Muñoz Award

The José Esteban Muñoz Award was created to honor an LGBTQ community leader or activist for their advocacy and promotion of LGBTQ Studies. José Esteban Muñoz was a pioneer in LGBTQ studies. He was the author and editor of several books that grappled with issues of race, gender, and sexuality including Cruising Utopia: The Politics and Performance of Queer Futurity and Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics. He was also a professor and former Chair of the Department of Performance Studies at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He passed away in December 2013.

Muñoz Award 2021: Carmelita Tropicana
Muñoz Award 2020: CANCELLED due to COVID - 19   
Muñoz Award 2019: Cheryl Dunye 
Muñoz Award 2018: Patrisse-Khan Cullors
Muñoz Award 2017: Frenchie Davis, Nathan Lee Graham, & Wilson Cruz
Muñoz Award 2016: Jose Antonio Vargas
Muñoz Award 2015: Janet Mock




WINNERS BIOS and Event Recordings:

Cheryl Dunye - 2019
Cheryl Dunye emerged as part of the “queer new wave” of young filmmakers of the 1990s, paving the way for the many black women and LGBTQ directors working today. Dunye has made over 15 films, including The Watermelon Woman, HBO’s Stranger Inside, The Owls, and My Baby’s Daddy.

At this event, Dunye receives the annual Jose Munoz Award, given to LGBTQ activists. She speaks with Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz, co-coordinator at the Lesbian Herstory Archives, assistant professor at The Graduate Center, and co-chair of the Board of Directors of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies. Presented on September 23, 2019 with The Graduate Center Public Programs.

At the age of 16, Cullors discovered her passion for helping young queer women facing the challenges of poverty, prejudice, and violence. In 2013, she co-founded the #BlackLivesMatter movement, which has grown into an international organization fighting anti-Black racism.

Patrisse Cullors – 2018

Patrisse Cullors, artist, organizer, and co-founder of Black Lives Matter, comes to the Graduate Center for a Pride Month conversation.

The co-author of the recent best seller When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir speaks with Justin T. Brown (Ph.D. 17′).

Date & Time: Tue, June 12, 2018  |   6:30PM – 8:00 PM EDT

Location: Prohansky Auditorium, 365 Avenue, New York, NY