The Stonewall Riots And The History Of Pride
The Pride Month has come to an end, but the zeal for LGBTQIA+ Pride will never stop to flourish. The main events of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, also known as Gay Pride, which is observed in June in countries across the world, include vibrant, uplifting parades with floats and celebrities, joyful festivals, workshops, picnics, and parties. What began in the United States in June 1969 has spread to become a universal representation of embracing diversity. The month honours the sacrifices made by the LGBTQIA+ community in their transition from being viewed as criminals who needed to be imprisoned, subjected to chemical castration, isolated from society, and given lifelong sex offender labels, to becoming a legally and socially accepted group of people. Pride Month honours the successes of LGBTQIA+ people as well as the decades-long fight for equal justice under the law and for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. But why is June designated as Pride Month? Here’s a look into it.
The Stonewall Riots
LGBTQIA+ rights have been actively pursued in the US since at least 1924, when Henry Gerber established the Society of Human Rights in Chicago. However, the Stonewall Inn incident in June 1969 in New York City’s Greenwich Village served as the catalyst for the LGBTQIA+ rights movement. In the 1960s, police frequently searched gay bars in Manhattan, and nearly every raid had a similar structure. Police officers would barge in, make threats at, and physically assault customers and staff. Then, when a line of customers formed in the street, they would wait for the police to take them into custody.
But when the police invaded the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street on the morning of June 28, 1969, things would be different and completely unexpected. In New York City, the LGBTQIA+ club was raided under the pretense that it lacked a liquor license. The city government at the time prohibited bars from serving LGBTQIA+ customers. Police invaded Stonewall on the day and detained at least 13 people. An angry mob gathered outside as they observed customers of the bar being herded into police trucks.
In the past, witnesses to police persecution of LGBTQIA+ people had remained silent, but this time the audience booed the officers and hurled coins, bottles, and other objects at them, forcing them to barricade themselves inside the bar while they waited for reinforcements. Soon, 400 people started to riot. The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising), which took place outside the bar over the course of five days despite police reinforcements dispersing the crowd, served as the catalyst for the LGBTQIA+ rights movement in the United States.
The Subsequent Consequences and Cultural Impact
Although it wasn’t the first gay rebellion in the country, it served as a catalyst for the contemporary LGBTQIA+ civil rights struggle. On November 2, 1969, in Philadelphia, at the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations, the notion of a march in protest of the Stonewall events was put out. The procession was dubbed the Christopher Street Liberation Day march after the street that served as the hub of New York City’s LGBTQIA+ community and where the procession would start on June 28, 1970, the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Long believed to have dramatically altered the conversation surrounding the LGBTQIA+ civil rights movement, what transpired at the Stonewall Inn and the subsequent riot.
After that, Gay Pride, or LGBTQIA+ Pride, became commonly observed on the final Sunday in June in the United States (although there were many outliers), as depressing marches turned into joyful festivals. The day eventually grew to be a month-long celebration. When President Bill Clinton proclaimed June 1999 to be “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month,” President Barack Obama proclaimed June to be “LGBT Pride Month,” and President Joe Biden further expanded the observance to “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Pride Month,” it was formally acknowledged by the U.S. government. In other parts of the world, Pride is observed at various times throughout the year, although it is often in June in many cities.
The History of the Flag
The LGBTQIA+ community has long been identified with the rainbow colours, and the rainbow flag is the most widely used emblem of Gay Pride. Its beginnings may be traced back to 1978, when San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk asked artist and designer Gilbert Baker to create a flag for the city’s planned Pride celebrations. One of the first openly gay political leaders in the US was Milk, which is noteworthy.
In order to symbolize the variety in the neighborhood, Baker came up with the rainbow flag while paying homage to the American flag’s stripes. In addition to the rainbow flag, the community has several other flags that each stand for a particular group, including the transgender flag, the pansexual flag, and the asexual flag.
Conclusion
The National Geographic reports that every June, Pride Month celebrates the legacy of Stonewall with marches and other activities. Since the uprising, LGBTQIA+ activists have worked to significantly expand their legal rights. In June 2015, the US Supreme Court issued a landmark decision ensuring same-sex couples’ legal right to marry. We can see today that if it wasn’t for the people in that bar in 1969, we wouldn’t be where we are when it comes to society and its relationship with the LGBTQIA+ community. We sure have a long way to go, but we shouldn’t forget where it started – June 1969 in a bar in Manhattan, with the courage of the people there.
Cover Image: The New York Public Library
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