Pride in the context of the LGBTQIA+ community means the promotion of self-affirmation, acceptance, equality, and visibility. LGBTQIA+ Pride originated in the United States and built upon prior civil rights demonstrations and acts of resistance. It built upon immediate momentum from the Stonewall riots, an uprising that began on June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn (located on Christopher Street in New York City, New York). The events of Stonewall are commonly regarded as the birth of large-scale gay liberation and gay pride. The first Christopher Street Liberation Day March was held on June 28, 1970, dubbed Christopher Street Liberation Day, as the culmination of the first Gay Pride Week in New York City. Other cities held their own events on or around the same date.
Pride has grown to encompass a month-long celebration every June in the USA and worldwide. Some locations also schedule Pride for other dates or months. Present-day celebrations include parades, workshops, protests, and entertainment to bring together millions of participants worldwide.
History[]
New York City, New York[]
Preludes[]
The events of June 28–July 3, 1969 that began at the Stonewall Inn (a gay bar that occupied 51-53 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, New York City, New York) are variously known as the Stonewall uprising,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Stonewall riots,[1][2][3][4][5] Stonewall rebellion,[6][8] or just Stonewall.[6][7] They were also previously called the Christopher Street uprising of 1969[1] or Christopher Street Uprisings.[9]
After participating in the riots at Stonewall, Craig Rodwell attended what would be the last Annual Reminder[5][10] During the Annual Reminders, gay men and lesbian women silently picketed and presented themselves as polite and unthreatening members of society. According to Rodwell's partner, Fred Sargeant, Rodwell had originated the idea but felt it had been overtaken by older, conservative members.[10] Those members included the president and founder of the Mattachine Society of Washington, Dr. Franklin Kameny[1] (Frank Kameny). Kameny was born in 1925 and fired from his federal job as an astronomer for being homosexual in 1957.[2] He favored tactics that escalated if one method failed: negotiation, then picketing, then confrontation, which he said "possibly mildly oversteps the bounds of the law. If that doesn't serve, I'm willing to go further, although I do draw the line at violence." Stonewall brought many people to the movement filled with a "very activist and militant" energy and enthusiasm. They soon clashed with the Mattachine Society and other groups that discouraged confrontational approaches.[1]
At the last Annual Reminder on July 4, 1969,[1] attendees from New York witnessed Kameny physically separate and scold two women who were holding hands.[1][10] Sargeant said Rodwell was "blistering" when he came home and felt this confirmed the movement needed something bigger and bolder than the Mattachine Society.[10]
Gay Power Vigil, 1969[]
The Gay Power Vigil was held on Sunday, July 27, 1969. Contemporary author Donn Teal wrote this description: "The first organized demonstration of homosexual unity since the Stonewall rebellion — and its one-month anniversary. Two men had carried a wide rectangular banner, lavender, for all to see. Hoisted, it displayed two linked female sex signs and two linked male."[1] It began with a rally at Washington Square Park before marching to a location opposite the Stonewall Inn,[1][11] Christopher Park (sometimes identified as "Sheridan Square", although this is not its official name).[11] Organizers Martha Shelley and Marty Robinson gave speeches to several hundred people there.[1][11]
During the subsequent meeting on July 31 at Alternate University, an emergent group adopted name Gay Liberation Front (GLF).[1] The GLF movement was tired of the tactics used by the Mattachine Society and other organizations, such as politely requesting equality instead of demanding rights.[1][12]
Christopher Street Liberation Day, 1970[]
Picketing [...] had become questionable. Dissent and dissatisfaction had begun to take new and more emphatic forms in society. Then the gay movement took a new turn. With the Stonewall uprising in 1969 and the huge Christopher Street Liberation Day march in 1970 commemorating that uprising, it became a grass-roots movement. In that march up Sixth Avenue for the first Christopher Street Liberation Day, I was moved to a feeling of pride, exhilaration, and accomplishment, a feeling that this crowd of five thousand was a direct lineal descendant of our ten frightened people in front of the White House five years ago! I thought it was wonderful!
Frank Kameny, contrasting Christopher Street Liberation Day with the first White House picket in 1965 and the 1965–1969 Annual Reminder Days[2]
On June 28, 1970, the first Pride parade, marchers held a sign reading "Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day 1970".
