All Hall of Fame Members

Simone Bell

First out Black lesbian elected to a U.S. state legislature

Simone Bell won her race for the Georgia House of Representatives in 2009, becoming the first Black out lesbian ever elected to a state legislature in the U.S. She was reelected three times. In 2015, she resigned to become the Southern Regional Director for Lambda Legal. Yet the 58th district seat became an LGBTQ+ legacy seat, with out LGBTQ+ Rep. Park Cannon winning a special election to replace Bell in the state legislature. Bell had encouraged Cannon to run for the seat.

Georgia House of Representatives (2009 – 2015)

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