Every summer in the United States, the LGBTQ+ community comes together
for a month-long celebration of love, acceptance, and unashamed self-pride.
From the first battles against police to eating fire in front of the White House – and even the
origin of the term "gay pride" – this is what you should know about the history of Pride Month.
On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn — a gay club in New
York City — for operating without a liquor license.
During those years, New York refused to give out permits to bars that served gay people,
and that night cops entered Stonewall with a warrant and arrested at least 13 people.
Titus Montalvo, a hairdresser and makeup artist in the 1960s,
told USA Today that the majority of those people at the Stonewall Inn
"were either drag queens or gay men of color." Trans activist Sylvia Rivera
shared the same sentiment in the documentary "The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson."
"We're the ones that stood the forefronts and fought the cops off. And we're the ones that
didn't mind getting our heads bashed in."
Raids and harassment were common for gay bars and nightclubs across the country during this time,
but on this night, members of the LGBTQ+ community stood up for themselves and fought back.
This routine police raid triggered nights of intense rebellion and protests. The Stonewall
Inn uprising has long been considered to have fundamentally changed the dialogue
surrounding the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement and why many cities hold Pride events in June.
A decade before New York City's Stonewall Riots, a Los Angeles-based group of LGBTQ+
individuals fed up with purported police mistreatment revolted at Cooper Do-nuts,
a popular nightspot for groups excluded from other establishments because of their sexual
orientation. Historians have long considered that riot the first modern gay community uprising.
During the 1950s, the Los Angeles Police Department was long reported to have abused
LGBTQ+ residents — even allegedly arresting them for simply gathering
at the establishment. Author John Rechy, who experienced police abuses firsthand,
wrote about the topic in his novel "City of Night." As he described it,
"They interrogate you, fingerprint you without booking you:
an illegal L.A. cop-tactic to scare you from hanging around."
On that evening in May, two officers allegedly visited the eatery
and asked for the identification of several customers, including
Rechy. Officers then reportedly proceeded to arrest them without cause. According to Out,
patrons who apparently had enough of being oppressed attacked the cops with coffee,
donuts, and plates until they had to leave and come back with backup to contain the uprising.
On June 28, 1970, a year after the Stonewall Riot, the first gay liberation march dubbed the
Christopher Street Liberation Day March took place in New York City's Greenwich Village
neighborhood. People gathered outside the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street,
and groups from all over the country came out to march in unity that day. People from Boston,
Washington, D.C., and even organizations from universities such as Columbia,
Rutgers, and Yale came to participate in the event.
"No really, if straight people can do all this carrying on, and holding hands,
and kiss in the park, why can't we do it? They ain't no better than I am."
When the transgender community came out to march, however, they were reportedly
told by organizers to stand in the back, but they did not comply. Victoria Cruz,
a queer, transgender woman and former activist, recalled being shamed into marching in the back
on that day over 50 years ago. Cruz stated that members of the transgender community stuck up for
themselves because they had fought just like everyone else. They refused to be hidden and,
according to Cruz, shouted, "Hell no, we won't go!" while marching alongside everyone else.
Cruz noted that all those within the trans community who marched didn't attempt to
segregate themselves. A similar march took place the same day in Los Angeles,
and just a year later, Boston held their march. After that, gay liberation and pride
events took place worldwide, including in cities such as London and Tel Aviv.
In July 1969, the LGBTQ+ community gathered in New York City for a rally initiated by activist
and LGBTQ+ ally Brenda Howard. While Howard herself was not at the bar the night of the riot,
she did have friends who were, and after the insurrection, the Bronx native became an advocate
for the neighborhood. A year later, Howard formed a committee to plan one of the country's first
pride parades: the Christopher Street Liberation Day March. She has also been recognized for laying
the foundation for Pride's weeklong festivities that led up to the big modern-day parades that
now take place worldwide. Howard was frequently called the "Mother of Pride" for her efforts.
Howard's support didn't stop with the Christopher Street Liberation Day March.
It continued for 30 years, and she became a lifelong revolutionary activist participating
in the feminist and antiwar crusades. Howard also participated in the Gay Liberation Front
where she served as a chair of the organization. Howard's partner Larry Nelson told The Advocate
that she was the go-to person for coordinating a protest or a social justice event and recalled,
"All you had to do was call her and she'll just say when and where."
