This previous weekend, cities all over the United States were celebrating LGBT pride with parades and festivals. The movement has been prominent within the news for the past year as it celebrated triumphs, such as the legalization of same-sex marriage in all 50 states, as well as tragedies, such as the Orlando mass shooting in a gay nightclub a few weeks ago. It has picked up great momentum and changed the attitudes of many generations and people. To celebrate pride, here are seven leaders in the early LGBT movement in the United States.

1. Henry Gerber

Henry Gerber was the founder of the Society for Human Rights in Chicago, an LGBT Rights organization founded in 1924. It was the first recognized gay rights organization in the United States.

2. Harry Hay

Harry Hay founded The Mattachine Society, the first national gay rights organization in 1951. He is considered to be the founder of the gay rights movement.

3. Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, along with four other lesbian couples, founded the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955. Originally intended to be a secretive social club for lesbian couples to meet others in San Francisco, it was the first lesbian rights organization in the United States. They were the first same-sex couple to marry in California after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage on June 16, 2008.

4. José Sarria

In 1961, José Sarria became the first openly gay candidate for office when he ran for and won San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He also founded the Imperial Court System, the second largest LGBT organization in the world.

5. Leonard Matlovich

Leonard Matlovich became the first service member to out himself to the military in 1975. He was a Vietnam veteran and a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient. He fought to stay in the Air Force and against the military's ban on gays.

6. Christine Jorgensen

Christine Jorgensen was an American trans woman who was the first person to become widely known in the United States for having sex reassignment surgery in the early 1950s. She used her celebrity platform to advocate for transgender people.

7. Sylvia Rivera

Sylvia Rivera, a transgender activist, founded the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. She was also a member of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, a group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens and trans women of color.