2009 marks the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York.... the night that mostly "drag queens, transsexuals and bull dykes" led homosexuals to fight back against police harassment, and widely regarded as the beginning of the modern day gay rights movement in the United States. It is important to note that most of these Stonewall "rioters" were Latino and African- American.

The International Court System, which was established in San Francisco in 1965 (before Stonewall) and now has chapters in over 65 cities throughout the U.S.A., Canada, and Mexico, is very proud that a major part of our membership since the 1960's has been drag queens, transsexuals, and bull dykes. We are proud that for over four decades the International Court System has given visibility and an important presence and voice to the transgender community.

The International Court Council is proud to announce that in commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of Stonewall, we have partnered with the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) to present "Stonewall 40...Trans Heroes 40," honoring 40 transgender individuals who have made a difference in the areas of activism, fundraising, entertainment, education, leadership, the arts, social service and civil rights within the United States.
We would like to express our appreciation for the overwhelming response we receive on this project. Over a hundred nominations were made from all over the United States. Therefore, we would not presume this list to be the "Top 40", "Best Of" or the "Most Important…", but merely a humble way of recognizing just some of the many individuals whose everyday lives, work and persona have made a significant impact in the GLBT community. We hope that this project will shine a spotlight on the transgender community, and that the "T" in GLBT does not mean 'token", but that the Transgender community is an equal and important member of the GLBT family.

Sylvia Rae Rivera (2 July 1951-19 February 2002) was an American transgender activist. Rivera was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance and helped found STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), a group dedicated to helping homeless young street transwomen, with her friend Marsha P. Johnson. Rivera was born and raised in...

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Shannon Price Minter is the Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), one of the nation's leading advocacy organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.Shannon was lead counsel for same-sex couples in the landmark California marriage equality case which held that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry and that laws that discriminate based on sexualy...

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Mara is the founding Executive Director of National Center for Transgender Equality. It was the first professionally-staffed transgender-specific organization working at the national level in the United States. A Pennsylvania native, Mara came to Washington after co-chairing the Pennsylvania Gender Rights Coalition. Mara is a transgender-identified woman who also identifies as a parent and a Pennsylvanian. She is a graduate of Penn State University...

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José Julio Sarria, a veteran of World War II entered gay history in the 1940s when he began to cover at work, sometimes, for his then boyfriend Jimmy Moore, as a waiter at "The Black Cat" bar on Montgomery Street in San Francisco. In post-World War II San Francisco saw an influx of gay and lesbian discharged veterans that swelled the city's gay communities. While the Castro was still a primarily heterosexual, blue-collar neighborhood, the Black Cat had already developed an international reputation...

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Born in 1960 in San Diego, California, RuPaul Andre Charles struggled as a musician and filmmaker in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1980s. He participated in underground cinema, helping create the low-budget Starrbooty (and an album by the same name). In Atlanta, RuPaul often performed at the Celebrity Club as a bar dancer or with his/her band, Wee Wee Pole, which included the late Todd Butler...

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