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Civil Rights Act of 1866 - Aimed to grant citizenship to anyone born in the country and protect from citizens from discrimination based "on the basis of race, color, or prior condition of slavery or involuntary servitude."

Civil Rights Act of 1875 - Law to "protect all citizens in their civil and legal rights" in regards to public spaces. This attempted to protect African Americans from discrimination in public places and forbids denying them access to public transportation, services, and accommodations.

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May 1897 - The Scientific-Humanitarian Committee was founded by Magnus Hirschfeld in Berlin. The first LGBT organization in the world. Long history of advocating for gay rights with relative success in Europe.

December 10, 1924 - The Society for Human Rights is founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago. This is credited as the first American gay rights group. Published a newsletter called Friendship and Freedom. Forced to disband months after creation when members are arrested.

1948 - Work by Alfred Kinsey opens dialogue and the results have an impact on medical and science fields and eventually public attitudes to sexuality.

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1955 - Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American child is murdered and the people responsible are acquitted. News spreads and a photo is published that garners anger and sympathy.

December 1955 - Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on an Alabama public bus for a white man. This leads to a bus boycott and eventual Supreme Court case declaring segregation on buses as unconstitutional.

January 1957 - Civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr. meet in Atlanta to plan nonviolent protests against racial discrimination and segregation.

September 1957 - Nine Black students known as the “Little Rock Nine” are blocked from integrating into public school. President Eisenhower sends federal troops to escort students.

February 1960 - Four African American college students in Greensboro, North Carolina refuse to leave a “whites only” lunch counter. Inspires other groups to hold similar sit-ins.

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November 1950 - Harry Hay founds the Mattachine Society with a goal to "eliminate discrimination, derision, prejudice and bigotry." Focuses on integrating into society and changing perception by displaying normalcy.

September 1955 - The Daughters of Bilitis is founded and is the first lesbian rights organization in the US.

July 4th, 1965 - First Reminder Day is held in Philadelphia, event calling for civil rights for LGBT community.

June 1969 - Stonewall Riots (see post on event)

April 1966 - Members of the Mattachine Society hold sit-in taking inspiration from similar protests in Civil Rights Movement.

October 1979 - National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights with over 70,000 people participating.

2004 - Massachusetts becomes first state to legalize gay marriage.

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The Stonewall Riots is sometimes referred to as the start of the gay rights movement. We know that there were events and organizations advocating for gay rights before this but it works as a symbolic starting point for the modern movement. These were riots that took place over a few days in New York City in 1969 sparked by police raids on a gay bar. Fed up with longtime persecution and government violence, patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought back on June 28th and continued to press the issue for several days after. The Stonewall Inn was a meeting spot mostly for gay men but also lesbians and transgender residents of the city. Where other events in the history of gay rights have been largely peaceful, these riots showed the kind of resistance that could sometimes be violent. This shows a similarity to some of the views of violent resistance wrestled with by people like Malcolm X. When faced with violence how can you be condemned for responding in kind? Do you not have a right to defend yourself? This is a much different approach than the Mattachine Society.

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May 1954 - Brown v. Board of Education case ruled on by the Supreme Court. Outlaws segregation in public schools.

September 1957 - Eisenhower signs Civil Rights Act of 1957 to protect voter rights. The law allows prosecution for suppressing someone else's right to vote.

July 1964 - President Johnson signs Civil Rights Act of 1964. Attempts to ban workplace discrimination.

August 1965 - President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Stops the use of literacy tests and other Jim Crow style hurdles to voting for African Americans.

April 11 1968 - President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Blocks discrimination in regards to housing.

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1953 - President Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10450 barring homosexuals from working for the federal government.

1958 - One, Inc. v. Olesen Supreme Court case rules in favor of LGBT magazine allowing it to be mailed after being refused by postal service on grounds that it was obscene.

1972 - East Lansing, Michigan is first community to pass law protecting citizens from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

1973 - The board of the American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from classification as a mental illness.

1996 - President Clinton signs The Defense of Marriage Act, making it so no state would be required to recognize marriage from another state if it is not between a man and woman.

2015 - Same sex marriage ruled legal in all 50 states by the Supreme Court

2020 - Supreme Court votes in favor of officially including sexual orientation and gender identity as protected under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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Connections and Similarities Between Civil Rights Movement and LGBT Rights

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Connections and Similarities Between Civil Rights Movement and LGBT Rights

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The Civil Rights Movement and the fight against discrimination of LGBTQ Americans sometimes overlapped with figures like Bayard Rustin, James Baldwin, Ernestine Eckstein, Pauli Murray, Audre Lorde, and Huey Newton borrowing tactics and language inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, showing public support for other movements, or actively participating in both movements.

The level of violence suffered by both movements has been extreme with many people seriously injured or killed. This includes the assassination of leaders like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Harvey Milk but much more broadly average people from these communities. Violence has come from both the government and the public.

Laws against both communities have been similar in their variety, from very broad racism and homophobia directly targeting the groups, as well as more indirect laws like poll taxes, literacy tests, and laws about dressing in clothing thought to be for the opposite sex.