Craig Rodwell, Ellen Broidy,[1][10][12][13] Fred Sargeant (Rodwell's partner), and Linda Rhodes discussed a resolution proposal for the upcoming meeting in Philadelphia of the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations (ERCHO).[10][13] The ERCHO meeting was held on November 1 and 2[1] and attended by 13 homophile[note 1] organizations.[15] Broidy and Rodwell introduced and successfully passed a resolution to replace the time and location of the Annual Reminder, which had been held during July in Philadelphia.[1]
According to the resolution, the change was proposed "in order to be more relevant, reach a greater number of people and encompass the ideas and ideals of the larger struggle in which we are engaged — that of our fundamental human rights". The resolution called for a demonstration to be held annually "in New York City to commemorate the 1969 spontaneous demonstrations on Christopher Street and that this demonstration be called Christopher Street Liberation Day." Other homophile[note 1] organizations would be encouraged to hold parallel demonstrations in other cities. Although the resolution proposed the last Saturday of June as a date, it ended up varying as the events were scheduled.[1]
Another resolution ERCHO passed established a planning committee, later named the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee. While it was intended to consist of one delegate from each of the various homophile/homosexual organizations in the eastern United States, the committee later described itself as "a coalition effort of most Gay organizations on the East coast."[1] Organizations that sent representatives included the Gay Liberation Front, the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA), and the Mattachine Society.[16]
The Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee (CSLDC) began meeting in January 1970[1] at Sargeant and Rodwell's apartment and at the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop, which Rodwell had opened in 1967 on Christopher Street.[10] CSLDC members included:
- Craig Rodwell[1][5][13][16][17]
- Michael Brown[1][16][17] (GLF co-founder)[1]
- Foster Gunnison, Jr. (Mattachine Society);[5][16][17] treasurer (with CSLDC through 1973)[16]
- Brenda Howard (GLF)[5][16][18]
- Frank Kameny (Mattachine Society of Washington)[15]
- Marty Nixon (GLF); financials[16][17]
- Fred Sargeant[17]
- L. Craig Schoonmaker[13]
- Lilli Vincenz (Mattachine Society of Washington)[15]
CSLDC utilized the mailing list of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop to help get the word out.[13] Graphic designer Michael Sabanosh donated his assistance with all of CSLDC's announcements, buttons, and posters. After her work hours at the Arthritis Foundation, Nixon used the photocopy machine for CSLDC materials.[16] Some of the fliers included illustrations of flags with the interlocking female (⚢) and male (⚣) symbols previously seen at the Gay Pride Vigil. CSLDC announced numerous events for Gay Pride Week (June 22-27, 1970) and the first Christopher Street Liberation Day (Sunday, June 28, 1970).[1] Brown joined Rodwell in obtaining from the New York City Police Department permits for the march and the gay-in at Central Park.[1] Brenda Howard may have suggested the weeklong series of events.[18] The theme of "Gay Pride" was adopted as a counterpoint to the prevailing attitude of shame.[19]
On Sunday, June 28th, which has been designated "Christopher Street Liberation Day", thousands of Homosexual women and men will march up Sixth Avenue from Christopher Street in Greenwich Village to the Sheep Meadow in Central Park for a Gay-In. Assembly time for the march is 12-1 PM at Sheridan Square.
These events will be the culmination of Gay Pride Week (June 22-28), a week throughout which the East Coast Gay organizations will commemorate the "Christopher Street Uprisings" of last summer in which thousands of Homosexuals went to the streets to demonstrate against centuries of abuse; official betrayal of their human rights by virtually all segments of society; from government hostility to employment and Housing discrimination, Mafia control of Gay bars, and anti-Homosexual laws.From press release #1 by the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee[9]
Newspaper clipping from The New York Times, with the headline "Thousands of Homosexuals Hold A Protest Rally in Central Park"
As scheduled, the Christopher Street Liberation Day March progressed up Sixth Avenue from Christopher Street and ended with a Gay-In at the Sheep Meadow in Central Park.[1] Shirtless men walked hand-in-hand and proudly participated in public displays of affection, picketers held signs with their orientations, and demonstrators shouted slogans such as, "gay, gay, all the way". The media coverage focused primarily on the marchers, but occasionally pointed to bystanders who were documented by journalists as being "obviously startled by the scene".[5]
Further NYC Pride celebrations[]
The Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee had formally disbanded by 1984. Heritage of Pride was founded that year to take over the planning of New York City Pride events. In 1993, they renamed the Christopher Street Festival to PrideFest.[20]
In 2019, New York City celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. About five million people attended that year's Pride events, and an estimated 150,000 people marched in the parade that lasted 12.5 hours.[5]
San Francisco, California[]
Behind the festivities, another aspect of the Gay Freedom Day Parade returned year after year throughout the 1970s: arguments about goals, disagreements on tactics and fights over inclusion and representation. The drama we see today in news coverage and social media about Pride fights has a history as old as the event itself.
