The early hours of June 28, 1969, became a turning point for the LGBT community in the streets of New York City’s West Village. What initially began as a raid by the NYPD of the infamous mafia-run bar, Stonewall Inn, became a series of violent protests that lasted for six days. It quickly turned into the foundation of the modern-day LGBT movement.

Pride Month, held every June, is meant to commemorate the Stonewall Riots and honor members of the LGBT community who have been mobilizing towards liberation. And like previous months, The Reproductive Health Access Project will be profiling individuals as a part of our year-long educational campaign, “A Common Thread: Weaving Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice,” that challenges and deconstructs the reproductive health narrative by exposing unsung heroes and visible change makers who have dedicated their lives to the movement.

You will be able to learn more about one of the mothers of the movement, the transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson (fellow Stonewall icon and transgender activist Sylvia Rivera was profiled on our blog for Hispanic Heritage Month in 2017). We will also feature Nadine Smith, the LGBT community organizer, lobbyist, and executive director of Equality Florida, the state’s largest organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. All of our profiles will be featured on our blog and social media every Friday throughout the month of June, so stay tuned!