6 Key Figures of the Harlem Renaissance’s Queer SceneHarlem in the 1920s and ’30s offered the Black creative class a sense of pride and possibility. It also had cross-dressing blues singers, extravagant drag balls and literary and artistic salons.Read more
7 Early Pioneers of the Gay Rights MovementBefore the Stonewall Riots, these individuals helped set the stage for advances in the LGBTQ civil rights movement.Read more
How AIDS Activists Fought for Patients’ RightsACT UP pressured the government, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies for more patient-centered care during the worst years of the AIDS epidemic.Read more
8 Landmark Supreme Court Cases That Were OverturnedU.S. Supreme Court justices have generally deferred to precedent, but there have been notable exceptions.Read more
7 LGBTQ Uprisings Before StonewallThe 1969 Stonewall Riots marked a historic turning point for gay rights, but several smaller uprisings preceded Stonewall as LGBTQ communities pushed back against harassment and inequality.Read more
5 Historic Supreme Court Rulings Based on the 14th AmendmentThe 14th Amendment’s guarantee to “due process” provided a basis for these five Supreme Court rulings that have impacted Americans’ lives.Read more
Why the First Gay Olympics Was a Watershed Moment in SportsThe organizers of the San Francisco event faced major challenges, including a lawsuit by the U.S. Olympic Committee.Read more
How 19th-Century Drag Balls Evolved into House Balls, Birthplace of VoguingHarlem drag balls thrived during the post-Civil War era, creating a space where trans and queer people of color later broke out to develop House Ballroom.Read more
The Queer Victorian Doctors Who Paved the Way for Women in MedicineIn an era when women were discouraged from entering the work force, these women forged ahead in a profession normally exclusive to men.Read more
How the AIDS Quilt Allowed Millions to Memorialize the EpidemicThe AIDS Memorial Quilt—with 1,920 individual panels, each inscribed with the names of people lost to AIDS—was displayed for the first time on October 11, 1987. It has grown ever since.Read more
How AIDS Remained an Unspoken—But Deadly—Epidemic for YearsHealth officials first became aware of AIDS in the summer of 1981, but U.S. leaders remained largely silent for four years.Read more
When Hollywood Studios Married Off Gay Stars to Keep Their Sexuality a SecretSome of the Golden Age of Hollywood’s brightest stars were suspected to have been in “lavender” marriages—for the sake of their careers.Read more