Debates about respectability, commercialization, protesting versus partying, and the place of women, drag queens and people of color became inextricably entwined in the implementation of Pride during its first decade. Power struggles, heated exchanges and hurt feelings were perhaps inevitable. The organizers were passionate people navigating their own experiences of trauma and marginalization even as they put together an enormous public gathering that sought to reflect a vastly diverse community.From Labor of Love: The Birth of San Francisco Pride 1970–1980[21]
1970–1973[]
The event now called San Francisco Pride had a ragtag start and changed names multiple times in its first decade. According to event founder Reverend Robert Humphries, he and all of the parade officers in that first year were gay white men.[21] A small group staged San Francisco, California's first Pride celebrations to mark the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 1970. They marched on Polk Street on June 27[5][21] and had a Christopher Street Liberation Day Gay-In picnic at the Speedway Meadows in Golden State Park on June 28. Co-chair H.L. Perry attended the parade in drag as Her Serene Highness, the Grand Duchess de San Francisco. Around 200 people attended the gay-in, which was broken up by equestrian officers (police on horseback) from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). SFPD also detained several participants. Humphries alleged in 1980 that Rev. Raymond Broshears (Ray Broshears) had punched a gay woman and destroyed her "off Prick Power" sign.[21]
In 1972, the Christopher Street West celebration was held on Sunday, June 25th. It became San Francisco's first large-scale Pride parade and drew approximately 2,000 participants and 15,000 spectators.[21] Artist and filmmaker Ronald Chase made a 10-minute documentary titled "Parade" that included his interviews of gay people. The film failed to find an audience. It was placed in a mislabeled box and only found decades later.[22]
In Spring 1973, Gay Freedom Week chair Steve Ginsburg denied rumors that the Gay Freedom Day organizing committee was suffering from a rift. Its members declared that the San Francisco parade was "the largest and only one in the West"; however, another organization headed by Broshears was actually planning a competing celebration in the Civic Center. Ultimately, 42,000 people attended the Gay Freedom Day Parade. Newly-added voluntary safety monitors directed the contingents to prevent accidents and injuries.[21]
1974–1979[]
As the 1970s continued, Pride in the broader sense had begun to shift and grow. Controversial topics became more prevalent, as did the need for political change.[21]
The San Francisco Gay Liberation Alliance (GLA) protested against the scheduled participation of the Imperial Court in the 1974 Gay Freedom Day parade. The Imperial Court was a charitable group of drag performers. The GLA decorated their parade vehicle with representations of "dead" drag royalty.[21]
In 1975, 82,000 people participated in the San Francisco Parade. Detailed logistics and communications were required to promote the celebration. The typed, collaged, and hand-drawn documents were dispensed by the organizers to guide marchers and float sponsors. Countless hours were poured into meticulous planning that caught the attention of politicians, including Harvey Milk, who would soon become California's first openly gay elected official.[21]
In 1976, a coalition of organizations—including the Bay Black Caucus, Gay American Indians, Gay Latino Alliance, and Lesbian Action Organization—voted for a resolution to declaring that the Gay Freedom Day Parade had lost sight of the meaning of the Stonewall riots. The resolution described those events as a moment in which "Third World Gays, Lesbians, transsexuals, and transvestites rose up as one and shouted 'I'm here' to the fascist forces of oppression." Liane Esstelle, the self-proclaimed "token woman" on the Gay Freedom Day Committee, penned an open letter where she denounced the actions of the Committee and accused the chairperson of "sexist, racist and anti-human attitudes". She sent a copy to Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, two co-founders of the Daughters of Bilitis, a lesbian organization.[21] Dykes on Bikes was officially established[22] and a group of 20 to 25 women rode motorcycles as members of the group, which had been an unofficial gathering in prior years.[23] Some of the bikers and other parade-goers attend the parades bare-breasted. When the Committee attempted to ban nudity in 1977, the informal Anarchist Flashers group protested.[21]
