lack of intersectional work released his first novel,Ode to Lata, which and attended UCLA. He received both a between the LGBT and people of color received rave reviews. The book was BA and MA in theater and upon graduation communities, she began to organize hailed as one of the first accounts of gay went to the Shakespeare Institute at for LGBT people of color. In 1999, she life in South Asia as written by an author Stratford-upon-Avon in England and Sophia attended the National Youth Advocacy from the African continent and has been University in Tokyo. His first professional Coalition youth summit in Washington, presented at book festivals and added debut as an actor on television was an DC and realized what her work had to university course syllabi across the episode of Playhouse 90 and Ice Palace been missing-inclusion of her Muslim country. The book was later adapted to a was his film debut, both in 1959. It was six culture. Urooj helped start LGBT Muslim feature film,The Ode, which premiered years later, when he was cast in his most retreats and developed training sessions at Outfest Film Festival in LA in 2008 well known role, that of Mr. Sulu in the on Islamophobia and homo/transphobia. to a sold out audience. In 2011, Ghalib Star Trek franchise, including six films. In She has received numerous awards, released a second novel and film. He has the last 50 years, George has appeared in including a We Speak Award for her work also been involved with the Asian Pacific over 40 feature films and had hundreds of with young women, a Community Catalyst AIDS Intervention Team and SATRANG to guest-starring roles on television and stage, Award, and was nominated as one of the improve support and programs for LGBT as well as being a highly valued voice 15 APA Women Leaders by the National South Asians. Ghalib has been ranked on actor. He was presented with the Order Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance. She various lists as an important figure and of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette is currently a director at Advocates for tastemaker for his literary and film work, for his work on US-Japanese relations; has Youth, where she manages international as well as joining the Humanitas Prize an asteroid named after him; carried the projects to develop the capacity of youth organization in 2009 and headlining a Olympic flame in 1984; has a star on the and a fellow of the American Muslim Civic show at the Lincoln Center in NYC. Hollywood Walk of Fame; and received an Leadership Institute. LGBT Humanist Award. Recently, George has become well known for his community and political activism in support of the API and LGBT communities and his humor as “[…] AS WE CONTINUE TO CHANGE THE DISCOURSE, I AM a blogist and Facebook personality. HEARTENED BY HOW MUCH OUR COMMUNITY HAS GROWN IN SOPHISTICATED WAYS THAT PUSHES AND PROPELS US FORWARD AND TRULY REFLECTS THE DIVERSITY OF OUR COMMUNITY.”

– Urooj Arshad