Gay Pride Month is traditionally celebrated around the world in June. Gay Pride Month takes place for the entire month of June which provides an opportunity for LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies to come together and make their voices heard.
The month involves a colorful, joyous display of love, unity, and resilience, with events and activities that promote inclusivity, educate the public, and celebrate the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities.
How did Gay Pride Month get its start?
The Stonewall bar in Greenwich Village was a gay bar in the 1960s, a time when gay bars were being harassed and raided by police.
On the morning of June 28, 1969, the police raided the bar, roughing up patrons and arresting 13 people.
Fed up with the constant abuse and social discrimination, angry people gathered around the bar inciting a full-blown riot. The riot lasted for 6 days. This event was known as the Stonewall uprising.
Even though the riots did not start the gay rights movement, it was a strong force for LGBT political activism, leading the way for the creation of many gay rights organizations around the world.
The LGBT activists realized that to get things accomplished they needed to be louder and more visible.
In 1970 on the one-year anniversary of the riot, an annual march was organized. Thousands of people participated in a "no dress or no age regulations" march in the streets of Manhattan from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park. It was then called “Christopher Street Liberation Day,”. America’s first Gay Pride parade. A demonstration like no other.
This approach was to make a drastic statement and a change from the current methods used by LGBT activists who would host walks and vigils in silence with a required dress code: men in jackets and ties and women in dresses.
The Gay Pride parade’s official chant was: “Say it loud, gay is proud.”
Gay Pride parades were also held in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and eventually in hundreds of cities around the world.
In many cities, the celebrations will go on for a week or more.
By the 1990s, Pride Month had become a more widespread and recognized celebration.
1999 - President Clinton issued the first-ever proclamation declaring June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.
2001 - President G.W. Bush did not continue the tradition.
2009 - President Obama restarted it.
Pride month is not just a name and celebrated time, but It has great importance and significance to the LGBTQ+ community and individual rights recognition for all mankind.
2024 - This year's SF theme is “Beacon of Love,”
The 54th Annual San Francisco Pride celebration is Saturday and Sunday, June 29 & 30 - 11am - 6pm. The Parade will be on Sunday, June 30, starting at 10am on Market Street at Embarcadero.
https://sfpride.org has more information
We can all support the LGBTQ community, mark your calendars! #gaypride #gaypridecelebration #gaypridemonth #pridemonth #pride
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