This may mean more to those from Michigan, but I would hate to see this lady just be a footnote in queer history: Ruth Ellis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Ellis_(activist)
Ruth Ellis was an out African-American lesbian most of her life. She and her long-time partner, Babe Franklin, opened their home to runaway gays and lesbians. Today, there is a LGBTQ center in Highland Park in the metro Detroit area named for her (the Ruth Ellis Center) that serves as short-term and long-term shelter for LGBTQ youth or young adults. It is one of 4 shelters in the US that is dedicated to this purpose.