The Greek letter lambda was chosen as the gay symbol when graphic designer Tom Doerr
and the rest of the New York chapter of the Gay Activist Alliance adopted it in 1970.
A flier created by the organization stated that the symbol was chosen to represent, quote,
"a commitment among men and women to achieve and defend their human rights as homosexual citizens."
Since the organization sponsored events for the gay community,
lambda quickly became a fast and easy way for other gay people to identify with one another.
Those within the community also drew the lambda symbol on their outfits and signs,
making it easy for the growing gay population to know that a gay event was happening.
Activist Craig Schoonmaker was a part of the group that came together to honor the Stonewall
riots with the Christopher Street Liberation Day March organization. When the committee
was thinking of a slogan for their event, Schoonmaker suggested the phrase "Pride."
In a 2015 interview with "The Allusionist," the activist spoke about how he conceived
the popular slogan. He explained that there were several Pride-themed events taking place
during one 1970 weekend, and the group wanted to collect all of the happenings under one label.
Schoonmaker shared that so many people were mightily oppressed during this time
and didn't know how to be proud because they were conflicted within themselves. The phrase "Gay
power" didn't sit right with him because he felt that not everyone in the world possessed power.
However, he did feel they could take pride in themselves. That's when he came up with "Gay
Pride." Schoonmaker thought that the feeling of self-esteem would make people more joyful,
which in turn would help create the movement with hopes to spark change. According to Schoonmaker,
the committee took a vote and decided to call the weekend "Gay Pride Weekend." In his words,
"That's how the movement was most useful, because they thought, Maybe I should be proud."
Over the past four decades, the pride flag has been considered the universal
symbol of the LGBTQ+ movement. It's not uncommon to see rainbow
flags flying outside bars and homes and pinned to shirts. The flag was designed
and hand-sewn in 1978 by late artist and gay rights activist Gilbert Baker.
San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk, well known as an early pioneer of openly homosexual
elected officials, hired Baker to create a new emblem for the city's first Gay Pride Day.
At the time, the gay and lesbian political movement was symbolized by the pink triangle:
a symbol hailing from the World War II era, used by the Nazis as a mark to identify homosexuals.
The flag initially consisted of eight colors — all of which Baker assigned meanings.
Hot pink represented sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature,
turquoise for magic, blue for harmony, and violet for spirit.
Turquoise and pink were dropped from the six-color flag recognized today,
because the fabric colors were hard to find at the time for mass production.
"It was a necessary compromise
so that we could make it available, so I could produce it commercially."
In 2015, Baker chatted with CNN about the flag and recalled the day of the parade. He stated,
"I saw immediately how everyone around me owned that flag.
I thought: It's better than I ever dreamed."
He also shared his motivation behind the design and explained his community needed something to
convey their happiness, splendor, and mightiness. According to Baker, "The rainbow did that."
"Without any explanation at all, everyone knew immediately that this was now our flag."
While the first U.S. Pride Parade took place in 1970, it wasn't until 23 years later that
thousands of lesbians would take to the streets in their own march to fight for their rights
and visibility. With help from other lesbian organizations, the first march was spearheaded
by the New York chapter of The Lesbian Avengers. Thousands of fliers were passed out to spread
the word to meet on April 24, 1993, for a "Dyke March to the White House." That night over 20,000
lesbians joined in solidarity and made their way to the National Mall. While in front of the White
House, The Lesbian Avengers swallowed fire to draw attention to their group and its cause.
After the success in Washington, D.C., the group organized a march in New York weeks later.
Atlanta and San Francisco quickly followed suit that summer and hosted their own Dyke Marches.
While transgender activists played significant roles in the Stonewall uprising, there still
wasn't a defined and singular place for the transgender community to celebrate
their identities. In many instances, those within the community faced discrimination
even amongst the LGBTQ+ community. The first march reportedly came about
after a mysterious email was sent to community activists in San Francisco.
After receiving the message, many activists came together to organize the event.
Many local businesses and organizations also chipped in to help make the event a reality.
A few hundred people came together on June 25, 2004, and gathered in Dolores Park to begin the
demonstration. Since the first transgender march, the number of attendees has continued to grow,
with thousands participating in it annually on the Friday of San Francisco Pride weekend.
The event also sparked annual marches, gatherings,
and demonstrations worldwide to raise awareness and support of transgender issues.
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