It is a messy, painful, beautiful evolution. The quilt is being rewoven in real-time. And while the stitches may be strained, the colors—specifically the light blue, pink, and white of the Transgender Pride Flag—are brighter than ever.

The modern queer liberation movement is often dated to the Stonewall Riots of 1969. The first brick thrown? That legend belongs to Marsha P. Johnson, a self-identified drag queen and trans activist, and Sylvia Rivera, a Latina trans woman. While the mainstream gay rights movement of the 70s often tried to distance itself from "gender non-conforming radicals" to appear more palatable to straight society, Rivera famously crashed a gay rights rally in 1973, screaming, "You all tell me, 'Go hide, hide from the world.' I have been hiding for years!"

This is the story of how the transgender community is both challenging and redefining modern LGBTQ culture. It is a historical irony that many people still refer to the transgender movement as a "new" front in the culture war. In truth, transgender people have been the brick layers of LGBTQ rights from the very beginning.