A comprehensive new memorial honoring prominent San Diego GLBT community activists, called the San Diego LGBT Community Wall of Honor, will be unveiled at a public reception taking place at The Center on Friday, June 25. The Wall of Honor is the brainchild of longtime activist and Gay & Lesbian Times columnist Nicole Murray Ramirez, who created the wall in conjunction with the Imperial Court and The Center, and is the only memorial of its kind in the nation.

“I had visited the Malcolm X Library in San Diego, and in that library they have pictures of San Diego African Americans who have become famous or made contributions to the community,” Murray Ramirez said of how the idea for the Wall of Honor came about. “I thought, ‘Why can’t we do that? Why can’t our community have a wall of honor?’”

The idea formalized in 2002, and Murray Ramirez announced the project during the Imperial Court’s 30th anniversary celebration at the U.S. Grant Hotel. A Wall of Honor committee formed shortly thereafter, and The Imperial Court and Ben Dillingham, a committee member, partially funded the creation of the memorial.

“This is the foundation of our movement,” said Judi Schaim, another member of the Wall of Honor committee. “These were the people that, back then when it wasn’t ‘in’ to be ‘out’, [fought] because of their passion and their desire for us all to have equality. It is pretty remarkable even today, but imagine 20 or 30 years ago. They put their lives on the line, so honoring them? To me, the sadness is that we didn’t get to say ‘Thank you’ when they were alive and we didn’t even know the degree of their impact when they were alive. It’s the least we can do and the best we have.”

Inductees are chosen according to criteria loosely characterized by heroic individuals, Dillingham explained: the Dr. Martin Luther King/Cesar Chavez Rule dictates an individual who has made a notable contribution towards the advancement of GLBT equal rights, hate crime protections or towards raising community consciousness towards these issues; the Florence Nightingale Rule is for someone who has played a significant role in establishing, leading or enhancing organizations, nonprofits, businesses, professional offices, movements, committees, clubs and/or individual efforts that have benefited the GLBT community; the Rosa Parks Rule names someone who, by design or through circumstance, fulfilled a role of historic significance in promoting or calling attention to the need for equal rights or hate crimes protections for the GLBT community; and the Mother Teresa Rule is for a person who has lived openly in the GLBT community and by their singular talent, courage, conviction, industry, dedication or sacrifice benefited or inspired humanity, serving as an exceptional role model.

Sixteen deceased individuals will be inducted this year, with a maximum of five living activists and any number of deceased activists allowed in subsequent years. “I strongly believe, why do we have to wait until somebody dies?” Murray Ramirez said. “Some people in our community have been here for decades, that have made a contribution, and belong on that wall and will be on that wall and are still alive.”

A plaque with a photo and a short biography for each inductee will be hung on the Wall of Honor, located at The Center, and a more comprehensive bio of each will be included in an accompanying book. Dillingham said that the committee hopes to also have the biographies and photos available online for people to access freely.

“One of the amazing things, I think, to all of the committee was how difficult it was to resurrect a biography on these people and come up with a suitable picture that was clear that could be used on a plaque and as a reference, and it just shows you how quickly those things fade from mind,” he said.

Murray Ramirez added that many of this year’s inductees passed away due to AIDS, and that the memorial wall serves as a testament to the decimation HIV/AIDS has caused over the last 30 years.

This year’s inductees are: Thom Carey, a principal founder of the Gay Center for Social Services, now The Center, and a lifelong civil rights activist; John Ciaccio, founder of the now defunct San Diego Gayzette and one of the first people to speak publicly about the AIDS epidemic after his diagnosis in 1985; Barbara Crusberg, who strengthened the GLBT community through business and community organizations and dedicated her life to human rights work; John Eberly, a founding member of The Center in 1971; Don Edmundson, the first African American empress of the Imperial Court system; Neil Good, the second openly gay candidate to run for political office in San Diego; Don Hauck, co-founder of Update; Tom Homann, a civil rights attorney who fought for First Amendment and GLBT rights for almost 20 years in San Diego; Robert “Jess” Jessop, one of the original founders of The Center and of the Lesbian and Gay Historical Society of San Diego; Clint Johnson, a San Diego nightclub owner, entertainer, fundraiser and community activist; Corrine “Martie” Mackey, an activist and a writer who founded Lesbians and Gays of African Descent United (LAGADU); Gary Rees, a prominent San Diego businessman, organizer of AIDS Walk and a founding member of The Center; Rob Shepard, the fifth executive director of The Center and a founder of the Gay Veterans Association; Dr. A. Brad Truax, a San Diego physician who fought for human rights, particularly around the AIDS epidemic; Robert Walsh, founder of a GLBT activist organization called the Lavender Angels; and Jerry White, an activist who served on the Founder’s Committee of The Center.

“These first 16 people, while they’re no longer with us, I think it is so beautiful and so important that these men and women will be remembered,” Murray Ramirez said. “And that young people, and people who don’t know about our history, will come into our Center and look on that wall and learn about these people, and realize that all of this didn’t just happen, that people sacrificed and were trailblazers.”

Schaim and Murray Ramirez said that they hope the idea will catch on around the nation, with cities eventually collaborating on a comprehensive history.

“We have a collaboration with Pride, a national and international Pride; we’re now creating a national business chamber of commerce,” Schaim said. “I think as we nationalize many of these incredibly important events, ultimately we will have more history. History is being written now, but I think we’re losing a lot of it, too.”

“Nicole’s idea in forming the wall was to keep our history intact for future generations so they’d know who was responsible for the great achievements that have been made over the decades,” Dillingham added. “It fast disappears unless some attempt is made like this wall that Nicole has suggested. Hopefully, other communities will do the same, because if they don’t, they won’t capture these incredible individuals who did amazing things in very difficult times.”

Other Wall of Honor committee members are Delores Jacobs, Shawn Ingram, Jeri Dilno and Sharon Parker.

The Wall of Honor community reception takes place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, June 25. For more information, or to make a donation to the Wall of Honor project, contact Shawn Ingram at (619) 692-2077 ext. 204 or singram@thecentersd.org.