In the early days of the HIV and AIDS crisis, fear and uncertainty overshadowed hope. Between 1980 and 1995, the epidemic claimed the lives of more than 300,000 Americans. For many, a diagnosis felt like a death sentence. But some survived.

Established in 1980, the Northeast Florida AIDS Network, also known as N-FAN, is the longest-standing AIDS service organization in Northeast Florida and serves clients in Duval, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties

Local advocate Richard Ceriello has watched Jacksonville change greatly over the years when it comes to LGBTQ+ acceptance -- dating all the way back to the city's first Pride Celebration in Willowbranch Park 47 years ago.

Longtime News4JAX reporter Jim Piggott retired last year, and during Pride Month, we’re sharing a more personal side of the journalist who provided thorough news coverage, no matter the topic, for decades to our Channel 4 audience.

Founded by Jacksonville resident Kamala Williams, The Lotus Flower Project is committed to strengthening our community by empowering women to rise above life’s challenges and activate their purpose.

As Pride Month comes to a close, one organization is making sure it wraps up June with an experience including flavor, flair and fierce performances.

Local Drag Queen Karrissa Wade (she/her) has spent three decades in Jacksonville combating stigma through love and kindness while raising money for children’s cancer research, autism awareness and HIV patients.

Founded in 1997, Equality Florida has grown into one of the largest statewide LGBTQ advocacy networks in the country.

Founded in 2012, the OUTdoorsy Adventure Team is a nonprofit Meet-Up group of LGBTQ folks -- and allies -- who find joy in exploring the great outdoors.

PFLAG’s Jacksonville chapter is an organization that fosters family understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people.

The Jacksonville LGBT Chamber of Commerce focuses on creating networks among LGBTQ+ and allied businesses. It is hosting a membership drive through Pride Month in June.

Founded in 1970, OneJax is a nonprofit that has promoted diversity as the foundation for a strong community for more than 50 years.

Next weekend, the annual “Big Gay Picnic” returns to Willowbranch Park in Riverside. The family and pet-friendly event, hosted by the Jacksonville LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the AIDS Memorial Project AMP, celebrates community and inclusivity.

The Pride Community Center of North Central Florida is based in Gainesville and serves 13 local counties, including Alachua, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Putnam and Union.

As Pride Month continues, News4JAX is highlighting local organizations, like JASMYN, that provide resources and safe spaces for the Northeast Florida LGBTQ+ community.

News4JAX is recognizing Pride Month this June by highlighting the organizations that serve the unique and vibrant LGBTQ+ community in Northeast Florida.

Co-founded by three friends who saw a need in the nation’s oldest city, House of Prism provides advocacy, education, and services for LGBTQIA+ individuals in St. Augustine.

COLORS Resource Center offers advocacy and social services to create safe spaces and foster connections for the LGBTQIA+ community in Northeast Florida and beyond.

Hundreds of people gathered at Central Park in Fernandina Beach to celebrate the fifth annual Pride Parade and Festival.

The Queer Trans Project is a Jacksonville-based, trans-led nonprofit that provides free gender-affirming resources to people across the country.

News4JAX is celebrating Pride Month this June by highlighting our unique and vibrant local LGBTQ+ community, and Wednesday, we’re shining a light on the LGBTQ Community Fund.

Jax River City Pride is a local 501 (c)(3) nonprofit all-volunteer organization that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community with a festival and parade each October in the Five Points area.

Jacksonville’s LGBTQ+ community and allies will march across the Acosta Bridge and the Main Street Bridge on Sunday to kick off Pride Month.

Pride Month, a global celebration of LGBTQ+ people, is starting this weekend in many places.

The Defense Department intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal workplace.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies walked up the Acosta Bridge, smiling, waving, and holding items that would shine bright in the dark.

The City of Jacksonville will hold a ceremony Friday morning at City Hall recognizing LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

The City of Jacksonville will hold a ceremony Friday morning at City Hall recognizing LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

As Pride Month inches to a close, First Lady Jill Biden will host a celebration at the White House on Wednesday.

With Pride Month in full gear, U.S. shoppers can find the usual merchandise many stores stock for the June celebration of LGBTQ+ culture and rights.

Events, parades, and parties are taking place all over Northeast Florida. News4JAX has compiled a list of events below.

Pride Month is kicking off around the world with parades and festivals in cities large and small.

Pride Month is kicking off around the world with parades and festivals in cities large and small.

Foreign terrorists’ groups and their supporters may be planning an attack on LGBTQ related events during the month of June, which is Pride Month.

Events range from comedy shows, parades, festivals, bingo, parties and more!

The Texas Rangers are the only one of the 30 teams in Major League Baseball that aren't hosting Pride Night during a game in June as part of Pride Month.

