This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.
Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.
I'm Vicki Foncombe.
From Witness History, this is a special episode to mark June as Pride Month.
We've brought together a collection of the highlights from our show,
looking back at some of the major moments that changed the lives of LGBT plus people.
It's history as told by the people who were there.
If you like what you hear,
make sure you subscribe to Witness History wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
And don't forget to hit subscribe, then you'll never miss a show.
Let's begin in 1969.
In June of that year,
the gay community in New York City responded to police brutality and harassment by rioting outside the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village.
The protest sparked the creation of the modern LGBT plus rights movement.
and the first gay pride events.
Simon Watts speaks with Stonewall veteran John O'Brien.
People wanted to show their anger and resentment at the police for all their years of brutality and intolerance.
Here was a chance for me to finally express my feelings about what had been done to me as a young gay kid growing up in an anti-gay society.
And I wasn't alone.
The spark was a raid on the popular Stonewall Bar.