History
In 1969, the Stonewall Inn was one of the most popular gay bars in New York City. Throughout New York state it was illegal to serve alcohol to a gay person until 1966, and at the time, homosexuality was still considered a criminal offense. This led many gay establishments to operate sans liquor license, providing an open door for raids and police brutality. During the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, plainclothes officers from the New York Police Department arrived at the Stonewall Inn, justifying the raid with a search warrant that authorized them to investigate the illegal sale of alcohol at Stonewall. This raid resulted in escalating violence and ended with the arrest of several drag queens and other LGBTQ+ individuals. Word of the Stonewall raid spread quickly throughout the city, and by that evening, thousands of protesters had gathered at Stonewall and in the surrounding area. The protests continued into the next week, with another outbreak of intense fighting occurring on that following Wednesday.
On June 28, 1970, the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, the first Pride marches were held in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Gay activists in New York organized the Christopher Street Liberation March to cap off the city’s first Pride Week, which was a resounding success: the thousands of attendees surpassed the organizers' expectations. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago quickly began planning for 1971, and soon other cities, states, and countries would begin to establish their own annual Pride traditions.
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.
Resources
- GLAADGLAAD – the world’s largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization – increases media accountability and community engagement that ensures authentic LGBTQ stories are seen, heard, and actualized.
- Library of Congress: LGBTQ+ Studies Web ArchiveThe LGBTQ+ Studies Web Archive collects and preserves online content which documents LGBTQ+ history, scholarship, and culture in the United States and around the world. Sites include domestic and international non-profit organizations, journalism and news external link, creative works and expressions, historical records, and more. Collection priorities include primary sources, first-hand accounts, coverage of significant events, and essential artifacts of cultural memory. This collection seeks to illuminate LBGTQ+ voices, from margin to center.
- Human Rights Campaign (HRC)By inspiring and engaging individuals and communities, the Human Rights Campaign strives to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and realize a world that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. HRC envisions a world where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people plus community members who use different language to describe identity are ensured equality and embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.
- The Trevor ProjectThe Trevor Project is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1998. Focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth, they offer a toll-free telephone number where confidential assistance is provided by trained counselors.
- PFLAGFounded in 1973 by a mother and her gay son, PFLAG was born from the unified front of a family leading with love. An inspiring alliance of LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones continues to fuel PFLAG, fifty years later. PFLAG’s network of hundreds of chapters and more than 325,000 members and supporters are helping create an equitable and inclusive world where every LGBTQ+ person is safe, celebrated, empowered, and loved.
- GLSENGLSEN is an American education organization working to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression and to prompt LGBT cultural inclusion and awareness in K-12 schools.