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Travis Shumake
Paul Reitz
Educators

Travis Shumake

Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.

Travis Shumake is not the lip-syncing kind of drag racer, but he hopes his title as the fastest out gay driver in motorsports (319 mph!) can be just as significant for the LGBTQ+ community. “In addition to driving really fast, I hold space in the conservative world of motorsports for other car and racing motorsports enthusiasts who don’t fit the traditional racing mold,” says Shumake, who this year purchased his own National Hot Rod Association team.

“After thousands of ‘nos’ from sponsors and teams, and people telling me to be ‘less gay’ if I wanted to fit in, I decided the only way I could be my authentic self was to own my own shit,” he says. Now the goal is to get a big LGBTQ+ slice of the $8 billion motorsports sponsorship pie.

As a full-time employee of the Ali Forney Center, a former foster dad, and endless advocate for unhoused youth, Shumake believes in the power of being a role model. As queer people, “we all fight for equality and representation in our subcultures, sports, and societies,” Shumake says. “We have to divide and conquer.” @travieshu

Stacey Yvonne

Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com

Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com

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Jaymes Black
Erik Carter

Daniel Reynolds

Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.

Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.

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Educators

Jaymes Black

Meet some of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.

Erik Carter

The Trevor Project — a national suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit supporting LGBTQ+ youth — tapped Jaymes Black this year to helm the group’s vital work.

Black (he/she/they) is Trevor’s first Black and first nonbinary CEO. A former CEO of Family Equality who grew up in the rural South, they bring both an impressive résumé and lived experience to tackling the daunting challenges faced by today’s queer and trans kids. “To be in this role, to be who I needed when I was [a] young queer Black awkward kid in Texas, is…another dream come true,” they say.

Bullies manifest on the playground and in the political world. But through it all, Black is inspired by how many young people live openly and proudly, a resilience that comes with being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

“The way that we view the world is very different. And because of that, I think we come with…this innate strength that others don’t understand,” they say. “We’ll never give up. We’ll never give up the fight. We’ll never give up fighting for equality. We’ll never give up being ourselves.” @thejaymesblack