“There were no floats, no music, no boys in briefs” at New York City’s first Pride march, the year after the Stonewall Riots, wrote Fred Sargeant, who attended the march, in a piece for the Village Voice in 2010. But as LGBTQ people’s rights have increasingly been recognized in the past two decades, demonstrations have also evolved into celebrations, In 2016, President Obama designated the Stonewall Inn bar, which still stands today in New York’s Greenwich Village neighborhood, a national monument.įor many decades, as LGBTQ communities around the world fought for basic rights, Pride Month has been a time for political demonstrations and marches. The demonstrations turned violent, but today they’re seen as a major turning point in the LGBTQ rights movement. The first LGBTQ Pride marches were held in June 1970 across the US, to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots, during which members of New York City’s LGBTQ community demonstrated against discrimination and police raids on the Stonewall Inn bar. Cities around the world are kicking off the summer with celebrations of love and equality in colorful marches and parades - it’s LGBTQ Pride Month!
