Activism doesn’t just look like leading a protest. It’s serving your community through social work. Or that low-fi video that makes you feel a little less alone in the world. It’s Black, queer multimedia artist Corinne Smith, also known fondly by the moniker Critty Smitty. Alchemizing paint into moving explorations of joy in the midst of grief and loss, Corinne is a testament to the power of art as activism.

We know getting involved might seem a little intimidating, so we sat down with five leaders in the LGBTQIA+ community to hear about how they’re approaching activism in their own unique ways.

Activism doesn’t just look like leading a protest. It’s that low-fi video that makes you feel a little less alone in the world. It’s serving the community through social work. It’s sharing your story. It looks like each and every day you make the choice to dress true to your authentic self in a world that demands conformity. This Pride season, we pay homage to the activists—past, present and future—fighting for queer liberation and equal rights. And at the very forefront is living ancestor Cecilia Chung.

This season, we pay homage to the activists—past, present and future—speaking out for queer liberation and equal rights. One advocate on the forefront is Dr. Roger Kuhn, a Poarch Creek Two-Spirit Indigiqueer soma-cultural sex therapist and sexuality educator. His work explores the concepts of decolonizing and unsettling sexuality and focuses on the way culture impacts and informs our bodily experiences.

Sef Cavendish is an autistic writer, survivor of behavior conversion therapy, student and critic of Psychology and self-described gender anarchist encouraging folks to think and act beyond the oppressive systems that make up our world, whether they’re harmful narratives we’ve internalized or power structures from which we benefit.

One advocate on the forefront is Alex Locust, a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and unapologetic glamputee spreading the word about disability justice one workshop at a time.