In 1999 President Bill Clinton officially declared June as Gay & Lesbian Pride Month. The concept has since been adopted by LGBTQ communities across the globe and now encompasses a whole month.
#The very first gay pride parade series
Howard also helped to extend Pride’s reach by coordinating a week-long series of events. In 2018 Sao Paolo held the world's largest Pride parade Martin, Howard is also credited with coining the "Pride" phrase which has since become synonymous with the LGBTQ community. Image via CNNĪlongside fellow activists L. People march in New York City during the first ever Pride parade. Organised by Brenda Howard (above left), the LGBTQ rights activist hailed as the "Mother of Pride", the event was dubbed Christopher Street Liberation Day as a tribute to the Stonewall Inn’s home address.
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On June 28, 1970, exactly a year after the Stonewall riots began, America witnessed its first ever Gay Pride march. In 2016 President Barack Obama declared the Stonewall Inn site a national monument. The riots became a pivotal moment in the history of LGBTQ rights-both the Gay Activists Alliance and Gay Liberation Front were formed within months as a result. Windows were smashed, police cars were trashed and attempts were made to set fire to the Inn itself during a violent uprising which lasted six days. "Be respectful and avoid treating Pride as a spectacle of the gays"Ī significant proportion of the Greenwich Village neighbourhood’s LGBTQ community subsequently came out in force to protest against their mistreatment.
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Frustrated by years of brutal persecution by the New York authorities, patrons of Manhattan gay bar the Stonewall Inn decided to fight back during one particular early morning raid in which 13 people were arrested. The origins of Pride Month are rooted in the Stonewall riots of 1969. Here’s a look at how it’s grown from a local affair into a global phenomenon. Designed to champion, commemorate and celebrate the LGBTQ community, Pride Month has become an increasingly visible presence on the events calendar.