Transgender people, particularly women of color, were instrumental in sparking the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
Activists like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were pivotal at Stonewall and later founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) to support homeless queer youth, funding the initiative through their own sex work.
The relationship between the transgender community and broader LGBTQ culture is one of both foundational leadership and persistent marginalization. While transgender individuals have often been the vanguard of civil rights movements, they continue to navigate unique challenges—even within the spaces they helped create.
Long before the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, trans-led riots occurred at Cooper’s Donuts (1959) and Compton’s Cafeteria (1966) in response to police harassment and the "illegal" nature of gender-nonconforming attire.
