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My whole adult life I've been searching for a complete and accessable summary of the history of the gay liberation movement, I wasn't able to find one, so I made it. Starting from 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, all the way thourgh to today, in these heartbreaking days of the #stopsaw campaign.

Early morning, Stonewall Inn, New York City, June 28, 1969. During the umpteenth police raid in local gay bars, a couple of queer people decided to respond. It started among the poorest and most marginalized people in the gay community: drag queens, transgender people, effeminate young men, butch lesbians, male prostitutes, and homeless youth.

Tensions between New York City police and gay residents of Greenwich Village erupted into more protests the next evening, and again several nights later. Within weeks, Village residents quickly organized into activist groups to concentrate efforts on establishing places for gays and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation without fear of being arrested.

It was the start of a movement that would change history. Those riots are now commemorated every year all over the world at the pride parades. Since then we have made huge steps forward, but there's still so much to do. So many people are still marginalized, persecuted and even killed for just being themselves. This is not acceptable anymore.

The journey for human rights for everybody is far from over and we have to know how we got here and we shouldn't forget the one that came before us and paved the way on which we are walking now. The fighters that had to pay a high price for who they are: Marsha P. Johnson, Silvia Ray Rivera, Harvey Milk, Matthew Shepard and, now, Yelena Grigoryeva...

We have to be united, reach out to one another, join our voices and ask for what we deserve: to have the same rights as everybody else, to not having to hide in order to be safe and to be able to be who we are and love who we want.

#lgbtq+