As the new face of the LGBTQ community, Victoria Kirby is one of the leading activists in Washington, D.C. Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, Kirby knew she wanted to be an LGBTQ activist since coming out at the tender age of sixteen. However, being gay in Florida at that time wasn’t so common. When Kirby decided to enroll at Howard University, she knew that she could make a difference in the D.C. community.
While at Howard, Kirby became a member of the Gay Student Alliance (GSA) and participated in several Pride events. One of her biggest accomplishments while at the University was when she was elected as the first openly gay person on the Board of Trustees. She also hosted the first LGBTQ alumni reception shortly after graduating.
Kirby was recently appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser as the Vice Chair of LGBTQ Advisory Council; working closely with Sheila Alexander-Reid. Outside of her working with Mayor Bowser, she was appointed the Director of the LGBTQ Task Force in March 2015, which is a historic moment with being an African-American queer woman.
In the near future, Kirby wants to open up her own LGBTQ organization. With the increasing number of transgender people being murdered and LGBTQ youth becoming homeless, she wants to focus on this specific sector of the community.
Kirby currently doesn’t have any plans to slow down when it comes to changing the face of the LGBTQ community, but she wants to leave a loving legacy. According to Kirby, she wants to “make peoples lives better by showing them someone actually cares for them; show people how to advocate for themselves and others; uplift LGBTQ youth lives; and let people know that their current situation doesn’t have to be their future situation”.