Transgender advocate Rose Montoya is no longer welcome at White House events after posting on social media a video of herself and two others going topless for a time at Saturday’s Pride Month event on the South Lawn.

President Joe Biden has welcomed hundreds to the White House for a delayed Pride Month celebration.

Faith and Cassandre decided to swap eggs and carry the other’s baby — at the same time.

President Joe Biden’s administration has stopped U.S. military bases from hosting drag shows after criticism from some Republicans.

Pride Month is about community, love and support. Florida residents are encouraged to stand against discrimination and reject violence toward LGBTQ+ individuals.

The start of June marks the beginning of Pride month around the United States and some parts of the world, a season intended to celebrate the lives and experiences of LGBTQ+ people and to protest against the rollback of hard-won civil rights gains.

Central Florida is about to become a hub of LGBTQ+ life.

Activists in the LGBTQ+ community are calling for new ways to mobilize against threats to their long fight for equality.

River City Pride is known to host events throughout the year, including during Pride Month in June and when the organization hosts its parade and festival in October.

Target once distinguished itself as being boldly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.

Scammers may pressure you to pay up or be outed, claiming they’ll “ruin your life” by exposing explicit photos or conversations.

As we all know, June is Pride Month, and it’s a time for the LGBTQ+ community to come together and celebrate being out and proud.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order to stymie what the White House says are discriminatory legislative attacks on the LGBTQ community by Republican-controlled states.

Have you ever had dreams of starring in a Broadway show and singing your heart out to hundreds of people in a packed New York theater?

Equality Florida said they want to ensure Duval County provides a safe and inclusive environment for all LGBTQ students.

After facing scrutiny for turning off the rainbow lights during Pride Month last year, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority lit up the bridge on Monday night.

A U.S. Embassy tweet of a rainbow-flag-festooned message by President Joe Biden in support of Pride Month has drawn a diplomatic protest from Kuwait.

After facing scrutiny for turning off the rainbow lights during pride month last year, Jacksonville Transportation Authority is ensuring residents that the lighting plan is on track for next week.

There is an estimated 886,000 Floridians who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+).

Major business and union groups have formed a new coalition designed to add momentum for a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that the Senate is expected to take up this month.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has doled out $905 million in infrastructure grants.

President Joe Biden is celebrating Pride Month at the White House, a reflection of the growing stature of the LGBTQ community at the highest level of government.

As we all know, June is Pride Month, and what better way to celebrate the rainbow flag than listening to some music made by those in the LGBTQ community?

The Florida Department of Transportation is making changes to its rules regarding decorative bridge lighting.

Las Vegas Raiders football player Carl Nassib made history Monday when he became the first active NFL player to come out of the closet.

It’s Pride Month!

On this edition of “This Week in Jacksonville,” Equality Florida’s Jimmy Midyette discusses the impact of changing the lights on the Acosta Bridge from rainbow for Pride Month to blue and then back to rainbow again. State Sen. Travis Hutson weighs in on the governor signing the largest state budget in Florida’s history. Some of the vetoes included killing requests to fund the Hotel Ponce de Leon Preservation and Restoration ($250,000) and a program called St. John’s Schools Classroom to Careers/Flagships. And 100 Black Men of Jacksonville President Ronnie King reacts to a bill that would have given $1 million to a project called Coding in Color being vetoed.

To South Florida athletes like Jazz Jennings and Oliver Echevarria, denying kids access to something they love is heartbreaking.

Days after the Acosta Bridge was re-lit in the colors of the rainbow, hundreds gathered Saturday to unite to support the LGBTQ+ community.

Did The Sisters catch your eye? That's the point. Peek behind the veil of Sister Bunny Juju.

Pride Month celebrations in the U.S. are taking place under unusual circumstances this year.

A parade of colors could once again be seen shining along the surface of the St. Johns River on Wednesday night, a reflection of a rainbow light display along Jacksonville’s Acosta Bridge.

Florida has reversed itself and now says a downtown Jacksonville bridge can be decorated in rainbow lights to celebrate gay rights.

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority again lit the Acosta Bridge in rainbow colors Wednesday night after being told Tuesday by the Florida Department of Transportation that its color scheme was “out of compliance” with its existing permit.

After planning to keep the Acosta Bridge lit up in rainbow colors for Pride Month, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority on Tuesday said it was told by the Florida Department of Transportation that its color scheme was “out of compliance” with its existing permit.

The Acosta Bridge is lit up in rainbow colors to celebrate Pride Month in Jacksonville.

A well-known Jacksonville Beach bakery issued an apology after one of its owners posted anti-LGBTQ messages to her social media page.

A St. Augustine resident is suing the St. Johns County Commission over its refusal to hear a bill recognizing the county’s LGBTQ+ community, saying the board’s decision infringes on residents’ constitutional rights.

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. The month is intended to celebrate hard-won equality and to raise awareness about efforts still in progress.