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10 historical photos that capture turning points of gay liberation in America

10 historical photos that capture turning points of gay liberation in America
The Gay Liberation Front march down Hollywood Boulevard carrying signs in a call to end homosexual discrimination during the 1970 Los Angeles Christopher Street West pride parade in Hollywood, California. Uncredited / AP Photo
  • Through the years, LGBTQ+ people have been in the background of history.
  • There have been many turning points on the road to liberation, including trans athletes in sports.

Queer people have long existed in the background of history. Still, LGBTQ+ activities have long been criminalized — often rooted in religion, science, or socio-political factors, leaving queer individuals largely estranged.

And while erasure is prevalent in marginalized communities, LGBTQ+ people in the US have experienced some important turning points in history.

These photos show landmark events in the fight for freedom of sexuality, identity, and love.

Despite their pivotal role in queer liberation, transgender people are often written out of LGBTQ+ history.

Despite their pivotal role in queer liberation, transgender people are often written out of LGBTQ+ history.
Christine Jorgensen was the first person to become widely known in the United States for having sex reassignment surgery      Bill Meurer for New York Daily News Archive / Getty Images

For example, in 1952, years before the Stonewall Riots, American actor and singer Christine Jorgensen was introduced to America as the first woman to have gender-affirming surgery. At a time when public cross-dressing and gender-nonconforming activities were illegal, her transition paved the way for transgender visibility.

While the inclusion of transgender people in sports has been a hot topic in recent years, the conversation dates back to 1976.

While the inclusion of transgender people in sports has been a hot topic in recent years, the conversation dates back to 1976.
Renee Richards in action at the 1976 Tennis Week Open.      Manny Millan for Sports Illustrated / Getty Images

After the United States Tennis Association barred Renée Richards from competing in the US Open as a woman, she sued the USTA for gender discrimination. Richards won the lawsuit a year later and became one of the first trans woman athletes to play professionally.

Her feat changed the game for many transgender and queer athletes.

Despite progress, the rate of transgender homicide continues to soar decades later.

On November 20, 1999, the first Transgender Day of Remembrance vigils were held to honor Rita Hester, a 34-year-old Black trans woman who was murdered in Boston a year earlier.

Five years later, on June 25, 2004, a few hundred people set foot on the first Trans March during Pride weekend in San Francisco.

One of the most famed moments of LGBTQ+ liberation was the Stonewall Riots.

One of the most famed moments of LGBTQ+ liberation was the Stonewall Riots.
Stonewall Inn nightclub raid. Crowd attempts to impede police arrests outside the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village.      New York Daily News Archive / Getty Images

On June 28, 1969, police raided a gay club in New York City called the Stonewall Inn, which led to six days of protests from the community and violence from law enforcement.

Four transgender and gender non-conforming women of color led the uprising, built on a string of similar protests at private businesses that began a decade earlier: Cooper Do-nuts in 1959, Compton's Cafeteria in August 1966, and The Black Cat in 1967.

They're acknowledged as a catalyst for the Gay Liberation Movement, allowing many LGBTQ+ people to enjoy a new sense of sexual freedom in its wake.

The first Pride marches were held in the '70s.

The first Pride marches were held in the
Gilbert Baker, who designed the most internationally known symbol for the gay culture, the rainbow coloured flag, 25 years ago, heads the 2003 Stockholm Pride Parade.      Fredrik Persson for AFP / Getty Images

In June 1970, one year after the riots started, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco held the first Pride parades, formerly known as Pride Marches.

In 1978, Gilbert Baker designed the first rainbow flags for the parade in San Francisco.

"A Rainbow Flag was a conscious choice, natural and necessary," Baker said in his memoir "Rainbow Warrior: My Life in Color," explaining that the rainbow symbolizes cultural diversity in the LGBTQ+ community. "Now the rioters who claimed their freedom at the Stonewall Bar in 1969 would have their own symbol of liberation."

The 'unspoken' epidemic began in the '80s, killing many LGBTQ+ people.

The
AIDS activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) protest at the headquarters of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).      Catherine McGann / Getty Images

In June 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published news of five cases of pneumonia among previously healthy young men in Los Angeles. They were described as "homosexuals."

The cases were later attributed to a virus known as HIV. It wasn't until September 17, 1985, four years after the first reported cases, that then-president Ronald Reagan publicly addressed the virus. By then, thousands of people were either living with or had died from HIV.

In a pre-PrEP world, stigma and discrimination led to a public health crisis that disproportionately impacted people of color in the community. It quickly became an epidemic, with tens of millions of reported cases and deaths from the virus.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt honored the lives that were lost.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt honored the lives that were lost.
The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt is shown for the first time on the Mall in Washington DC.      Lee Snider / Getty Images

A community art project known as The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt honored the lives of people lost by AIDS. It debuted on October 11, 1987, during the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Washington, DC.

LGBTQ+ people slowly started making their way into politics.

LGBTQ+ people slowly started making their way into politics.
Kathy Kozachenko.      Courtesy of the Human Rights Party (Ann Arbor, Mich.) records / Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.

Two years ago, over 450 LGBTQ+ candidates ran for office. The 2022 midterm elections made history for having the most wins for openly queer candidates during an election period. But 50 years ago, one small victory was a huge step for the community.

On April 2, 1974, Kathy Kozachenko was elected to the Ann Arbor City Council in Michigan. She became the first openly LGBTQ+ person to run for political office in the US successfully.

Kozachenko's win is lesser known than Harvey Milk's.

Kozachenko
Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.      Bettmann / Getty Images

Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on November 8, 1977, and, alongside San Francisco's then-Mayor George Moscone, was an early gay rights advocate.

A year into their term, former supervisor Dan White shot and killed Milk and Moscone. White was known for having political disagreements with the duo.

Fast forward to the 21st century, the LGBTQ+ community witnessed many wins.

Fast forward to the 21st century, the LGBTQ+ community witnessed many wins.
Jim Obergefell, the named plaintiff in the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case that legalized same sex marriage nationwide.      Eric Gay / AP Photo

On June 26, 2003, same-sex sexual activity was legalized in Lawrence v. Texas. The Supreme Court of the United States held that criminalizing consensual, same-sex sexual conduct violates the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.

Then-President Barack Obama announced the repeal of former President Bill Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, ending years of secrecy and silence for queer members of the US military.

On June 26, 2015, exactly 12 years after Lawrence v. Texas, the United States Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages are recognized under the 14th Amendment in the Obergefell v. Hodges case.

While the US has witnessed much progress for the LGBTQ+ community in the past century, some states' support for LGBTQ+ rights has wavered.

More recently, on June 28, the Texas Supreme Court upheld its 2023 ruling that bans transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming medical care. Texas is only the largest of 25 states with laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary minors.

Momo Takahashi contributed to this piece.


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