Philadelphia FIGHT honored Casarez with the Kiyoshi Kuromiya award for HIV/AIDS activism in 2011 in recognition of her many years of activism on behalf of disenfranchised Latinx LGBTQ youth. Following her death, FIGHT stated "Gloria wasn’t just a policymaker and activist. She was a kind, generous, and fun person. She bravely fought her cancer for many years and even as a cancer patient she remained an activist, often refusing to cover her head, or cover over her diagnosis. Everybody loved Gloria, and we will all miss her very much." Civil rights activist and community organizer Amber Hikes said of Casarez "Her light was so bright, it lit the way for all of us. She used her energy to build up those around her and support our dreams and our talents. Gloria guided this community in ways most of us do not know or even understand. She was a leader for LGBTQ people in this city for sure but to this queer brown girl, she was a giant, a living legend, proof that there was a place for queer people of color in this community.”