The rainbow flag debuted in San Francisco on Gay Freedom Day, June 25, 1978
On June 25, 1978, the most recognized symbol of Pride debuted in San Francisco: the rainbow flag. Created by Gilbert Baker and a group of volunteers, two examples were flown on monumental flagpoles at United Nations Plaza. The symbol was adopted worldwide as a symbol of the LGBTQIA+ community. These early demonstrations of pride celebrated being "out of the closet", individual freedoms, and diversity within the communities.[24]
The Gay Freedom Day Committee only began keeping official records in 1979.[21][22] In part because of this oversight, it has been difficult to research the first decade of their work. At some point, the committee took to merchandising the event, with the money from sales being used to fund the parade and bring more awareness to the event. Merchandise included clothing, buttons, and pins.[21]
The 1980s and beyond[]
In 1981, the event was renamed to Lesbian/Gay Freedom Day Parade. The Dykes on Bikes were that year's lead contingent. The 1984 parade had a theme of "Unity and More in '84" with an emphasis on fighting for civil and health care rights amidst the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The parade was renamed again in 1995 to the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration.[22]
San Francisco Pride (SF Pride) turned 50 years old in 2020, but the event was canceled and replaced with online programming that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2020, the SF Pride festivities had a $3.5 million budget. They are the self-proclaimed "largest gathering of LBGT people and their allies in the nation".[22]
Additional marches have taken place and set off from Dolores Park. The First San Francisco Dyke March was in 1993 and the Trans March began in 2005.[22]
Other Pride events in the 1970s[]
Chicago, Illinois held its first parade on June 27, 1970, placing it the day before the Christopher Street Liberation Day March[5][13] and at the end of week-long festivities. The events were organized by the Gay Liberation Movement around the official slogan "Gay Power".[13] About 150 people marched between the Civic Center and Washington Square.[5][13]
The parade on June 28, 1970 in Los Angeles, California was organized by the Christopher Street West Association.[13] Their plans were met with resistance from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The chief of LAPD, Edward Davis, had a history of verbally bashing the gay community. LAPD refused to issue the necessary permit, with Davis saying the parade organizers would have to pay $1,500 and post a $1.5 million insurance bond. The activists had to go to court to get the permit[5] and had legal aid from the ACLU.[13]
The 10th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising was in 1979. On October 13, 1979, thousands of marchers began the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.[20] It became an iconic Pride event, but it was focused on gay men and lesbians. Brenda Howard successfully lobbied for bisexuals to be included in the 1993 March on Washington.[18]
By 1984, Pride celebrations had solidified a place in many major US cities and across the world.[20]
International Pride[]
Pride parades became more organized and mainstream with each passing year. Hundreds of parades and festivals celebrate LGBTQIA+ pride around the world each June or in other months.[5] In 1997, Heritage of Pride hosted the 16th annual International Association of Lesbian and Gay Pride Coordinators conferences, which was the first time international Pride committees substantially participated.[20]
Some of the largest Pride events attract several hundred thousand to over one million participants annually. For instance, more than two million individuals attended the 2007 Europride event in Madrid, Spain. These large-scale Pride celebrations include Amsterdam in the Netherlands; London, England; Mexico City, Mexico; Paris, France; and São Paulo, Brazil. International Pride events have also faced stiff resistance, such as those in Jerusalem, Israel; Moscow, Russia; and Warsaw, Poland.[24]
WorldPride[]
The first WorldPride event took place in Rome, Italy, from July 1–9, 2000. It was organized by the Italian organization Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli and helped by InterPride. Other countries followed suit, either hosting WorldPride themselves or sending delegates from their countries: Montréal Conference in Canada for non-English speakers (2003), Jerusalem for WorldPride event (2006), and Iceland with the first Nordic pride event (2004). In 2017, the Conference of International Pride delegates, awarded WorldPride to Madrid Pride.[25]
