ABC7 Chicago looked into the fascinating story of a local historian, who explained why his job to preserve LGBTQ+ history is so important right now.
A local historian is sharing his Pride in History, explaining some of the most pivotal moments that shaped the LGBTQ+ community.
It's his effort to make sure people appreciate the fight for equal rights.
For five decades, John D'Emilio has made it his mission to research and write about LGBTQ+ history.
The former University of Illinois Chicago professor and author of several books met up with ABC7 at the Gerber/Hart LGBTQ+ Library in the Rogers Park neighborhood.
Besides thousands of books, there are also hundreds of photos, like those of the Windy City Times. The publication is now celebrating 40 years of being the voice of the LGBTQ+ community.
The library is named after Pearl Hart and Henry Gerber.
"Gerber, who created the first LGBTQ organization in the United States in Chicago, and Pearl Hart took on many cases for free to defend gay men who had been arrested in bar raids," D'Emilio said. "In Chicago, for instance, in the 1950s and 1960s, raids of what were then described as gay bars were very common. Dozens and dozens of people could be arrested."
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D'Emilio says the second turning point in LGBTQ history was The Stonewall Uprising in 1969.
"It was a bar raid, like many other bar raids, but this time the people in the bar fought back," D'Emilio said.
And a year later came the first Pride marches.
"Chicago was one of only three cities that in 1970 held a pride march to commemorate The Stonewall Uprising," D'Emilio said. "And now, of course, Pride marches and parades occur across the entire globe."
A third watershed moment was the AIDS epidemic.
"And it just led to a massive uprising and protests that ended up having over time," D'Emilio said. "We're dying. It's like anger at, you know, 'why aren't you doing this? You need to do this. We need this.'"
D'Emillio says it's important to maintain that voice to fight for equality and combat some nationwide efforts to erase LGBTQ+ history.
"Keep making the effort to make this history available even as some doors are being closed right now," D'Emilio said.
D'Emilio is also speaking on college campuses to raise awareness and push back on some cultural attacks.
You can watch more on this story and others from our ABC owned stations in "Our America: Pride in History" on all streaming and digital platforms.