ACLU

  • 1969
    STONEWALL RIOTS
    On June 28, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in Greenwich Village. The raid broke the mounting pressure on the LGBTQ community after constant raids by the NYPD. The Stonewall Riots were 6 days of protests and clashes against law enforcement. Trans and nonbinary individuals played a large part throughout the riots, including Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.
  • 1970
    1975
    In 1972, I met a mentor who helped me travel and work all over the world. After a few years, I became the director of a Social Services outreach program in NYC.
    In 1972, I met a mentor who helped me travel and work all over the world. After a few years, I became the director of a Social Services outreach program in NYC.
    -- Johnny (they/them)
    Publicly at a Pizza Hut, the cashier asked my father ‘What would you and YOUR SON like to eat tonight?’ I was ecstatic that SOMEBODY saw me as a male. Later, my mother called the Kansas Dept of Health Environment and asked what she needed to do to correct my birth certificate. I was 14 yrs old.
    Publicly at a Pizza Hut, the cashier asked my father ‘What would you and YOUR SON like to eat tonight?’ I was ecstatic that SOMEBODY saw me as a male. Later, my mother called the Kansas Dept of Health Environment and asked what she needed to do to correct my birth certificate. I was 14 yrs old.
    -- Sean (he/him)
    Legal Efforts
    1971 | Some Legal Aspects of Transsexualism is published
    1973 | Transsexual Counseling Service is renamed to emphasize the right to treatment
    Historical Events
    1971 | Lee Brewster and the Queens Liberation Front publishes popular magazine, DRAG
    1970 | Angela Douglas’s Transsexual Action Organization founded
    1970 | Youth Advocacy group, The Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries is founded
  • 1975
    1980
    Add Your Story
    Legal Efforts
    1975 | Minneapolis: 1st city to pass anti-discrimination law for transgender people
    1977 | Renee Richards Case: the first woman of trans experience allowed to play in US Open
    Historical Events
    1976 | Jude Patton founds the Renaissance: Gender Identity Services
    1977 | “Emergence” is the 1st autobiography on FTM transsexual experience
    1977 | Gender-neutral honorific ‘Mx.’ is used in magazine “Single Parent”
    1979 | Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association standardizes transsexual care, diagnosis, and treatment
  • 1980
    1985
    Add Your Story
    1981 | AIDS Activisits In June, five young men were diagnosed with a rare lung infection, pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). This would later become recognized as the first outbreak of cases of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or AIDS, in the United States. The AIDS crisis happened as anti-LGBTQ crusaders started to increase their backlash against the community. Both the AIDS Crisis, which had been inappropriately named to demonize the LGBTQ+ community at the time, as well as the rising anti-LGBTQ sentiments, had led to a ‘dark ages’ period in terms of visibility and progress in civil rights. In response though, there was an increase in activists fighting for LGBTQ civil rights like Connie Norman in LA, Marsha P. Johnson in NYC, and Lou Sullivan in San Francisco.
  • 1985
    1990
    Add Your Story
    Historical Events
    1986 | Louis Sullivan starts a local support group named FTM
    1987 | The use of the umbrella term ‘transgender’ gains popularity
  • 1990
    1995
    When I found out I was pregnant I thought I was going to have a boy. I was convinced. When I gave birth, the doctor told me that my baby was a girl, so I went with that. When my 22-year-old kid told me they were non-binary, they said to me, “Mom you’re the one who taught me to be so confident that I can and will live as my whole-self.” I’m so proud of the badass kid I raised.
    When I found out I was pregnant I thought I was going to have a boy. I was convinced. When I gave birth, the doctor told me that my baby was a girl, so I went with that. When my 22-year-old kid told me they were non-binary, they said to me, “Mom you’re the one who taught me to be so confident that I can and will live as my whole-self.” I’m so proud of the badass kid I raised.