Singapore pride (Pink Dot SG)[]
Pink Dot 2019 at Hong Lim Park
Singapore's Pride event, named Pink Dot SG was first celebrated on May 16, 2009.[26] It was celebrated at Hong Lim Park, the only designated space where protesting is allowed.[27] Pink Dot has been celebrated for every year since at Hong Lim Park until the 2020 pandemic where the event was shifted online for two years.[26] One of the main objectives of Pink Dot is to raise awareness of LGBTQIA+ people in the country, their freedom to love and to support efforts to repeal Section 377a of the penal code, which prohibits sex between gay men[27][28] Even after the section was repealed, the Pink Dot SG events continue to be held at Hong Lim Park every year.[26][27][29][30] The Pink Dot event has been replicated in several places outside of Singapore, including Alaska, London, Montreal, New York, Malaysia, Okinawa, Taiwan, Toronto, and Utah.[31]
In 2021, The Ambassador at large used the existence of Pink Dot SG as example to the United Nations during the Third Universal Periodic Review in 2021 to claim that LGBTQ+ people are not discriminated against in Singapore. Pink Dot responded saying, "Pink Dot exists as a protest against discrimination towards the LGBTQ community. We are not a convenient excuse for the Government to claim that discrimination does not exist. The Government should also not be taking credit for Pink Dot's existence. Especially when our events are organized in spite of the obstacles placed in our way."[32]
Wear It Purple Day[]
- Main article: Wear It Purple Day
Wear It Purple Day is an annual event held on the last Friday of August in Australia, organized by the student-run, not-for-profit organization Wear It Purple. It began as a response to worldwide incidents of young LGBTQIA+ people who ended their own lives due to homophobic bullying and harassment. The events' aims include celebrating and empowering "rainbow young people".[33]
Pride and prejudice; activism and Pride[]
Pride began with resistance to the oppression of LGBTQ+ people and was founded as a liberation movement. As such, numerous Pride events have involved protests against police violence, discriminatory legislation, bigoted politicians, hate crimes, and social and cultural oppressions, including factors causing divisions within the LGBTQIA+ community.
One of the ongoing tensions and clashes of priorities at Pride is between people concerned with inequalities (political, economic, racial, cultural, gendered, sexual, etc.) and people focused on emphasizing coalition, solidarity, and unity.[21] Political and social activism is central to Pride events. Many attendees carry posters related to issues of the day.[24]
Black Pride[]
Marsha P. Johnson at the 1970 Christopher Street Liberation Day March
Black Pride celebrates a rejection of what America's dominant culture claims is "right". Marchers celebrate their beauty in queer spaces and sense of belonging. Black LGBT Pride celebrations started as a way to reconcile the identities of being both black and queer in a world that was not safe for either. Many queer people of color spoke out about their discomfort with attending mainstream LGBT Pride events due to the majority of attendees being white or non-welcoming, despite the key efforts of Marsha P. Johnson and other black activists.[34]
Black Pride, in regard to LGBTQIA+ spaces, is directly tied to the oppression of ballroom culture by straight people and white LGBTQ+ people. Ballroom culture remained underground for decades.[35]
Marsha P. Johnson, a black transgender woman, helped lead the LGBTQ+ movement. She was a renowned drag performer, activist, and a major participant during the Stonewall riots. She attended meetings for the newly formed Gay Liberation Front and became known as "Saint Marsha" throughout Greenwich Village.[36]
From 1975 to 1990, the Club House held the social life for D.C.'s black gay community in an informal gathering called "Children's Hour". It was an elaborately themed and decorated party with drag performers and DJs. It began to welcome queer people of color from across the country. Los Angeles held the first Black Pride event with At the Beach in 1988. New York City's Black Pride began in 1997.[34]
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)[]
This section discusses the historic pathologization of people who are homosexual or transgender. Reader discretion is advised or skip to the next section.
