Hollywood may have its legendary Walk of Fame, but for Queerguru the Rainbow Honor Walk in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood is far more important. Now spanning several blocks, it houses bronze sidewalk plaques that honor Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer individuals who have made a significant difference to society in California, the United States and countries around the world.
This week, they added one more plaque and it was to commemorate the life and legacy of Roger Casement — Irish patriot, humanitarian, and LGBTQ+ trailblazer. Casement was a diplomat turned activist, and he remains one of Ireland’s most complex and inspiring historical figures — a man of profound moral conviction and compassion. After joining the British Foreign Ministry in 1901 and serving as Consul at Boma in the Congo, Casement investigated and exposed human rights abuses under King Leopold II’s brutal regime. His groundbreaking “Casement Report” (1904) helped end a 23-year reign of terror in the so-called “Congo Free State,” forcing international reform.
Casement later turned his moral courage toward his homeland, becoming a fervent supporter of Irish independence. Arrested for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916, he was executed in London that same year. Only decades later did the world begin to acknowledge the injustice done to him — not only as a revolutionary, but as a gay man persecuted for his truth and identity.
The placque was unveiled by Micheál Smith, The Consulate General of Ireland in the Bank of America Plaza at 501 Castro Street, joining 44 other permanent tributes to notable LGBTQ+ individuals who have shaped world history and culture.
In a statement Smith said “We are gratified to work with the Rainbow Honor Walk and the United Irish Societies to celebrate the life of Roger Casement, an Irish patriot and peerless human rights campaigner. He stood up for the oppressed across continents and ultimately for the freedom of his own country. He was a gay man, whose truth when spoken in his lifetime was used against him. His memory today reminds us that the cause of equality and human dignity is universal and enduring”.
will also attend.
“Never has it been more important than now to celebrate our LGBTQ heroes and heroines,” said Donna Sachet, President of the all-volunteer nonprofit Rainbow Honor Walk. “We are so honored and gratified that the Irish Consulate here in San Francisco is helping us lift up one such hero, Roger Casement.”
P.S. The criteria for all nominations to be honored with a RHW sidewalk plaque are as follows: self-expressed LGBTQ individuals, now deceased, who made significant contributions in their fields. Criteria for additional names to be added to the Walk over the years may change subject to the wishes of the community working in concert with the Rainbow Honor Walk Board of Directors.