    -- Pamela (she/her)
    Legal Efforts
    1991 | Prominent trans rights and HIV activist, Connie Norman, starts her radio talk show
    1992 | First International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy
    1993 | Minnesota: 1st state to pass anti-discrimination law for transgender people
    Historical Events
    1991 | FTM International, Inc. expands into the world’s largest group for FTM individuals
    1991 | Sandy Stone writes “The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifesto”
    1994 | Gwendolyn Ann Smith starts The Gazebo Chat Room on AOL
  • 1995
    2000
    My strongest childhood memory is of a yellow raincoat and my froggy rain boots – they had frog eyes and a smile on the toes – and I was obsessed with this outfit. I would refuse to wear anything other than this (pants optional) and I would run around the living room performing my little heart out to Gloria Gaynor, I Will Survive.
    My strongest childhood memory is of a yellow raincoat and my froggy rain boots – they had frog eyes and a smile on the toes – and I was obsessed with this outfit. I would refuse to wear anything other than this (pants optional) and I would run around the living room performing my little heart out to Gloria Gaynor, I Will Survive.
    -- Adriene (they/them)
    Legal Efforts
    1995 | Phyllis Frye and Riki Anne Wilchins hold 1st transgender lobbying day in D.C.
    1999 | Monica Helms designs the Trans flag
    Historical Events
    1996 | The 1st Day of Silence is held in response to the bullying of LGBTQ students
    1999 | The 1st Transgender Day of Remembrance to honor Rita Hester and others lost to anti-transgender violence
  • 2000
    2005
    Our school let us wear anything we wanted so I really leaned into that. My mom said I liked to dress like a little grandpa. I don’t think she was a fan but she still funded my love of strange patterns and fleece fabrics. I still feel confident rocking a printed button-down today.
    Our school let us wear anything we wanted so I really leaned into that. My mom said I liked to dress like a little grandpa. I don’t think she was a fan but she still funded my love of strange patterns and fleece fabrics. I still feel confident rocking a printed button-down today.
    -- Adriene (they/them)
    I made my high school drill team and became captain when I still identified as a boy. It was an all girls team and they let me join and become captain. Making that drill team was the start of my learning to value my own heart.
    I made my high school drill team and became captain when I still identified as a boy. It was an all girls team and they let me join and become captain. Making that drill team was the start of my learning to value my own heart.
    -- Lady Londyn (she/her)
    Legal Efforts
    2001 | Rhode Island: second state to pass anti-discrimination law for transgender people
    2002 | Sylvia Rivera Law Project is founded by Dean Spade
    2002 | NYC expands the definition of “gender” to include protections for transgender people
    2002 | The Transgender Law Center opens in San Francisco
    Historical Events
    2003 | Mara Keisling founds National Center for Transgender Equality
    2003 | Petra Leilani Akwai becomes the 1st transgender person officially welcomed to the White House
    2004 | A March of Our Own: San Francisco’s 1st Trans March
  • 2005
    2010
    The happiest day of my adult life was my wedding day. It was a beautiful day. People still say our wedding was the most fun one they’ve ever been to. It really was glorious. It was a mix of folks, all there to celebrate our love and commitment to one another.
    The happiest day of my adult life was my wedding day. It was a beautiful day. People still say our wedding was the most fun one they’ve ever been to. It really was glorious. It was a mix of folks, all there to celebrate our love and commitment to one another.
    -- Jay (they/them)
    I was in middle school at an all-girls school which was tough. I didn’t feel like I fit in and I was being bullied. When I met this group of people who played tabletop RPGs I fell in love with fantasy. I started playing and I found a community that really taught me how to be myself.
    I was in middle school at an all-girls school which was tough. I didn’t feel like I fit in and I was being bullied. When I met this group of people who played tabletop RPGs I fell in love with fantasy. I started playing and I found a community that really taught me how to be myself.
