Paper Mache
PRIDE. That word during the month of June tends to elicit images of rainbows and flags. Many don’t look beyond to see how Pride Month came into being. Many don’t know the influence the night of June 28, 1969, had on Queer culture.
Culture is a social construct that requires a group to accumulate language, knowledge, wisdom, customs, techniques, etc. Culture is passed on to the next generation; Queer culture is no different. There is a shared language, shared knowledge, shared history, etc. One of the most important events in Queer history happened on June 28, 1969, at a Gay bar in New York City called the Stonewall Inn.
The Stonewall Inn was one of many bars in the United States that had dealt with police harassment. Various bars in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago had raids happen frequently throughout the 1960s. The reason for the raids? To “catch out” bars for supposed liquor license violations.
After months of harassment, raids, and abuse by the NYPD, the patrons of Stonewall fought back. The riot lasted almost a week and from it came various organizations that wanted equality and freedom for all Gay people. There was also the rise of Queer icons like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Stormé Delarverie, Miss Major Griffin-gracy, and many others who refused to be treated like lesser-than any longer.
On June 28, 1970, the very first PRIDE March happened on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. This first march was called the Christopher Street Liberation March. Thus began a custom to celebrate and to remember how hard so many fought for us to have the freedoms we have today. The fight is NOT over and I hope we can make our Queer ancestors proud as we move forward.