A Partial Timeline of queer historic Events in America:

1924 Society for Human Rights is founded 

Henry Gerber founded the Society for Human Rights in 1924 with this as his mission: "[T]o promote and protect the interests of people who by reasons of mental and physical abnormalities are abused and hindered in the legal pursuit of happiness." Gerber, who had previously been committed to a mental institution for his homosexuality and had been harassed throughout his entire life, wanted this organization to be a safe haven. The Society for Human Rights was ultimately short-lived as one of the members' wives reported the organization, and they were deemed a strange sex cult. 

 1955 Daughters of Bilitis, the first American Lesbian organization, is founded

In the mid-1900s, bars known for hosting queer people were frequently raided by police making activities like getting a drink something you could be arrested for. The Daughters of Bilitis in San Francisco offered an alternative to this, which was a private social club; however, they quickly grew into a national organization with chapters all across the country. Similar to many civil rights groups at the time, they faced surveillance from the FBI, police, and CIA as they were considered dangerous. 

1959 Cooper Do-nuts uprising 

Cooper Do-nuts was one of the few establishments in Los Angeles that welcomed patrons of any gender and sexual orientation along what was then considered the gay ghetto. A frequent tactic by the police was to arrest people who looked outside of gender norms under the excuse of "sex perversion." In 1959, one such arrest of five legally congregating people began to take place; however, this time, people began to resist. Within an hour, people from all across the neighborhood had flooded the street in protest and began throwing whatever they could find, such as donuts, at the police. This was the first of many gay uprisings in America.

1961 Illinois decriminalizes homosexuality

Illinois was the first U.S. State to decriminalize homosexuality and repeal its sodomy laws. This was part of a larger revision of Illinois laws repealing laws, which a group in 1955 saw as things of the past. 

1966 Compton's Cafeteria Riot

Compton's cafeteria was a popular meet-up spot for the LGBTQIA+ community, especially for queens and transgender women. It was not just a place to eat but a place to build a community in San Francisco. SF police would frequently harass patrons there and arrest them for cross-dressing and sexual perversion. One night, a police officer grabbed a patron and was, in response, doused in coffee, which soon led to a fight between patrons and police. Though lesser known than Stonewall, it had a similar impact on the LGBTQIA+ community on the West Coast. 

1969 Stonewall Riots

The Stonewall Inn was a popular gay bar in NYC, and like all gay bars at the time, it had become accustomed to raiding. One night in June, police entered, ready to arrest anyone not in gender-appropriate clothing. Police began dragging patrons out of the bar, and fed up with their treatment, a riot ensued, which would last for the next 5 days. This riot acted as a catalyst for gay rights not only in the U.S. but around the world.

1970 First gay pride Week in New York City

A year after the uprising at Stonewall NYC residents filled the streets to celebrate gay pride week. A tradition which continues today throughout the U.S. via pride month. 

1972 First San Francisco Pride Parade 

2 years after the first ever Pride Parade San Francisco hosted their own which saw over 17,000 people in attendance and brought awareness to the thriving lgbtq community in San Francisco that was not going anywhere. 

1978 Harvey Milk Elected

Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, making him the first openly gay city official in Californian history. If you'd like to learn more about him, check out our previous post about people who made pride exist. 

1978 Rainbow flag created

The San Francisco Pride parade, having become an annual event, was in need of a symbol and Gilbert Baker designed this. This symbol is the now well known and universal Rainbow flag, with each color representing something different. 

1987 Homosexuality is no longer considered a mental disorder 

The DSM, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, had long classified homosexuality as a mental illness, allowing practices like conversion therapy to rise in popularity. However, in 1987, this diagnosis was removed entirely. 

1987 Act Up raises awareness of the AIDS Crisis 

The AIDS crisis, while affecting many across the world and America, was particularly associated with members of the LGBTQIA+ community. This allowed discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people to worsen as people used the excuse of AIDS to ban LGBTQIA+ people. Many had spread the belief that simply being near a queer person could give you AIDS. This belief, along with rampant homophobia, saw Northwest Orient Airlines ban people with AIDS from going on their flights. ACT UP sued them, bringing awareness to the AIDS crisis and causing the airline to reverse its policy. 

1991 Day of Desperation Organized 

Since their success against Northwest Orient Airlines, ACT UP has become a national organization with chapters across the U.S., allowing them to organize the largest protest against AIDS-related discrimination. Thousands of protesters led marches and delivered coffins to government offices as a way to show how their actions were causing people to die.

 1998 executive order prevents discrimination based on sexual orientation 

As the result of decades of activism, In 1998, Executive Order 13087 was passed, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workforce as part of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This order, however, did not apply to the military, where the policy on being queer was don't ask, don't tell. 

1999 First Day of Transgender Remembrance 

Transgender people had long been excluded from the gay rights movement and discriminated against in the LGBTQIA+ community due to the idea that they were even more different. This and the intense hatred they faced from the public meant the lives of transgender people were often seen as less than others. Transgender Day of Remembrance works to commemorate all the transgender people killed by anti-transgender violence and bigotry and was created by Gwendolyn Ann Smith.

2004 first Trans march during pride

In 2004, decades after the first pride march and celebrations, the first transgender march was held in San Francisco, which led to increased awareness about trans people and the discrimination they still face. 

2004 First same-sex marriage in San Francisco

In 2004, longtime partners and members of the Daughters of Biltis Dorothy Louise Taliaferro "Del" Martin and Phyllis Ann Lyon became the first married same-sex couple in San Francisco. It happened right after Mayor Gavin Newsom declared that the city clerk give marriage licenses to same-sex couples. 

2011 Don't Ask, Don't Tell repealed 

The U.S. military policy for 17 years surrounding LGBTQIA+ members had been "don't ask, don't tell," meaning you could be in the army and queer as long as no one was aware. With this policy revoked, LGBTQIA+ people in the military are free to be themselves and no longer hide their identity.

2014 APA reclassifies how it describes Transgender people

The American Psychiatric Association had previously referred to transgender people as someone with a gender identity disorder who was mentally ill, following the idea that there was something wrong with being transgender. In 2014, the term to classify mental illness related to a transgender identity was changed to gender dysphoria, which is more accurate. 

2015 U.S. Legalizes same-sex marriage 

In 2015, the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states, striking down states' individual laws and declaring it a guaranteed right.