Alexis Martinez and Lesley Martinez Etherly

Growing up in the 1960s in a housing project on the South Side of Chicago, Alexis Martinez (left) knew that she had to hide from others that she is transgender.

At StoryCorps, she told her daughter, Lesley Martinez Etherly (right), about growing up, parenthood, and now living as a woman.

Originally aired May 5, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Tracy Johnson and Sandra Johnson

North Carolina National Guardsman Tracy Johnson (left) is an Iraq war veteran and an Army widow. She is also believed to be the first gay spouse to lose her partner at war since the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Tracy married her long-time partner, Staff Sergeant Donna Johnson, on Valentine’s Day in 2012. Later that year, Donna was killed by a suicide bomber while serving in Khost, Afghanistan. She was 29 years old.

The Army did not consider Tracy to be Donna’s next of kin, but when Army representatives arrived to inform Donna’s family of her death, Tracy presented their marriage certificate and asked to be part of the military escort that would welcome her wife back to U.S. soil. This request was ultimately granted at the insistence of her mother-in-law, Sandra Johnson (right).

At StoryCorps, Tracy and Sandra talk about finding out that their wife and daughter wasn’t coming home.

Originally aired February 16, 2013, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.

Above: Staff Sergeant Donna Johnson. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Public Affairs Office.

Michael Wilmoth and Bryan Wilmoth

Bryan Wilmoth (right) and his seven younger siblings were raised in a strict, religious household. When Bryan’s father found a love letter from a man in his box of things, he drove him into the countryside and dropped him off in the middle of the night with a five dollar bill.

Over the years, all of Bryan’s siblings either ran away from or were kicked out of their family home. He made efforts to reconnect with them, but many were initially resistant, so it took a long time for their relationships to grow.

At StoryCorps, Bryan and his brother Michael (left) recall how their family grew close.

Click here to watch “A Good Man,” a StoryCorps animation of Bryan and Michael’s conversation.

Originally aired January 25, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Above: The Wilmoth siblings at Bryan and Michael’s sister’s wedding in June 2007. From left: Jude, Mike, Pam, Bryan, Amy, Curtis (groom), Chris, Luke-Henry, and Josh.

Matthew Merlin and Michael Levine

Update: On June 24, 2016, President Barack Obama designated a new national monument at the site of the Stonewall Uprising, the first national monument to recognize the fight for LGBT rights.

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, in New York City’s Greenwich Village, police raided the Stonewall Inn. What followed was a series of demonstrations and protests—sometimes violent—by members of the LGBT community.

Considered to be the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement in the United States, the Stonewall Uprising played a significant role in beginning the process of unifying and organizing activists fighting for LGBT rights.

One of the patrons in the bar at the time of the raid was Michael Levine (above right). He was there on a date drinking and dancing when the “lights went up, the music went off and you could hear a pin drop.”

Michael came to StoryCorps with his friend Matthew Merlin (above left) to recall the night of the Stonewall Uprisings and how it changed him as a person and his outlook on the world.

Originally aired June 25, 2010, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Above: Michael Levine pictured in 1969. Photo courtesy of Michael Levine.

Nathan Hoskins and Sally Evans

Nathan Hoskins knew from an early age that he was gay, but growing up in rural Kentucky in a family that did not tolerate homosexuality, he learned to keep it a secret.

At StoryCorps, he tells his friend Sally Evans a harrowing story of just how dangerous life was for him.

Originally aired January 13, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Stefan Lynch Strassfeld and his friend Beth Teper

Stefan Lynch Strassfeld was raised by gay parents in the early eighties. Now 38, he came to StoryCorps to talk with his friend Beth Teper about growing up as AIDS began to spread.

Originally aired December 3, 2010 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

David Wilson

David Wilson was a plaintiff in the 2004 court decision that legalized same sex marriage in Massachusetts.

Wilson’s journey to that landmark case started 10 years earlier — when he lost his first partner, Ron Loso, to a heart attack. The EMT’s who arrived on the scene were suspicious of David and called the police. Later, when he got to the hospital, officials would not release any information about his partner.

That injustice led to Wilson becoming a plaintiff in the 2004 court decision.

The first weddings, which included David’s own, began taking place on May 17, 2004, after same sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts.

Originally aired October 15, 2010, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Scott Miller and Jackie Miller

Jackie Miller and her husband adopted their son, Scott, on May 25, 1971. Thirty-seven years later, Scott and Jackie came to StoryCorps to talk about their relationship, and for him to find out more about her decision to adopt him. During their conversation, Scott learned something he never knew before about his mother.

Click here to watch “Me & You,” an animation of Scott and Jackie’s story.

Originally aired June 11, 2010, on NPR’s Morning Edition. 

Genna Alperin and MJ Seide

MJ met her partner in the early 1990s. Her partner had been married to a man and raised children.

MJ soon embraced her new extended family, especially her granddaughter, 12-year-old Genna Alperin.

MJ tells Genna what happened once she fell in love.

Originally aired February 12, 2010, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Jeffrey Perri and Tony Perri

When Tony Perri was 17 years old he went to confession and told his priest that he was attracted to men. After that he didn’t tell anyone else about his feelings for another 17 years until he told his wife, Shirley. At StoryCorps Tony talks with his grandson Jeffrey about coming out, and Jeffrey talks about his own coming out experience.

Originally aired September 18, 2009, on NPR’s Morning Edition.