Fearless: How 10 LGBT Activists Made It Better

We are excited to announce that ONE’s original documentary series, in collaboration with MSNBC and the It Gets Better Project, is now live on msnbc.com! In honor of LGBT Pride month, “Fearless: How 10 LGBT Activists Made It Better” features ten individuals who were trailblazers in the 20th Century LGBT movement throughout Los Angeles. The first episode features the incredible story of Project 10 Founder and Executive Director Dr. Virginia Uribe.

Watch the first installment of the series here.

Ivy Bottini

Here at the One Institute, we have had the privilege of preserving and collecting LGBTQ history for over 60 years. Our community’s history is filled with many lives that were led mostly in secret, which has caused those stories to be difficult to collect and largely overlooked by mainstream historical accounts.

Currently, there is a pressing need in the LGBT community to preserve the stories of our pre-Stonewall pioneers on film, as many of them won’t physically be able to tell their stories much longer. In these interviews, we seek to capture the unique experiences that these early LGBTQ civil rights pioneers had as they fought for equality in an atmosphere fraught with fear, isolation and potential incarceration. These narratives represent the heart and soul of our movement’s beginnings. Without them, the tremendous bravery, perseverance, and remarkable resilience of that generation will be largely lost to those who wish to study the origins of our movement.

Jewel Thais-Williams

For the pioneers who have so generously allowed us into their lives through this project, we hope that they are comforted knowing that their legacy has been preserved and their significant contributions to the movement will be accessible and shared with so many who will come after them. For the audiences, these histories will provide a vital new access point into the collective histories of the critical pre-Stonewall generation; one that will bring the past alive for all who watch them.