LGBTQ history makers remembered during Pride Month

Many members of the LGBTQIA community have fought for equal rights, making history along the way -- and their legacies are especially remembered during Pride Month.

This June will shine a light on pioneers like Bayard Rustin, a key leader in the civil rights movement and adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office, and Marsha P. Johnson, a legendary transgender activist and veteran of the Stonewall riots.

The most influential LGBT history makers:

The month of June was selected to honor the June 28, 1969, Stonewall riots in Manhattan. The riots were sparked when police raided a popular gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. Protests and demonstrations flooded the streets for three days, marking the first major demonstration in the modern gay civil rights movement.

This year Pride Month also represents another pivotal event in the LGBT community. June 12 marked the one year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando that claimed the lives of 49 people who were in the LGBT club.

LGBTQ Pride month 2017