8 movies and TV shows to watch in celebration of LGBTQ Pride’s roots in protest

Available on: PBS, Kanopy

This 2010 documentary is essentially an oral history from some of those who were at the Stonewall Inn on the night of the police raid that sparked a rebellion. Through interviews with patrons, activists, journalists and even the police inspector who led the raid, the film offers some context on the social climate and attitudes toward the LGBTQ community during that time.

Available on: Netflix

A fixture in New York’s LGBTQ community, Johnson was found dead in the Hudson River in 1992 and police at the time ruled the death a suicide. Many still doubt that determination, and this documentary follows trans activist Victoria Cruz as she investigates the case. The film also touches on the violence trans women still face.

Available on: Kanopy

“Brother Outsider” is a 2003 documentary about Bayard Rustin, an openly gay activist and organizer whose involvement with the civil rights movement dates back to the 1940s. Known to be one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s friends and mentors, Rustin helped organize the March on Washington where King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Available on: Netflix

Los Angeles has its own vibrant LGBTQ history, and Circus of Books was a West Hollywood institution. The independent bookstore that sold hardcore gay porn also served as a safe space for the local LGBTQ community to meet other queer people. The shop closed in 2019 after being owned by Karen and Barry Mason for 37 years. This documentary, directed by the owners’ daughter, Rachel Mason, is an intimate family story about acceptance with glimpses into L.A.’s LGBTQ history.

Available on: Hulu

This 2017 documentary is considered the spiritual sequel to “Paris is Burning,” the seminal 1990 film about the drag queens of New York’s ballroom scene in the 1980s. “Kiki” centers on the eponymous subculture of New York’s underground ball scene, and it is more explicit in its politics to show the lived realities of these black and brown queer youth. It is also frank about how the mainstream LGBTQ movement does not adequately recognize or address issues vital to queer and trans people of color.

Available on: Kanopy

This documentary about the AIDS activist movement is told by people fighting on the frontlines. Co-founded by activist and playwright Larry Kramer, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power was pivotal for visibility and direct political actions for the fight against the pandemic. The film captures the rage and the urgency that drove the activists in the early days of the movement as they planned and executed some of their actions to call out government neglect while just trying to survive.

Available on: Apple TV+

Exploring how media representation both reflects and shapes societal views of the LGBTQ community, this series revisits every major milestone of queer visibility on TV. It also frames landmark moments in the broader and oftentimes problematic cultural context.

Available on: HBO

This unscripted series follows “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alums Shangela, Bob the Drag Queen and Eureka as they travel to small towns across the U.S. to put on a one-night-only drag show with members of the community. The show highlights that despite shifting attitudes and recognition of legal rights, queer people who live outside of bigger cities with more vibrant LGBTQ communities still face obstacles just because of who they are.