In 1952, the American Psychiatry Association (APA)'s[note 2] first publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) classified homosexuality as a "sociopathic personality disturbance" in the subcategory "sexual deviation". That subcategory included "homosexuality, transvestism, pedophilia, fetishism, and sexual sadism including rape, sexual assault, mutilation". The purpose of its inclusion in the DSM was to change the way people understood same-sex sexual behavior by deeming it a disorder and secular matter as opposed to a moral sin. While placing it in the context of mental health was considered the foundation for clinical studies of homosexuality,[37] it was used to legitimize harsh, anti-gay legislation. By 1973, sodomy laws essentially made homosexuality illegal in 42 states and Washington, D.C.[38] The pathologization of homosexuality also gave legitimacy to clinicians to engage clinical procedures on gay and queer people in an attempt to "cure" them, including forced or coerced treatments.[39][38] This included electric shock therapy (now known as electroconvulsive therapy), aversion-therapy treatment, insulin shock,[38] institutionalization, and lobotomy.[39][38] The second edition of the DSM (DSM-II) was published in 1968, one year before the Stonewall riots. Homosexuality remained but was relabeled as a personality disorder.[37]
Activists Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny were two of the co-organizers of the Annual Reminders held from 1965–1969. They supported suspending those events in favor of New York's activities for Stonewall's first anniversary, in which they both marched[39] and Kameny helped organize.[15] Kameny and Gittings then led the charge to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. In 1970, Gittings and Kameny were joined by members of the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance to protest at the APA's annual meeting,[39] which was held in San Francisco.[37]
The activists gained the APA's attention and an invitation for the 1971 meeting to speak in a panel discussion, which was titled "Gay Is Good". Panelists addressed the stigma and discrimination they faced because of their diagnosis.[37]
For the 1972 meeting, Kameny and Gittings organized another panel about homosexuality, but no gay psychiatrist would openly appear on it for fear of losing their medical license and their patients.[39] They enlisted John E. Fryer, M.D., who appeared as "Dr. H. Anonymous" and used a mask and voice modulator.[37][39] He spoke about the anguish he experienced working in the psychiatric profession while closeted.[38] The panelists emphasized that homosexuality is not a disease.[39]
"20,000,000 Gay People Cured!" 1974 newspaper clipping from The Chicago Gay Crusader about the December 1973 removal of homosexuality from the DSM-II.
The APA faced pressure from gay rights advocates, as well as internal debates regarding homosexuality and the criteria for psychiatric disorders, to remove homosexuality from the DSM.[37] Dr. Richard Pillard (an openly gay psychiatrist) and Dr. Lawrence Hartmann (an APA member who remained in the closet) wrote a position paper arguing in favor of the removal. Hartmann got the measure passed by the APA assembly and it was set for a board vote.[38]
On December 15, 1973, with 15 board members voting unanimously in favor and two abstentions, the APA's leadership approved the removal of homosexuality itself as a mental illness. Prominent APA members who were dismayed with the vote held a ballot referendum of the organization's rank and file to repeal the board's vote. On April 8, 1974, the APA tallied the vote by more than 10,000 members; 58% supported upholding of the original vote.[38] The changes to the DSM-II are largely considered one of the first major successes of the Pride movement.[20]
Based upon the 1973 vote, the sixth printing of the DSM-II changed the language. Instead of classifying homosexuality as a disorder, the new edition added "sexual orientation disturbance", defined as internal conflict over same-sex attraction or over the desire to change that attraction. After being renamed and recategorized across subsequent editions, it was finally removed in 2013 with the DSM-5'.[37]
Lesbian visibility[]
The 1975 event in San Francisco introduced the Lesbian Sisters United, Lesbian Lunatics, and other groups to garner lesbian visibility.[21] In 1993, the first San Francisco Dyke March took place in Dolores Park as a reaction to anti-gay US senator Jess Helms.[22]
Briggs Initiative[]
The 1978 parade in San Francisco coincided with a march to support educators against the Briggs Initiative, which would ban lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals from working in California schools. The Gay Underground Theater protested the Bay Area Committee Against the Briggs Initiative to turn the Gay Freedom Day Parade into a political rally. Despite their attempts, the march continued and displays of activism led to the death of the bill.[21]
HIV/AIDS pandemic[]
In the early 1980s, Pride shifted toward advocacy to gain awareness for the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A major organization that came from both Pride and the pandemic was ACT UP.[20]
Indigenous Pride[]
