200 Years of LGBTQIA+ History

From Shadows to Pride — UK & Global Timeline

Source Record

South African activist Simon Nkoli

Why this source is used

Biography PDF describing Simon Nkoli as an anti-apartheid, gay rights and AIDS activist.

Start with the answer

Start with the answer Which LGBTQ+ public figures changed visibility? They changed visibility in politics, science, activism and literature by showing that queer lives could be public, influential and historic. Read the topic guide Queer Public Trailblazers Queer public trailblazers made LGBTQ+ lives visible across science, civil rights, elected office and trans liberation, often while facing erasure or punishment.

Source Status

Publisher
LGBT History Month
Type
organisation
Reliability
medium
Cited by
3 pages

Source Links

Open original source https://lgbthistorymonth.com/sites/default/files/icon_multimedia_pdfs/2013/LGBT-2013-Bios%2022.pdf Accessed 5 June 2026 Open archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://lgbthistorymonth.com/sites/default/files/icon_multimedia_pdfs/2013/LGBT-2013-Bios%2022.pdf

Used by Topics

Queer Public Trailblazers

Used by Questions

Which LGBTQ+ public figures changed visibility?

Used by Timeline Events

19 November 1988 ActivismInternationalPeople

Simon Nkoli Acquitted — South Africa's Gay Anti-Apartheid Hero

Simon Nkoli, a Black gay anti-apartheid activist, was acquitted after spending four years in prison as one of the Delmas Treason Trial defendants. Nkoli had been arrested in 1984 for his role in organising rent boycotts against the apartheid government. While on trial, he came out as gay to his co-accused, including members of the United Democratic Front. His courage in being openly gay within the anti-apartheid movement helped ensure that sexual orientation protections were included in South Africa's post-apartheid constitution. Nkoli founded the Gay and Lesbian Organisation of the Witwatersrand (GLOW) and organised South Africa's first Pride march in Johannesburg in 1990.