GLOW GAY AND LESBIAN ORGANISATION OF THE WITWATERSRAND (front)
SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES SIMON TSEKO NKOLI 1957 – 1998 - LESBIAN AND GAY EQUALITY ACTIVIST - HIV/AIDS ACTIVIST - ANTI-APARTHEID ACTIVIST (back)


The Gay and Lesbian Organisation of the Witwatersrand (GLOW) was founded by Simon Tseko Nkoli, Beverley Palesa Ditsie and Linda Ngcobo in 1988. GLOW's membership consisted primarily of Black, urban, working-class youth from Johannesburg's townships. GLOW’s chapters grew to include Hillbrow, KwaThema, Berea, Soweto, and Yeoville.

GLOW was vocally political, asserting that the fight against homophobia could not be separated from the broader fight against apartheid. Although its members collaborated with the ANC, GLOW did not affiliate itself with a political party, allowing it to hold all parties accountable for proposing comprehensive pro-LGBT reforms.

GLOW held the first Miss GLOW competition – an annual drag show organised by founding member Linda Ngcobo – in Soweto in 1988. It has also hosted Johannesburg’s annual Lesbian and Gay Pride March since 1990 and began producing a newsletter in 1992.