LGBTQ Pride Month

Pride Month is celebrated every June as a tribute to those who were involved in the Stonewall Riots. We’re getting ready to dust off our rainbow flags, douse ourselves in glitter, and go join in the fun. With parades, festivals, and concerts going on across the globe, there’s always some way for you to get involved — as well as learn some important social history along the way.  https://nationaltoday.com/pride-month/

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The Stonewall Uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. In the United States the last Sunday in June was initially celebrated as "Gay Pride Day," but the actual day was flexible. In major cities across the nation the "day" soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events. Today, celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts, and LGBTQ Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. Memorials are held during this month for those members of the community who have been lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally. https://www.loc.gov/lgbt-pride-month/about/

On June 28, 1970, two thousand gay and lesbian activists in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago paraded down the streets of their cities in a new kind of social protest, one marked by celebration, fun, and unashamed declaration of a stigmatized identity. Forty-five years later, over six million people annually participate in 115 Pride parades across the United States. They march with church congregations and college gay-straight alliance groups, perform dance routines and marching band numbers, and gather with friends to cheer from the sidelines. With vivid imagery, and showcasing the voices of these participants, Pride Parades tells the story of Pride from its beginning in 1970 to 2010. Though often dismissed as frivolous spectacles, the author builds a convincing case for the importance of Pride parades as cultural protests at the heart of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Weaving together interviews, archival reports, quantitative data, and ethnographic observations at six diverse contemporary parades in New York City, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Burlington, Fargo, and Atlanta, Bruce describes how Pride parades are a venue for participants to challenge the everyday cultural stigma of being queer in America, all with a flair and sense of fun absent from typical protests. Unlike these political protests that aim to change government laws and policies, Pride parades are coordinated, concerted attempts to improve the standing of LGBT people in American culture.  Pride Parades: How a Parade Changed the World

"The first parade was not even a parade as nothing was organized. Sort of just happened with only a few men walking down Christopher Street and as they walked people in the shops along Christopher Street joined them and by the time they reached the end of the street many (not specific on number but fewer than 100ish) other people had joined with them.  They labeled that day the start of gay pride and a parade was born and celebrated each year on the last Sunday in June." George Mulloy

A Pride flag is displayed during the 52nd annual San Francisco Pride parade on June 26, 2022.
(Arun Nevader/Getty Images)