SAN DIEGO – Long-time Latino gay activist Nicole Murray Ramirez was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 30th Anniversary Dinner of the Border Angels of San Diego, Nov. 5. The sold out event was held at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation. Ramirez and international stage producer and director William A. Virchis were both honorees. The event drew many dignitaries including Congresswoman Susan Davis, Councilman David Alvarez, the new consul general of Mexico and numerous Latino leaders.
City Commissioner Ramirez has always been a proud gay American of Mexican descent. He is a co-founder of Orgullo/San Diego, a past chair of the national Latino Lesbian and Gay Organization of Washington, D.C.; co-founder of the People of Color AIDS Services Task Force of San Diego and founder of the Tijuana AIDS Fund. The Nicole Murray Ramirez Latino Services at The LGBT Community Center was named in his honor and also an AIDS hospice in Tijuana. There are LGBT student scholarships named in his honor in the cities of Boston, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and San Diego.
Border Angels founder Enrique Morones called Ramirez a true hero and role model for the Latino community and in his address to the crowd City Commissioner Ramirez stated while “the golden state is indeed turning brown, the Latino community must continue to reach out and build bridges with other communities.”
Commissioner Ramirez, who has worked with both Harvey Milk and Cesar Chavez, has also been a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Latino Unity Coalition, The Frida Kahlo Leadership Award and the Cesar Chavez Social Justice Award by his widow Helen Chavez.
