"It is absolutely imperative that every human being’s freedom and human rights are respected, all over the world." - Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir.
"The next time someone asks you why LGBT Pride marches exist or why Gay Pride Month is June tell them, 'A bisexual woman named Brenda Howard thought it should be.'" - Brenda Howard.
We make that day by doing things publicly until it’s simply the way things are." - Tammy Baldwin
"There will not be a magic day when we wake up and it’s now okay to express ourselves publicly.
There is always someone there to lend a hand." - Greg Louganis
"I am a firm believer that you don’t achieve greatness on your own.
It is to disconnect from what other people say about me, but also to try and be connected to the joy and the love." - Laverne Cox
"A lot of my work is to stay grounded, is to stay spiritual.
"Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it’s a good place to start." - Jason Collins.
"If I wait for someone else to validate my existence, it will mean that I’m shortchanging myself." - Zanele Muholi.
Do you think anything else under heaven really matters?" - James Baldwin, "Giovanni's Room" Who you are is beautiful and amazing." - Laverne Cox Believing you are unworthy of love and belonging - that who you are authentically is a sin or is wrong - is deadly.
"Who you are authentically is alright.
"When are doing something that is right, you just do it and take care … someone has to do this." - Alice Nkom.
"I’m not missing a moment of this - it’s the revolution!" - Sylvia Rivera.
“We are all one - and if we don’t know it, we will learn it the hard way.” - Bayard Rustin.
"We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets." - Harvey Milk.
It’s a joy worth fighting for and it’s this joy that links all of our struggles together." - Lady Phyll
"We struggle and fight for our joy - an unreserved and unapologetic joy that springs from our ability to live as we are.
The struggle is really won in the hearts and minds of the community, where it really counts." - Barbara Gittings
"Equality means more than passing laws.
I am changing the things I cannot accept.” - Angela Davis
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change.
"We’re all different in many ways and alike in many ways and special in some sort of way." - Larry Kramer, "The Normal Heart & The Destiny of Me".
"The love expressed between women is particular and powerful because we have had to love in order to live love has been our survival." - Audre Lorde, "Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches".
"Folks who were willing to endure bullying and taunts, and stayed strong, and came to believe in themselves and who they were, and slowly made an entire country realize that love is love." - Barack Obama.
Let’s start tolerating first, but then we need to celebrate our differences." - Billie Jean King
"It’s just really important that we start celebrating our differences.
It has to do with our dignity as human beings, to be who we are openly." - Edith Windsor And some will make you question everything." - Tim Cook
"It’s about finding your values, and committing to them.
It happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities." - Marsha P.
"History isn’t something you look back at and say it was inevitable.
It takes no survey to remove repression." - Harvey Milk It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no money to respect the individual.
"It takes no compromise to give people their rights.
"The richness, beauty and depths of love can only be fully experienced in a climate of complete openness, honesty and vulnerability." - Anthony Venn Brown.
It’s the rainbow of humanity." - Gilbert Baker
"What I liked about the rainbow is that it fits all of us.
Barbara Alper / Getty Images Harvey Milk made history as the first openly gay man to be elected for public office in California. Johnson, a celebrated advocate for gay rights, took part in the 1969 riots at the Stonewall Inn. Find a message that speaks to you, then text it to loved ones or post it on social media to keep the trail blazing! Marsha P. Work your way down this list to find quotes from those who paved the way in past decades, along with other trailblazers who continue to uplift and inspire through their art, smarts and other talents.