Pride Month is a mirror into our past that still reflects what’s happening in American today. With protests combating police brutality and racial inequality raging throughout our country, the history of Pride Month – steeped in protests, ongoing bouts for equal rights, and celebratory odes for those lost along the way – shows how far we’ve come while crystallizing just how much further we still need to go.
Pride Month began to take shape in June of 1969 during the Stonewall Uprising. On the morning of June 28th in New York City’s West Village, a popular haunt in the gay community, the Stonewall Inn, was raided by local police for no reason other than ignorance and hatred. Raids into popular gay establishments were common during that time. But this particular instance was uncommon in that it would impact history forever and for the better.
The battle that ensued between the Stonewall Inn patrons and the NYPD raged on for days. Needless to say, it changed things. Next June, in 1970, approximately a year following the uprising, the first Pride parade took place. They’ve continued for 50 years, reaching the half-century this year.
In 2015, the city of New York named Stonewall Inn a historic landmark. President Barack Obama would name the famed landmark a national monument in 2016.