Transgender people, particularly women of color, were instrumental in sparking the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
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.
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.