*Trigger Warning: article mentions suicide, PTSD, and depression.*

June is pride month for the LGBTQ+ community. Many members come together and have parades to celebrate. The community has come a long way, even though everything is modern now, it is not always safe for them. Here are 5 activists that helped the community’s movement.

Marsha P. Johnson

Marsha P. Johnson was an activist, drag performer, and a model. She is black, queer, and trans. She advocated for her rights and rights for the LGBTQ+ community.

She established Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) She paid the rent with her own money. She also played a big part in the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Riots are protests between the LGBTQ+ community and the New York police. It started on June 28th, 1969.

She said “As long as gay people don’t have their rights all across America, there’s no reason for celebration.”

Sylvia Rivera

Sylvia Rivera was a Puerto Rican trans activist who, with Johnson, co-founded STAR. She was also one of the inciters of the monumental Stonewall Riots in New York City.

Rivera gained popularity from STAR and has a project named after her. It is called the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP). SRLP is a non-profit organization. They help in policy work, provide training, and free legal services for the LGBTQ+ POC with low income.

Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay politicians elected to office in the US. Milk helped start one of the first predominantly LGBTQ+ owned businesses, the Castro Village Association.

He introduced legislation to protect the community, a gay rights ordinance to ban discrimination against LGBTQ+ in housing or employment. He also fought for affordable housing and daycare for working mothers.

Geraldine Roman

Geraldine Roman is a filipina LGBTQ+ rights activist, politician, and journalist. Roman won the race for District Representative becoming the first transgender representative in the history of the Philippines. She has passed a bill against discrimination words the community.

Roman passed a women and gender equality bill. The bill is prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

Sara Hegazy

Sara Hegazy was an Egyptian lesbian activist who raised the pride flag during a concert. As a result, the Egyptian government arrested her and others, and she was tortured during her time in prison. She got away and went to Canada where she sadly committed suicide in June 2020. She struggled with PTSD and depression.

Her death shocked the middle eastern LGBTQ+ community, where many protested. June 13 is the anniversary of Hegazy’s death and it is now an annual day of pride for lesbian and queer women in Arab.