Roya Marsh, a Bronx, New York native, reflects on the impact Audre Lorde has had on her artistry. Marsh is a nationally recognized poet, performer, educator, and activist, has served as the Poet in Residence at Urban Word NYC, and works feverishly towards LGBTQIA justice and dismantling white supremacy.

Twiggy Pucci Garcon, an activist, advocate, and healer, reflects on the impact legendary ballroom figure Willi Ninja has had on her artistry. Twiggy has collaborated with artists, filmmakers, academics, and policymakers to increase visibility of both creative and sociopolitical agendas. With over 13 years of experience in the public health education and direct services, she has extensive knowledge of the needs of the LGBTQ youth population and how to foster relationships with organizations that offer effective, quality services. Twiggy is the Senior Program Director at True Colors United. She also sits on the Board of Directors for Doc Society and serves as a consultant and choreographer on Ryan Murphy’s 7-time Emmy nominated hit FX series, POSE. She is a consulting programmer for Outfest, Newfest, and Outfest Fusion, the Overall Overseer for the Legendary International House of Comme Des Garcon, and the Chief Ambassador for the Center for Black Equity.

Torrian L. Baskerville, an unapologetic Black queer advocate, activist, and agent of change, reflects on the impact that Bayard Rustin has had on his life and work. Baskerville has a deep love for social service and an unwavering drive to reduce health disparities, increase visibility, and improve health outcomes for marginalized populations, especially youth and young adults, persons living with HIV, and Black and Latinx men who have sex with men. Torrian is the Statewide LGBTQ Prevention Manager at Hyacinth Foundation and Founder/Managing Partner of Mounted Wings Group, LLC. He sits on several advisory boards including the New Jersey HIV Planning Group and He is Valuable, Incorporated; and serves as Board Chair of The Door: Adolescent Health Center in New York City.

Actress Jari Jones reflects on the impact Marsha P. Johnson has had on her life and work. Jari is a Black Transgender actress, curve model, activist, and creative. With her career start in theater, she has graced some of New York’s greatest stages, such as The Public Theater’s Production of Elizabeth Swado’s “The Runaways,” Here Art Center’s “The Sex Myth: A Devised Play,” and Lin Manuel’s “In The Heights.” Jari later shifted her career into TV & Film, and has been featured in POSE, Sundance nominated film Adam, Netflix’s Tales of The City, and the highly acclaimed Transparent: Musical Movie Finale. Recently she has produced alongside Martin Scorsese and RT Films, as well as co-starred in the new film Port Authority, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival. Jari is the first Black trans woman to have a film produced and premiere at Cannes in its 72 year entirety. After building a successful career as a fashion and editorial photographer, she jumped on the other side of the lens and into publication and campaigns, quickly becoming internationally recognized as a Trans and Body Positive model and influencer. Jari has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Allure, and recently in PAPER Magazine Predictions: 100 people taking over 2019, with her insight on fashion within politics, body positivity, LGBTQ community building, and relationships.

Creative, actor, and activist Danielle Cooper reflects on the impact and legacy of Stormé Delarverie. In 2014, Danielle launched “She’s a Gent,” a blog that celebrates and explores personal style while also using it as a tool to bring awareness to QPOC (queer people of color) and androgynous women in menswear. In a very short period of time, her platform transformed into a multi-digital publication which creates visibility for underrepresented QPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. Danielle is committed to empowering others through content creation and storytelling. “She’s a Gent” has been recognized in Forbes, The New York Times, Huffington Post, OUT Magazine, Vogue, and Nike.com. In addition to creating “She’s a Gent,” Danielle recently made her acting debut on Season 2 of the historic and groundbreaking 7-time Emmy nominated FX series, POSE. Her mission is to continue to help open doors for queer people of color in television/film and across all media platforms.

Anthony Wayne, a producer, writer, and actor, reflects on the mighty real impact that Sylvester has had on him as a performer. Seen on Broadway in “Anything Goes,” “Once on this Island,” “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” and “Pippin,” Anthony’s touring credits include “A Chorus Line” as Richie, “The Color Purple,” and “Fame the Musical.” He has completed a yearlong run in the new Broadway production of “”Tootsie the Musical” and is working on bringing his show “Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical” to Broadway. Additionally, Anthony, in collaboration with Kendrell Bowman, created ANTHONYKEN LLC, a production company which specializes in bringing community issues and social awareness to the forefront through performing arts and media. The company was created to inspire and encourage others to be multifaceted individuals through adversity.

Musician Guy Anthony reflects on the impact and legacy of American jazz composer Billy Strayhorn.