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Sharing LGBT History, One Instagram At A Time

"Every queer person in every picture... has a story. And too few of them are known."
By Christopher Rudolph
June 2, 2016 / 10:40 AM

Pride Month is a time for celebration, but it also serves as an opportunity to remember where we came from: The Instagram account LGBT History provides a daily history lesson with vintage photos from Pride marches, Gay Games, Studio 54, and more.

Partners Leighton Brown and Matthew Riemer said they started the account to share the pictures they felt a connection to and learn more about queer culture from the past, but as they gained followers and received grateful emails from viewers, they quickly realized there's a real lack of resources for LGBT history.

"Every queer person in every picture from every parade, protest, photo booth, house party, disco, picnic, AIDS ward, stage, jail cell, bar and everywhere else has a story," Brown, an attorney in D.C. told Mashable. "And too few of them are known... That’s why we started @lgbt_history."

Scroll through the gallery below to understand our history, and follow the account to get some Pride in your feed every day.

"STOP ATTACKS ON LESBIANS & GAY MEN -- CARRY A WHISTLE," National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, Washington, D.C., October 14, 1979. Photo by Joel Rinne & Earl Colvin. On May 17, 2005, after a year-long campaign, events around the world marked the first International Day Against Homophobia. The day, held each May 17, is of particular importance in Europe and Latin America. Today, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia serves to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public, and the media to the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTI people around the world. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #lgbtpride #queerhistorymatters #haveprideinhistory #idahobit

A photo posted by @lgbt_history on

Harvey Milk (right), Tom O'Horgan (middle), unknown (left), New York City, 1965. Photo by Jack Galen McKinley. Harvey Milk's New York City social circle included a number of gay men who would go on to become legends in their own right. Three years after this picture was taken, for example, Tom O'Horgan would make his Broadway directorial debut with "Hair," the groundbreaking musical that ushered in a new era in musical theater. O'Horgan also directed the original Broadway productions of "Lenny" and "Jesus Christ Superstar." O'Horgan died in January 2009 at the age of eighty-four. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #gay #bi #lesbian #trans #pride #tomohorgan #harveymilk #hair #lenny #jesuschristsuperstar #gayancestors #harveymilkinshortsandshades #spring #saturday #mood

A photo posted by @lgbt_history on

"Georgia Sodomy Law Sucks!", demonstration after the Supreme Court upheld Georgia's anti-sodomy law in Bowers v. Hardwick, Richard B. Russell Federal Building, Atlanta, Georgia, July 3, 1986. Photo by John Spink, @ajcnews. On February 19, 2016, the Georgia Senate passed HB-757, the First Amendment Defense Act, a "bill to protect religious freedoms...so as to provide that religious officials shall not be required to perform marriage ceremonies in violation of their legal right to free exercise of religion." HB-757 would, among other things, allow religiously affiliated groups to refuse to "rent, lease, or otherwise grant permission for property to be used by another person for an event which is objectionable to such religious organization." On March 2, 2016, activists and advocates urged Georgia Governor Deal to veto HB-757 and delivered the signatures of over 75,000 people who support the veto. HB-757 is one of over 100 anti-equality bills introduced in twenty-nine state legislatures for consideration during the 2016 sessions. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #gay #bi #trans #lesbian #proequality #nofreedomtohate #pride #notanotherbowers #itshappeningagain #speakout #hb757 #keepgeorgiaqueer

A photo posted by @lgbt_history on

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