Humanity has walked thousands of steps to reach the Pride Parade. Lots of people contributed to this event. It will be impossible to imagine Pride Month without them.

They belong to different groups:

• Artists;
• Politicians;
• Literary figures;
• Workers.

All these people are considered to be real heroes. They were not afraid. They took active actions to change their lives and the lives of other people.

Women won’t keep silence

Among all these people, there were a lot of women who took part in this struggle. Audre Lorde was one of them. She was a writer. She is known in the world as a “black feminist lesbian poet warrior mother”. She revealed such problems in society as racism, sexism and homophobia. Her death in 1991 didn’t stop this movement. Later, at the beginning of the 21st century, she was honoured for her works.

Another example of a strong woman is Barbara Gittings. She began her fight for gay rights in the middle of the previous century. She was the founder of the organization called Daughters of Billitis. She occupied the leading position during the pickets. She focused on the problem of anti-gay discrimination.

There were also people who changed their sex. Christine Jorgensen is a good example of such a person. She made the operation in Denmark and returned to the USA. And her career became successful. Her merit was that she wasn’t afraid of telling her story to the society. She made public appearances presenting her life story.

Janet Mock was a woman, but in her previous life, she was a man. And her story was devoted to this. She revealed her experience of being a trans. She even published a book about her life, that became a New York Times bestseller.

Every organization needs a strong leader and support. The example of Jeanne Manford proves that women can become strong leaders in the world. She was a co-founder of the PFLAG organization. This organization supported people who stood for the representatives of LGBTQ. She was a grand marshal of New York City’s Pride. After her death, she was awarded the Presidential Medal in 2012.

A new history of the fight is connected with the name of Tammy Baldwin. She became the first gay in Congress. It happened in 1998. And later in 2012, she was elected to the Senate. She supported LGBTQ and women from all over the world.

Lynn Conway is one of the most important examples in the history of the struggle. She fought for the rights of trans. She made a coming out in 1999. Later she found the website to give help trans. It included psychological help to avoid the disorder in society.

Stonewall Riot and its consequences

One of the most powerful examples of social equality belongs to Edie Windsor. Her activity started after the information about Stonewall Riots. After the death of Thea Spider, she was forced to pay taxes for the estate. Due to that fact, she went to the government to protect the rights of marriage equality.

Stonewall uprising was an important event in the lives of many people. But one of the most famous people was Marsha P. Johnson. She was one of those instigators. She shouted for the rights of young homeless trans genders. And her death in 1992 raised the social alarm. The police didn’t pay much attention to this death. Mariah Lopez obtained justice to continue the investigation. She also focused on the problem of transgenders’ deaths who are killed regularly.

Among those who were on the front in the uprising was Sylvia Rivera. It is believed that she was the first who threw a fire bottle in the event. She fought for the rights of LGBTQ long before the Riot. She worked together with Marsha P. Johnson. She was also a co-founder of the GLF and GAA.

Starting points

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were the first same-sex married couple. It happened in 2004. They were married after the official permission to register such ceremonies. But a bit later his marriage was broken because of the law. 4 years later the reunion happened when they have been married again. Same-sex marriage was legalized.

It would be unfair not to speak about Gilbert Baker. He was a designer of a rainbow flag of the LGBTQ community. The flag was represented in 1978 in San-Francisco during the Parade. Later he was established as the official symbol if the community.

Men’s voices that were heard

The story of men who spoke about different reps of sexual movements dates back to the 19th century. Karl Heinrich Ulrichs was among those who made his coming out first. It happened in 1862. He rejected the idea that queerness and pedophilia are connected. He created a unique term to describe his attraction to men. It was “urning” instead of “homosexuality”. He made a supposition that such behaviour is given to people from birth.

Among those who studied homosexuality in the 19th century was Magnus Hirschfeld. He began doing it in 1896. He believed that a scientific approach would lead to tolerance of this event. He was also a co-founder of the first world organization fought for gay rights. It was the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee.

The new history of fighters

In the middle of the 20th century, Harry Hay founded the society for men. It was called Bachelors Anonymous. He stepped for gay rights. He thought this idea to be important. A bit later the group became well-known as Mattachine.

One of the most famous fighters in the world for human rights is Peter Tatchell. He was even arrested for his ideas. It happened in Russia in 2018 during World Cup Championship. But his career started in the middle of the 1960s. He was among those who organized the first Pride March in Great Britain. This event took place in 1972.

One must hear the name of James Baldwin. He was among those who described sexual minorities before they were finally established. When he was asked about his preferences he was sure that it was changing from time to time. He also took part in the Civil Rights Movement.

The problem of homosexual relations was always actual in different spheres. It also concerns military men. In the middle of the 70s, Leonard Matlovich was the victim of the scandal. He stood against the military ban of homosexuals. After his letter to the Commander-in-Chief, he was fired. He tried to get justice. Five years later the judge ruled in his favour. He even got compensation for those 5 years. But such problems are still arising from heating discussions. We live in a time when some institutions bans all the chances for transgender and homosexuals.

Another great event is connected with the name of Bill Thom. It was he who launched the world’s important organization. The history dates back to 1973. He was a co-founder of Lambda Legal. It is the organization that helps LGBTQ. It participates in all the court cases. It gives real help to the community and fights for LGBTQ rights.

It would be reasonable to say a few words about politicians. The name of Harvey Milk is quite well-known. He took up an active social and political position in San-Francisco. He occupied the position on the City-County Board in 1977. His story is interesting because he was the first gay elected in California. During his political career, he fought for the gays’ rights. But his life was cut in 1978 when he was assassinated.

Bayard Rustin was another representative who had an active position about homosexuality. He was not a politician, but his influence was rather high. He never hid his attraction. Besides, extreme desire and openness made him work behind the scene. It was he who induced Ed Koch to work out the project about gay rights protection. Later in 2013, he was awarded by Barak Obama with the Presidential Medal.

In 1980 another key event happened in the world of human rights. The Human Rights Campaign Fund was launched by Steve Endean. It was one of the first committees fought for homosexual rights. The number of reps was more than 3 million. It was one of the largest organizations that dealt with LGBTQ civil rights.

The end of the 90s was a breakthrough. This was connected with the name of Frank Kameny. He fought for equal rights during his life. Together with the Mattachine Society, he presented a bill about sodomy elimination. His success was also connected with the American Psychiatric Association. He won the fight to prevent calling homosexuality a mental disease.

One of the most powerful people in the 21st century is Evan Wolfson. He worked with Lambda Legal for a long time. After he left this organization he founded the Freedom to Marry. In his book, he described his attitude towards marriage. He was included in the list if the most influential people for his career achievements.

Literary protests

Larry Kramer was a writer, but his experience is also connected with gays. He took active measures when AIDS began spreading. He made lots of people and organizations to pay attention to the problem. He offered his help with the fight against AIDS. He founded ACT UP organization. Later he put his experience in the play “The Normal Heart”.

The recent event in the world of writing and publishing is connected with Dan Savage. He was a writer and expert. He concerned about different questions connected with LGBTQ. He started the project It Gets Better in 2010 with his husband. The representatives of this group are