How did the Stonewall Uprising spark a movement across the nation?
New York City launched America’s first pride month, but cities like Boston and Orlando had their own unique start.
New York City launched America’s first pride month, but cities like Boston and Orlando had their own unique start.
New York City launched America’s first pride month, but cities like Boston and Orlando had their own unique start.
It was not the first act of resistance by LGBTQ+ people or the first time police raided a gay bar, but the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City forever changed the discourse surrounding LGBTQ+ activism.
In June 1969, thousands protested for six days after police raided a popular gay bar called the Stonewall Inn located in Greenwich Village, New York.
This act of resistance inspired the first pride march in New York City in 1970.
Called the “Christopher Street Liberation Day,” the first parade ignited a chain reaction, with gay pride marches popping up across the country.
Sacramento, California Pride
Sacramento, California’s first pride started similar to how New York’s pride began – by an act of resistance.
It started as a response to a police raid on the Upstairs/Downstairs gay bar in March of 1979. Over 500 people marched across Midtown as an act of protest and pride.
Boston, Massachusetts Pride
On the East Coast, Boston held its first official pride parade in 1971, with around 300 people marching through the city.
They stopped at a drag bar called Jacques Cabaret, Boston Police Headquarters, the State House and St. Paul’s Cathedral to address issues impacting the LGBTQ+ community like misogyny, police harassment, legal discrimination, and religious persecution.
Through the years the parade continued to grow, with over 50,000 people participating by 2019.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Pride
In the south, Oklahoma City started with small gay pride celebrations in the 1970s. Its first official parade was in 1987 with a couple hundred people in attendance. The parade was attended to increase gay visibility and address issues like discrimination and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Will recent anti-LGBTQ laws impact Pride celebrations?
Oklahoma City’s 2023 pride parade theme is “Unite the Fight,” a way to center the fight against discrimination against children who are transgender.
This theme is in response to a wave of legislation being introduced across state legislatures aimed at restricting gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
Over 400 bills that are considered discriminatory by the LGBTQ+ community were introduced across U.S. state legislatures in the first half of 2023, according to the American Civil Liberties Union data. The number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills signed into law in the first half of 2023 has become the highest on record according to the ACLU, having more than doubled since 2022.
Specifically, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed several bills in 2023 that restrict LGBTQ+ rights.
DeSantis expanded a bill critics call the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law to all school grades, forbidding classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.
He also signed laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, banning children from adult live performances as a move to restrict drag performances and banning trans people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identities.
In Orlando, Chantel Reshae, the entertainment director of Gay Days Orlando, one of the biggest pride events in the city, says they have lost some longtime participants this year.
Reshae tells sister station WESH that many cited safety concerns due to a travel advisory issued by Equality Florida that stated the new Florida laws are hostile to the LGBTQ+ community.
Despite these laws, Heather Wilkie, executive director of Zebra Youth, told WESH showing up to Pride celebrations is important.
"I would say that this year, Pride is more important than ever,” Wilkie said. “It is so important that especially our young people hear positive messaging.”