St. Crystal LaBeija
Crystal LaBeija was an American drag queen and trans woman who founded the House of LaBeija in 1977. The House is often credited as starting the house system in ball culture. She became a mother figure for homeless LGBTQ youth.
She is perhaps most known for her appearance in the 1968 documentary The Queen, which documented the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Pagean, a drag competition, where LaBeija was one of a very few Black queens who competed. Embedded racism within the gay community and accusations of favoritism on the part of the judging panel led LaBeija to vociferously object. Her tirade against the competition and its organizers is memorialized in an unforgettable moment in the documentary and continues to be remembered as an iconic moment in queer film.