The National Museum of American History contains an extensive LGBTQ+ history collection. The exhibition Illegal to Be You: Gay History Beyond Stonewall, drew from it to include clothing belonging to 1998 hate-crime victim Matthew Shepard and gold medalist Brian Boitano’s figure skating costume from the 1988 Olympics, in 2020-21. Visit the full exhibit via the Learn More link below.

The June 1969 uprising against police harassment at The Stonewall Inn is likely the most famous moment in U.S. LGBTQ+ history. Fifty years later, the stories of the drag queens, students, homeless youth, and others who were there are placed within a larger experience of being different. Collection can and buttons from Christopher Street Liberation Day march, the first pride parade, 1970.

In 1985 lesbian and gay activists gathered near the South African embassy to protest apartheid.

Those who fit in the least often experience the most bullying and violence. There are small and big ways to show who you are that are specific to gay history. Wearing a button or the surprise of a dress or necktie, holding hands, and even just leaving your house can be acts of resistance as well as self-identity. Lambda symbol, from the Greek alphabet, introduced by the Gay Activists Alliance, New York City, early 1970s - Marsha Johnson was a NYC gay and transgender rights advocate & drag queen.

By the 1950s an organized, dispersed gay rights movement existed. Rights, let alone safety and protection, were scarce. Most cities had bars, but police often raided them. Gay people were harassed, arrested, or beaten, so they gathered in homes, bathhouses, and bars, or met each other in mainstream social groups, churches, and classrooms. Matchbook covers from Los Angeles gay bars Blanche’s, Boots, The Flame, Gold Coast, and Woody’s, 1990s–2010 In LA, Heart, a new gay club, will replace Rage.

As depicted in the film Battle of the Sexes, in 1973 Billie Jean King beat former tennis champ Bobby Riggs in a match for the ages. King, a warrior for social change and equality, and a savvy businessperson, took on Riggs to show the world that women athletes were worthy of equal pay and recognition. Life Magazine named King one of the “100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century” and President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Activist, journalist, and organizer Mark Segal founded the Philadelphia Gay News in 1976. It was different from many other gay papers of the time because it focused on news rather than entertainment. Still in operation, a historic marker can now be found at the original location of the publication, at 233 S. 13th St.

It can be dangerous to be different. Some people immerse themselves in a profession or sport or fight back through the courts and public protest. Others escape through music, drink, sex, drugs, or the intentional communities they form. Humor and irony save many people. Bryan Boitano triumphed through physicality and flair, earning Olympic Gold, while his knowledge and personality allowed him to forge a post-competition career as a sports commentator. Boitano’s 1988 figure skating costume.

Humor and irony save many people. Some do not survive. Matthew Shepard was targeted as gay, and brutally murdered in Laramie, WY, in 1998. His passing sparked activism and his story was imprinted on the culture through a movie, opera, play, and more that brought a new urgency and awareness to the struggles and bigotry faced by so many in the gay community. Superman cape worn by Matt Shepard as a child in the early 1980s.

The first pride marches took place in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago to mark the first anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. In addition to celebrations, people have come in mass numbers to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Among the demands of the first mass march in D.C. in 1979 were that Congress pass a comprehensive lesbian and gay rights bill and repeal all anti-gay laws.