    -- Paris (they/them)
    Legal Efforts
    Historical Events
    2006 | Kim Coco Iwamoto becomes the highest elected trans official in the US
    2008 | Stu Rasmussen is the 1st openly transgender elected mayor in the US
    2009 | Chaz Bono, Cher and Sonny Bono’s son, comes out as a man with trans experience
  • 2010
    2015
    In January 2013, I finally started transitioning. I learned to follow my heart and that if I lead with my joy and passion, I could achieve what I wanted and more.
    In January 2013, I finally started transitioning. I learned to follow my heart and that if I lead with my joy and passion, I could achieve what I wanted and more.
    -- Lady Londyn (she/her)
    I finally got my name fully changed in 2013 when I was 60. That day as all of us filtered out of the clerk’s office, what struck me was there were folks with green hair, purple striped hair, long hair, no hair, young, middle-aged, and a couple even older than me. Everyone was happy!
    I finally got my name fully changed in 2013 when I was 60. That day as all of us filtered out of the clerk’s office, what struck me was there were folks with green hair, purple striped hair, long hair, no hair, young, middle-aged, and a couple even older than me. Everyone was happy!
    -- Sean (he/him)
    Legal Efforts
    Historical Events
    2011 | Marilyn Roxie create Genderqueer flag
    2013 | DSM replaces term “gender identity disorder” with “gender identity”
    2014 | Laverne Cox is the 1st person of trans experience featured on the cover of Time Magazine
    2014 | Kyle Rowan creates the Non-Binary flag
  • 2015
    2020
    My daughter’s birth when we were in the hospital room. There’s all this chatter between the doctors and the nurses and the noise of all the machines. And we’re waiting. Then all of a sudden, I hear her cry.
    My daughter’s birth when we were in the hospital room. There’s all this chatter between the doctors and the nurses and the noise of all the machines. And we’re waiting. Then all of a sudden, I hear her cry.
    -- Mason (he/him)
    When I started hormones in November 2017, the reveal after my top surgery, my first voice drop, my first time shirtless on the beach, I felt at home in my body for once.
    When I started hormones in November 2017, the reveal after my top surgery, my first voice drop, my first time shirtless on the beach, I felt at home in my body for once.
    -- Ashton (he/him)
    Legal Efforts
    Historical Events
    2016 | President Obama declares Stonewall National Monument the 1st US National Monument to the LGBTQ movement
    2017 | Asia Dillon’s character in “Billions” is the 1st reoccurring non-binary character on mainstream TV
    2019 | “They” is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year
    2017 | Danica Roem becomes the 1st openly transgender person in any U.S. state legislature
  • 2020
    2025
    The very first time the keys (to my home) landed in my hand, I really felt empowered. I wanted to jump up and down.
    The very first time the keys (to my home) landed in my hand, I really felt empowered. I wanted to jump up and down.
    -- Queen (she/her)
    In 2021 when I was in hospital, I saw myself in the mirror with stubble. I remarked to myself ‘I remember you!’ Since then, I don’t wear makeup or dress entirely Femme. I now present more Gender Non Conforming. I really don’t care what you call me, I’m just happy to be free and to be myself.
    In 2021 when I was in hospital, I saw myself in the mirror with stubble. I remarked to myself ‘I remember you!’ Since then, I don’t wear makeup or dress entirely Femme. I now present more Gender Non Conforming. I really don’t care what you call me, I’m just happy to be free and to be myself.
    -- Johnny (they/them)
    Legal Efforts
    Historical Events
    2020 | A record-breaking six openly transgender candidates were elected for state held office
    2020 | Elliot Page comes out as a man of trans experience
    2021 | Chelsea Wolfe, a transgender cyclist, is a reserve on the 2020 U.S. BMX Freestyle team
    2022 | Timothy LeDuc is the 1st openly non-binary American Winter Olympian
  • 2025
    “Being transgender is not just a medical transition. … [It’s about] discovering who you are, living your life authentically, loving yourself, and spreading that love towards other people and accepting one another.”

    -Jazz Jennings, She/Her
    LGBTQ rights activist