LGBTQ+ Pride Month
LGBTQ+ Pride Month is celebrated around the world with carnivals, marches, and solemn memorials for those lost to AIDS or violence.
Written by Maya Sirmons, Corporate Payroll Manager (Bedford Heights, OH)
June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, which celebrates the milestones, contributions, dignity, equality, increased visibility and endurance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. The celebrations focus on inclusivity and uplifting all people.
The roots of Pride Month date back to the early 1900s when some of the first gay and lesbian organizations were established in North America and Europe. The Society of Human Rights, founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago during the 1920s, was one of the first organizations created. After World War II, organizations like the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis began publishing gay and lesbian-focused newsletters and holding private rallies against discrimination. The Mattachine Society held “sip-in” protests, modeled after the civil rights movement, at a bar in New York City called Julius.
During this era, it was illegal to serve alcohol to gays and lesbians. The New York Police Department (NYPD) would frequently raid gay and lesbian patronized bars. Then on June 28, 1969, the NYPD raided the Stonewall Inn, a bar heavily patronized by the gay and lesbian community. The raid sparked a 6-day protest outside of the Stonewall Inn. The protest ended on July 2, 1969, and the gay rights movement went from being an underground movement to front page news.
A year later, on June 28, 1970, the first Pride March took place to commemorate Stonewall and demonstrate for equal rights. The March was organized by the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations (ERCHO) and the Christopher Street Liberation Day Umbrella Committee. The Pride March was later named the Christopher Street Liberation Day March.
Activist Craig Schoonmaker stated, “I authored the word ‘pride’ for gay pride … [my] first thought was ‘Gay Power.’ I didn’t like that, so proposed gay pride. There’s very little chance for people in the world to have power. People did not have power then; even now, we only have some. But anyone can have pride in themselves, and that would make them happier as people, and produce the movement likely to produce change.”
The Pride events during the 1970s would have over 5,000 participants and would stretch 51 blocks from Greenwich Village to Central Park. Marches also took place in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In June 2000, President Clinton declared June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. The more inclusive name of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month was later established by President Obama. In 2016, President Obama created the Stonewall National Monument around the Stonewall Inn where the modern gay rights movement began.
LGBTQ+ Pride Month, as it is known today, has rapidly grown. People around the world celebrate this month with carnivals, marches, and solemn memorials for those lost to AIDS or violence. The slogan “LOVE WINS” is often used in Pride events as a reminder that we are all human and deserve to be treated with kindness, regardless of who we love. It’s a positive reminder to support one another and put people first.
