Equality Forum announces the following 31 Icons to be honored for GLBT History Month 2008 in October:

Georgina Beyer, first transgender member of a national Parliament         
Mark Bingham, 9/11 hero
Margarethe Cammermeyer, military officer, GLBT service members advocate
Rachel Carson, environmental pioneer
Bertrand Delanoe, first openly gay Mayor of Paris                  
Melissa Etheridge, Grammy and Oscar Award-winning singer/songwriter
Harvey Fierstein, Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor, playwright and screenwriter        
E.M. Forster, author of “A Room with a View,” “Howard’s End,” and “Maurice”
Allen Ginsberg, revolutionary poet and activist                          
Philip Johnson, innovative, internationally-renowned architect and designer
Bill T. Jones, Tony Award-winning dancer and choreographer           
Cleve Jones, GLBT activist, founder of NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
Sheila Kuehl, first openly gay elected to the California legislature           
Tony Kushner, Tony, Emmy and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
Greg Louganis, Olympic Gold Medal diver                 
Robert Mapplethorpe, groundbreaking photographer
Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon, founders of nation’s first lesbian organization and first same-sex couple married in San Francisco                 
Margaret Mead, cultural anthropologist and author  
Michelangelo, Renaissance painter, sculptor and architect                                   
Rosie O’Donnell, comedian, talk-show host, actress, winner of 11 Emmy Awards
Troy Perry, spiritual leader and founder of Metropolitan Community Churches                             
Gene Robinson, first openly gay Bishop in the Episcopal Church
Anthony Romero, ACLU Executive Director                     
Randy Shilts, New York Times best-selling author and groundbreaking AIDS journalist
Stephen Sondheim, theatrical lyricist/composer, multiple Tony Award winner            
Gianni Versace, fashion designer and entrepreneur
Alice Walker, author and feminist, Pulitzer Prize winner for “The Color Purple”                  
Andy Warhol, American pop artist and avant-garde filmmaker
John Waters, filmmaker, actor, and author of “Hairspray”            
Jann Wenner, co-founder and publisher of “Rolling Stone”
Tennessee Williams, prolific American playwright, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner

“From Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon on October 1st to Michelangelo on October 31st, the 31 Icons for 2008 combined, with the 62 Icons for GLBT History Month 2006 and 2007, are impressive,” stated Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director, Equality Forum.  “For a community deprived of its history, GLBT History Month teaches our heritage, provides role models, builds community, and makes the civil rights statement of our extraordinary national and international contributions.”

GLBT History Month was conceived in the mid-1990’s by educators and embraced by major GLBT organizations.  In 2006, Equality Forum took responsibility for this communal project and solicits Icon nominations from state, national and international executive directors and other community leaders. The criteria are persons living or deceased, who have distinguished themselves in their field of endeavor, are a national hero or have made a significant contribution to GLBT civil rights.    

All 2008 nominations were reviewed by GLBT History Month Co-Chairs Professor Sharon Ullman, History Department, Bryn Mawr College, and Professor Kenji Yoshino, Yale Law School and   were approved by the Equality Forum Board of Directors

Each day in October 2008, an Icon is featured with a video, biography, bibliography and other educational resources.  The resources for GLBT History Month 2008 Icons will be available at in October www.glbtHistoryMonth.com.  Educational resources for 2006 and 2007 Icons are archived on the site.

GLBT History Month Icon videos are expected to be broadcast on Logo and here! and streamed on major gay portals.  The videos are offered without charge to educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, for profit companies and the public.  More than 300 educational institutions, organizations and companies hosted GLBT History Month 2007 on their Web sites.

Equality Forum is a national and international GLBT civil rights organization with an educational focus.  Equality Forum coordinates GLBT History Month, produces documentary films, undertakes high impact initiatives and presents annually the largest national and international GLBT civil rights forum.  www.equalityforum.com