In order to celebrate Pride fully, it is important to learn about and remember those who fought for the right to celebrate. Why is the History of the Pride movement important today? Similarly, the work of LGBTQ+ campaigners meant that in 2014, Denmark became the first European country to allow transgender people to hold official documents (like passports) which reflect their gender identity. For example, Serbian LGBTQ+ activists successfully held a 2014 Pride march in Belgrade, which came after a long campaign for state support and protection. The Pride movement continues to fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the twenty-first century. Moreover, LGBTQ+ people now have personal and political rights (for example, equal partnership) in countries around the world, such as Colombia, New Zealand, Iceland, Ireland, and the UK. Alex Harlan’s summary charts track the surge in countries which legalised homosexuality following the first Pride. Since the Stonewall Riots, LGBTQ+ people have fought globally for their rights and liberties. Howard organised another event the next year in 1971, and soon Pride parades were established all over the world. The first march was called the Christopher Street Liberation Day March (which is the name of the road the Stonewall Inn is on) and the event had both an element of celebration and protest. The first Pride event was organised by Brenda Howard, a bisexual activist, in New York City on the 28th of June 1970. A key example of this is the Campaign for Homosexual Equality. In the UK, for example, the Pride movement saw the growth and establishment of grassroots organisations that worked to stop the oppression of LGBTQ+ people. A key part of this movement was to encourage conversations about the lives and perceptions of LGBTQ+ people, and to fight for radical change in the way that LGBTQ+ people were treated by society. The Stonewall Riots gave a new impetus to the ‘Gay Liberation’ movement around the globe. This research shows us that, although the uprising at the Stonewall Inn was spontaneous, it was related to a long history of mistreatment of LGBTQ+ people in New York, and around the world. Despite this, broader research by historians such as Martin Duberman has shown that the LGBTQ+ community in New York had endured decades of raids and brutality at the hands of the NYC police's ‘Public Moral Squad’.
Reports on what exactly took place on that day are unclear. In the raid that led to the Stonewall Riots, two police officers entered the Stonewall Inn and demanded to ‘check the sex’ of some of the bar’s customers by physical examination.
The Stonewall Riots began on the 28th of June 1969 when the LGBTQ+ customers of New York City’s Stonewall Inn resisted police raids on their bar. Pride Month commemorates the June 1969 Stonewall Riots. This is an event which takes place in a different global city every year - in 2019, the WorldPride in New York City was estimated to have been attended by over 4 million people. This is a huge expansion from the first Pride parade held in New York, where police reports suggest there were around 2,000 attendees! In 2000, for example, WorldPride was founded.
Pride celebrations have grown and diversified since the first parades in the early 1970s. From parades and concerts, to workshops and exhibitions, the events of Pride month enable LGBTQ+ people and allies to celebrate their genders and sexualities, discuss LGBTQ+ history, and advocate for further change. Pride is an annual global event which is celebrated every June. This guide reflects on the origins of the movement, and considers how the history of Pride can help shape how we celebrate in the present.
Pride is a month-long celebration of LGBTQ+ lives, history and culture.