UpStairs Lounge Fire

Christine Jorgensen was one of the first people to undergo Sexual Reassignment Surgery in the 1950's. She became a media sensation, but get this: people loved her! She used her fame to forward the rights of transgendered people.

Josephine Baker was an American chorus girl who left the racism of the United States behind to become a French superstar. She used her fame to spy on Nazis, end segregation, and live an eccentric life of luxury.

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter, known for her personal and original style, her love of her country, and her intimate depiction of physical and emotional pain. Learn more about her today with Dakota and Dylan. Music by Liv Slingerland https://soundcloud.com/livslingerland

Walt Whitman is possibly the most influential American poet. His poems were full of sexuality, and often censored. Whitman was a revolutionary poet, a Civil War nurse, and surprisingly smooth with younger guys. Learn more about him today with Dakota & Dylan. Music by Liv Slingerland https://soundcloud.com/livslingerland

Alan Turing was the scientist that might have most shaped your daily life! He was a mathmetician involved in theoretical computer science, artificial intellegence, and breaking Nazi codes. Yet his own government turned on him after WWII because of his knowledge and his sexuality. Learn more about him today with Dakota & Dylan. Music by Liv Slingerland

Bayard Rustin was a leader in the black civil rights movement. Openly gay his whole life, he faced blackmail and intimidation, but still counseled Martin Luther King Jr. on non-violence and organized the historic 1963 March on Washington. Learn more about him today with Dakota & Dylan. Music by Liv Slingerland

Before the tragic Pulse shooting in Orlando, the UpStairs Lounge Fire was the most deadly attack on gay people in U.S. history. Learn more about it today with Dakota & Dylan. Music by Liv Slingerland