This famous Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Color Purple” was married to her husband and had given birth to a daughter when she met singer Tracy Chapman in the mid-1990s. Their relationship lasted for years and Walker talked about the happiness it brought her. “It was delicious and lovely and wonderful and I totally enjoyed it and I was completely in love with her but it was not anybody’s business but ours.” (The Toast).
Source: thetoast.net
Throaty, enchanting “Fast Car” singer Tracy Chapman kept her personal life under total wraps. However, she was reported to be in a relationship with “The L Word” star, Guinevere Turner, as of 2010.
Source: whosdatedwho.com
The daughter of author Alice Walker and lawyer Mel Levanthal, Rebecca became a widely published writer and activist. Describing herself as bisexual, she has had two significant relationships with women: neo-soul performer Meshell Ndegeocello, and Buddhist teacher Choyin Rangdrol, with whom she has a child, Tenzin.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
The coming-out blog post felt around the world was published in April of 2012, when rhythm and blues singer-songwriter Frank Ocean wrote, “4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together…By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant.” (Gawker). However heartfelt and honest this confession was to the world, Ocean has subsequently refused to put himself in a sexual orientation box.
One of the most iconic activists of all time, Angela Davis’ involvement in the civil rights movement with the Black Panthers and the Communist Party USA made her an indelible presence, even in current-day politics. She’s been out and proud as a lesbian since 1997, and often gives speeches and seminars about how race and class affects the gay movement.
Source: discoverthenetworks.org
When the question arises as to which gender-specific pronoun should be used to address Ru Paul, he/she may answer, “You can call me he. You can call me she. You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee. I don’t care, just as long as you call me!” (Wikipedia). Besides decades of recording hits and TV appearances, RuPaul now hosts the immensely popular reality show, “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Source: en.wikipedia.org
The famous CNN newsroom anchor came correct about his sexuality in his 2011 memoir, “Transparent.” It was not all a celebration –he also revealed sorrowful stories of sexual abuse he suffered as a child.
Source: famewatcher.com
She’s a solid presence on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and she became an official member of the LGBT community in December 2013. She had been fighting a rare bone marrow disease, and after a successful recovery from transplant surgery, posted her gratitude for her health on Facebook, saying, “I am grateful for my family, my long time girlfriend, Amber…” (Wikipedia). That’s Amber Laign, her partner since 2005. As Roberts used to famously say when she anchored Sportscenter, “Go with your bad self!”
Source: en.wikipedia.com
The first-ever active sports player to come out in any major American professional sport, Jason Collins had been playing for NBA teams for more than a decade when he came out in a May 2013 Sports Illustrated issue. Writing the article himself, he said his jersey number, 98, was chosen in memory of Matthew Shepard, victim of a 1998 hate crime. Many fellow NBA players including Kobe Bryant lauded his decision to lead a more honest public life. He now plays for the Brooklyn Nets.
Source: en.wikipedia.com
At a gay rights rally in Las Vegas in 2008, brassy-mouthed comedienne Wanda Sykes not only came out as gay, she came out as married too. Rallying for gay marriage and against the passing of California’s Proposition 8, Sykes stated: “Now, I gotta get in their face…I’m proud to be a woman. I’m proud to be a black woman, and I’m proud to be gay.” (AfterEllen)
Source: afterellen.com
