Happy Pride Month! 🌈 The next four weeks at this account will be dedicated to MUUS’ images of LGBTQ pride and resistance. Today, we begin with a set of rare, never before seen images, of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera marching with a banner for their organization S.T.A.R., Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries.

Throughout past decades, LGBTQ people have overcome huge hurdles of discrimination and violence. Same-sex couples can now be married in the US, openly LGBTQ individuals hold political offices, and LGBTQ storylines are no longer illegal or taboo in popular media.

However, there are still many hurdles to be overcome. According to a study by the Center for American Progress published in October, more than 1 in 3 LGBTQ Americans faced discrimination of some kind in the past year. For transgender Americans, the number jumps to 3 in 5. Further, 33 states have introduced over a hundred bills to curb the rights of trans people this year - from exclusion from school athletics, to an outlawing of transgender youth receiving gender-affirming healthcare (which significanlty helps to lower rates of depression and suicide). This slew of anti-trans legislation has made 2021 one of the worst so far for trans youth, who - without acceptance and proper support - are already one of the most vulnerable populations to homelessness, interpersonal violence, and suicide. Thus, we feel it to be our duty to share the history of LGBT people during Pride month, helping to shine a light on both the struggles and joys of this ongoing fight for self-determination and freedom.