At the first few Boise Pride Festivals roughly three decades ago, Joseph Kibbe and his friends had to hide their faces and were greeted by protesters holding nooses.

While most Americans continued awaiting the presidential election results, history was silently being made in Delaware. Sarah McBride, 30, made history on election night by becoming the first openly transgender person to be elected to the state Senate in U.S. history. “I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too,” McBride tweeted Tuesday night after the election was called. McBride is a former spokesperson for the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign and also became the first trans person to speak at a major political convention. McBride will represent parts of Bellefonte, Claymont and Wilmington, the state’s largest city.

We wanted to make sure that we were reaching all parts of the city," said Darrell Garcia Parsons, Fiesta Youth board president. Every Tuesday, Fiesta Youth holds meetings for children ages 12 to 18 at 6:30 p.m. at University Presbyterian Church near Trinity University at 300 Bushnell. We let them hang out for about 15 minutes, get to catch up on their week," Garcia Parsons said. The one safe place they need besides this place, besides Fiesta Youth, is their own home." Alcocer said Fiesta Youth provides a safe space for those kids to speak up and express themselves -- free from judgment.

SAN ANTONIO – At least 48 openly LGBTQ candidates in Texas ran for office this election cycle. That number is roughly three times higher than any previous election cycle, according to Outsmart, a Houston LGBTQ magazine. I was raised in a Catholic household, first-generation American," said San Antonio native Gina Ortiz Jones, who is running for a U.S. congressional seat. "Yeah, I stand on the shoulders of leaders, not only LGBT but strong women," Ortiz Jones said. She said the number of LGBTQ candidates this election cycle is a true sign of the times.