Artist and Illustrator, Lukee Thornhill , has been celebrating Pride Month with a unique series of portraits to celebrate the icons who made Pride – and what it stands for – possible.
Today is the last official day of Pride month, but we know we should take pride in who we are every day of the year – and none of us know this better than the people who fought for it.
Although we have a long way to go in the fight for equal rights, take a moment to sneak a glimpse into the history of those whose journeys got us to where we are today.
Who knows, maybe one day you will join them?
Earlier this week, YouTube celebrated Pride month with their annual #ProudToBe video .
Happy Pride month every body, keep loving who you are and loving those around you.
#30DaysOfPride 10/30: Justin Fashanu was a trail-blazer. He was Britain’s first million pound black footballer, and the first (and only) professional player in Britain to come out as gay whilst still playing the game. Justin faced both homophobia and racism on the pitch from rival teams fans, and reportedly wasn’t supported by his own clubs, colleagues and family when coming out as gay – causing him difficulties in playing the game, and off the pitch. After moving to the USA for a number of years, Justin was found dead in London. He sadly took his own life in a disused garage lock in Shoreditch, East London, about a mile away from where he had been born in Hackney. His last words, in a suicide note, were “I hope the Jesus I love welcomes me home.”. Years later the Justin Campaign was created in his honour, which was a campaign against homophobia in football and promotes the inclusion of openly gay players in football. . . . . . . . #QueerHistory #Pride #PrideMonth #30DaysOfPride #LGBT #LGBTQ #QueerHistory #KnowYourHistory #Gay #Lesbian #Bisexual #Transgender #History #Equality #Illustration #QueerArt #QueerArtist #JustinFashanu #Footballer
A post shared by LUKEE THORNHILL (@lukeethornhill) on Jun 10, 2017 at 11:11am PDT
#30DaysOfPride 15/30: Bessie Smith is regarded as one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Born into poverty, she rose to prominence under the tutelage of Ma Rainey and was signed by Columbia Records in 1923. Through multiple tours and booming record sales, Smith became the highest-paid black entertainer of her day. She was also bisexual, something she didn’t care to hide. In fact, one of her hits, “It’s Dirty But Good” includes lyrics alluding to lesbian sex. Many believe Smith had a relationship with Rainey, who mentored her stage persona. Smith’s second husband, Jack Gee, was often angered by her trysts with women, including chorus girl Lillian Simpson and fellow singer Gertrude Sanders. (Description taken from @LogoTV . . . . . . #QueerHistory #Pride #PrideMonth #30DaysOfPride #LGBT #LGBTQ #QueerHistory #KnowYourHistory #Gay #Lesbian #Bisexual #Transgender #History #Equality #Illustration #QueerArt #QueerArtist #bessiesmith #jazzsinger
A post shared by LUKEE THORNHILL (@lukeethornhill) on Jun 17, 2017 at 2:58am PDT
#30DaysOfPride 17/30: @WillYoungOfficial was the winner of the first ever Pop Idol show, way back in 2002. His double A-sided debut single “Anything Is Possible” / “Evergreen” was released two weeks after the show’s finale and became the fastest-selling debut single in the UK. Young also came in fifth place in World Idol performing his single “Light My Fire”. In March 2002, Young publicly came out as gay, pre-empting a tabloid newspaper from outing him (because you know, ‘reporters’ feel they have the right to out someone). He also stated that he had never hidden it and was comfortable with his sexual orientation. . Since coming out at the age of 21, Young says he has suffered “17 years of shame”. . He said: “I will keep coming back to shame because it’s such a fundamental thing. . “Until I conquered it I just kept having sex to fill the void, watching porn, shopping, anything, and I think we are told that as soon as we come out everything will be OK, but it’s just not the case.” . “It is different being a young LGBT person because if you are heterosexual you are not dealing with a huge backlog of sexual shame and shame of your identity.” It’s super important that the gay community openly talk about these issues because so many suffer in silence and don’t get the help they need. I have the up most respect for Young for openly talking about it. (extracts taken from @pink_news) . . . . . . #QueerHistory #Pride #PrideMonth #30DaysOfPride #LGBT #LGBTQ #QueerHistory #KnowYourHistory #Gay #Lesbian #Bisexual #Transgender #History #Equality #Illustration #QueerArt #QueerArtist #Willyoung #singer #popidol
A post shared by LUKEE THORNHILL (@lukeethornhill) on Jun 18, 2017 at 4:49am PDT
#30DaysOfPride 21/30: Since coming out in 2014 at the @HumanRightsCampaign, @EllenPage, in seeking to aid her LGBT community, has taken anything but the Hollywood conformist route. Her confrontation with Ted Cruz made headlines, as did her role as a real-life lesbian in Freeheld, which she co-produced. She can be seen in @Viceland’s queer-themed reality series #Gaycation and the dramedy Tallulah, co-starring Zachary Quinto. (Extract taken from @OutMagazine) . “I’m on Twitter and I’m gay,” Page said, “and I talk about gay rights … As a gay person living in Los Angeles, I get to do a job that I love that’s given me — let’s just be honest — money. I think it really is easy to forget what a lot of LGBT people face.” . . . . . . . . . . #QueerHistory #Pride #PrideMonth #30DaysOfPride #LGBT #LGBTQ #QueerHistory #KnowYourHistory #Gay #Lesbian #Bisexual #Transgender #History #Equality #Illustration #QueerArt #QueerArtist #EllenPage
A post shared by LUKEE THORNHILL (@lukeethornhill) on Jun 21, 2017 at 1:14pm PDT
#30DaysOfPride 24/30: Born RuPaul Andre Charles the world’s most famous drag queen got his start with a punk-rock band in Atlanta, eventually making his way into the NYC nightlife scene and was voted by club owners, promoters and DJs “Queen of Manhattan 1990.” RuPaul’s career skyrocketed around this time after his hit single “Supermodel” went mainstream in 1993. He soon landed a cameo in The B-52’s “Love Shack” music video, a spokesperson gig for M.A.C. Cosmetics, his own self-titled talk and variety show, “The RuPaul Show,” on VH1 and continued to make albums and published books. Furthermore, RuPaul was arguably the first drag queen to make his way into the homes of middle America and helped bring massive visibility to the LGBT community years before Ellen DeGeneres and others. Now Ru is more visible than ever, mentoring America’s next drag superstar hopefuls in the hit show, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” on @LogoTV. (Extract taken from @huffpost) . “Mama said ‘Unless they gonna pay your bills, pay them bitches no mind’.” . . . . . . . . . . #QueerHistory #Pride #PrideMonth #30DaysOfPride #LGBT #LGBTQ #QueerHistory #KnowYourHistory #Gay #Lesbian #Bisexual #Transgender #History #Equality #Illustration #QueerArt #QueerArtist #rupaul #rupaulsdragrace #dragqueen #dragrace
A post shared by LUKEE THORNHILL (@lukeethornhill) on Jun 25, 2017 at 6:02am PDT