Marsha P. Johnson State Park

A Trans Rights Timeline

Since at least the 1890s, when the Cercle Hermaphroditos met regularly in NYC, the Trans Rights Movement has produced public figures and made inroads toward a more inclusive society. Achievements are still being made and discovered.

  • 1959 Cooper Do-nuts

    A crowd at a doughnut shop in Los Angeles, CA prevents police from harassing and arresting transgender and gay customers.

  • 1964 Dewey’s Lunch Counter

    In Philadelphia, PA, local African American and gender non-conforming teenagers and members of the Janus Society stage a sit-in that forces the restaurant to drop its policy of refusing to serve gay and trans people.

  • 1965 Gay Mardi Gras

    Despite police pressure, a San Francisco, CA organization puts on a drag ball. After arrests are made, the organizers win a trial against the police, with help from straight allies and the American Civil Liberties Union.

  • 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria Riot

    Trans women, drag queens, gay hustlers, and queer street youth fight back when police raid a popular late-night restaurant where they regularly gather in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.

  • 1969 Stonewall Rebellion

    Members of the LGBTQ+ community clash with the police for several days around the Stonewall Inn, a bar in New York, NY frequented by LGBTQ+ customers.

  • 1969 Queens Liberation Front

    Lee Brewster founds the Queens Liberation Front in New York, NY in response to the prejudices that gender nonconforming persons face.

  • 1970 STAR House

    Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera create STAR House in New York, NY, a homeless shelter for trans youth. STAR is also an activist organization.

  • 1976 M.T. v. J.T.

    In a case before the Superior Court of New Jersey, judges rule that transgender people can marry based on their gender identity, regardless of their gender at birth.

  • 1993 Minnesota Milestone

    Minnesota becomes the first state in America to ban employment discrimination based on perceived gender identity.

  • 1999 Remembrance

    Trans activist, Gwendolyn Ann Smith starts the Remembering Our Dead web project and annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, in San Francisco, CA, which quickly spreads to other cities.

  • 2000 Jean Doe v. Vell

    Foster teen Jean Doe acquires a New York State Supreme Court order that forces her boys-home residence to allow her to dress according to her gender identity.

  • 2012 Kylar Broadus Testifies

    Founder of the Trans People of Color Coalition, Kylar Broadus becomes the first trans person to testify before the U.S. Senate when he does so in support of the Employee Non-Discrimination Act.

  • 2014 Transgender Tipping Point

    Transgender actress Laverne Cox appears on the cover of the June 9th edition of Time Magazine. The interview with her inside is titled, “The Transgender Tipping Point: America’s Next Civil Rights Frontier.”

  • 2015 Task Force

    In the U.S. Congress, the House Equality Caucus announces a new Transgender Equality Task Force to develop legislation protecting transgender people.

  • 2015 The President Acknowledges Trans People

    In his State of the Union Address, Barack Obama becomes the first U.S. President to acknowledge transgender people. “We do these things not only because they’re right,” he says, “but because they make us safer.”

  • 2016 Gavin Grimm Wins

    Virginia teenager Gavin Grimm sues his high school for the right to use a bathroom corresponding with his gender identity. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules in Grimm’s favor.

  • 2018 Welcome, Andrea Jenkins

    In Minneapolis, MN, Andrea Jenkins becomes the first openly transgender Black woman elected to City Council, making her the first to serve in any public office in America.

  • 2019 GENDA Passes

    After years of activism on the issue, the New York State Assmebly passes the Gender Non-Discrimination Act, protecting trans people of all ages in school and the workplace.

  • 2019 Trans Visibility March

    More than 1,500 people in Washington D.C. march down Pennsylvania Avenue from Freedom Plaza to demonstrate against hate and discrimination.

  • 2020 Workplace Nondiscrimination

    The U.S. Supreme Court rules that workplace protections under the 1964 Civil Rights Act apply to gay and transgender employees.

  • 2021 Rachel Levine and Sarah McBridge

    Sarah McBridge becomes the first openly trans senator (Delaware), and Rachel Levine the first openly trans federal official, as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.