In December 2017, Gabby Leon and Terri Jay discussed the lack of visibility and celebration of the Two-Spirit identities and wanted to have a festival that celebrated and honored Native American LBGTQ roles and traditions. Terri, who was very engaged in the Native American community, discussed the idea further with her friends - she wanted to celebrate Native American LGBTQ history and traditions. As they discussed how Indigenous identities had grown in visibility, they also acknowledged how far they still need to go. Ultimately, the group agreed that their proposed cultural event would, "honor, and acknowledge all Indigenous peoples' plight, especially those who are Two Spirit and/or identified with the contemporary labels and terms of cisgender and transgender lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, queer, asexual, and intersex." This led to the creation of Indigenous Pride LA.[40]
Pride months throughout the year[]
On June 11, 1999, US President Bill Clinton issued the first presidential proclamation of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. President George W. Bush did not continue the practice. President Barack Obama resumed the tradition and declared June as LGBT Pride Month throughout both of his terms with official presidential proclamations, as well as establishing the Stonewall National Monument on June 24, 2016.[13] While in office, President Donald Trump acknowledged LGBT Pride Month once via Twitter on May 31, 2019; the tweet was reissued on June 1 as a White House press release.[41]
Most cities across the globe celebrate Pride in June. However, some cities opt for other months, either due to weather or other circumstances preventing the celebrations from realistically taking place in June.[19] Many of the cities internationally use the organization InterPride to manage Pride celebrations.[25] The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association has a calendar of over a hundred Pride events globally. Locations with events outside of June include:[19]
- Auckland, New Zealand — in February[19]
- Vancouver, Canada — in August[19]
- Palm Springs, California — in November[19]
In 1994, October was designated as LGBT History Month by a coalition of US education-based organizations. The General Assembly of the National Education Association passed a resolution in 1995 to include LGBT History Month within a list of commemorative months. National Coming Out Day is also observed every October on the 11th.[15]
Media[]
- "Thousands of Homosexuals Hold A Protest Rally in Central Park" by Lacey Fosburgh in The New York Times. Published 1970-06-92. (web archive)
- "Gay and Proud" — 1970 short documentary by Lilli Vincenz on the first Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade, viewable online (via Library of Congress YouTube channel)
- "Gay Freedom Parade (San Francisco, 1978)" — Compilation of short videos from the 1978 San Francisco events, viewable online (via DIVA by Academic Technology at San Francisco State University)
Resources[]
Miscellaneous websites:
- Global Gay Pride Calendar — Calendar maintained by the IGLTA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA)
- Pride.com — Magazine detailing numerous Pride topics in the media, including news, blogs, and articles regarding the LGBTQIA+ community
- Stonewall at 50 — Associated Press "hub" of articles from 2019
- Gay Pride Calendar — Commercial website with a calendar of Pride events around the world and throughout the year
Researching the history of Pride:
- "Primary Sources for Pride: Celebrating Stonewall & Christopher Street Liberation Day" and "Stonewall Riots" — Fordham University Libraries research guides
- Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee, Fliers and Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee, Bulletins and Reports — University of Connecticut Digital Collections
- Street Liberation Day — Keyword search in the New York Public Library Digital Collections
- Christopher Street — Google Arts & Culture
- Rainbow History Project
Websites for Pride events and organizations:
- In the USA:
- Pride in Chicago — Chicago, Illinois
- NYC Pride — New York City, New York
- San Francisco Pride — San Francisco, California
- St Pete Pride — St. Petersburg, Florida
- Capital Pride — Washington, DC
- International:
- Pride Amsterdam — Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Auckland Pride — Auckland, New Zealand
- Brussels Pride — Brussels, Belgium
- Pride in London — London, England
- Parada do Orgulho LGBTQ de São Paulo — São Paulo, Brazil
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The A-Z of Gender and Sexuality: From Ace to Ze provides this definition of "homophile":
"A movement to decriminalize homosexuality in the 1950s and 1960s. It used assimilationist tactics and education, with the aim [of] decreasing homophobia.
"Notable homophiles include the Mattachine Society, Harry Hay, James Gruber, the Daughters of Bilitis, Phyllis Lyon, and Del Martin.
"Homophiles tended to accept that homosexuality was a pathological condition, either genetic or a 'biological accident' for which people should be pitied, not persecuted; but they also campaigned against the 'cures' for homosexuality.
"It is possible that the homophile movement was respectable when public facing but more radical in private."[14] - ↑ The organization using the acronym "APA" was formerly named the American Psychiatry Association. APA has since renamed itself and is currently the American Psychiatric Association.
References[]
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