Arnie Kantrowitz (1940−2022) leaves behind a lega­cy as a true pio­neer, cham­pi­on and sage of the gay rights move­ment. He is the author of the gay clas­sic, Under the Rain­bow, Grow­ing Up Gay, of a mono­graph, Walt Whit­man, and was a notable writer and fig­ure in gay and main­stream media. He became vice pres­i­dent of Gay Activists Alliance in 1970 and was a found­ing mem­ber of the Gay and Les­bian Alliance Against Defama­tion (GLAAD) in 1985. He intro­duced one of the ear­li­est gay stud­ies cours­es and in 1999 became chair of the Eng­lish depart­ment at the Col­lege of Stat­en Island CUNY, where he was a long­stand­ing and beloved pro­fes­sor of Eng­lish. He is sur­vived by his life part­ner, Dr. Lar­ry Mass. Like Whit­man, Arnie’s ded­i­ca­tion to cre­at­ing a more inclu­sive soci­ety con­tin­ues to inspire read­ers of all ages and backgrounds.