LGBTQ History Month: The road to Ameri's first gay pri march

Contents:

• GAY PRI
• HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
• GAY RIGHTS
• INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN
• LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: THE ROAD TO AMERI'S FIRST GAY PRI MARCH
• GAY US AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY MARCH BUDAPT PRI MARCH

GAY PRI

Origs of Pri MonthThe roots of the gay rights movement go back to the early 1900s, when a handful of dividuals North Ameri and Europe created gay and lbian anizatns such as the the Society for Human Rights, found by Henry Gerber Chigo the 1920s.

HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS

Followg World War II, a small number of groups like the Mattache Society and the Dghters of Bilis published gay- and lbian-posive newsletters and grew more vol mandg regnn for, and prottg discrimatn agast, gays and lbians.

In 1966, for example, members of the Mattache Society held a “sip-” prott at Juli, a bar New York Cy, where they mand drks after announcg that they were gay, vlatn of lol laws agast servg alhol to gays and lbians. Dpe some progrs the postwar era, basic civil rights were largely nied to gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people—until one night June, 1969, when the gay rights movement took a fur step forward wh a seri of vlent rts New York Cy. By the time the Stonewall Rts end on July 2, 1969, the gay rights movement went om beg a ge issue largely ignored by policians and the media to ont-page news Gay Pri ParaOne year later, durg the anniversary of the Stonewall Rts, activists New York Cy marched through the streets of Manhattan memoratn of the uprisg.

The march, anized by the Eastern Regnal Conference of Homophile Organizatns (ERCHO) and the Christopher Street Liberatn Day Umbrella Commtee, was named the Christopher Street Liberatn Day time, that celebratn me to be simply known as the Gay Pri Para. March and paras also took place that June Chigo, Los Angel and San the years, gay pri events have spread om large ci to smaller towns and villag worldwi—even plac where reprsn and vlence agast gays and lbians are monplace. The atmosphere at the events n range om r, rnivalque celebratns to strint polil prott to solemn memorials for those lost to AIDS or homophobic June 2000, Print Bill Clton officially signated June as Gay and Lbian Pri Month, regnn of the Stonewall Rts and gay activism throughout the years.

GAY RIGHTS

7-acre around the Stonewall Inn where the morn gay rights movement, Gay Pri paras many ci are enormo celebratns: The events Sao Plo, Sydney, New York Cy, Madrid, Taipei and Toronto routely attract up to 5 ln Pri Month has grown populary across the globe, cricism of the events has grown, too. Many early anizers now cry the mercial fluence and rporate nature of Pri paras—pecially when those rporatns make donatns to policians who vote agast gay, lbian and transgenr Pri events are nohels seen as val protts agast reprsn and isolatn plac such as Serbia, Turkey and Rsia, where Pri paras have been met wh antigay vlence.

INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN

Leonard Fk Photographs, The LGBT Communy Center Natnal History ArchiveMark SegalEarly member of the Gay Liberatn Front and marshal of the first Pri marchThe Christopher Street Gay Liberatn Day March was as revolutnary and chaotic as everythg we did that first year after the Stonewall rts. ” Today, my origal marshal’s badge is on display the JayEarly member of the Gay Liberatn Front and Radilbians and -anizer of the first march New York and Los AngelIt was a near miracle that the first Christopher Street Wt Para Los Angel kicked off at all on June 28, 1970. For one day, we were victor agast the Ed Davis of the world, and no one seemed “dismod” the FkelsteJohn KyperEarly member of Boston’s Gay Liberatn Front and an anizer of Boston’s first Pri ParaWe held our first march Boston 1971 — a year after New York.

Groups hosted the 17th ternatnal nference of ILGA (The Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn), and the energy of the ternatnal legat who attend and the excement of hostg the gatherg only add to the drama of the untry’s first actual succsful para. Gay Pri typilly volv a seri of events and is often pped by a para volvg marchers and lourful floats om the LGBTQ muny and s the Stonewall rts, LGBTQ dividuals had generally not broadst their sexual orientatn or inty, but the event galvanized the gay muny and sparked greater polil activism (see gay rights movement). In 1970, on the first anniversary of the rts, several hundred monstrators marched along Greenwich Village’s Christopher Street, which ns past the Stonewall, what many nsir the first Gay Pri march (though other memoratns were also held that year).

Known then as the Christopher Street Liberatn Day March — named after the street on which Stonewall is loted — the para began on Washgton Place between Sheridan Square and Sixth Avenue and moved up Sixth Avenue, endg wh a “Gay-In” Central ia that LGBTQ+ people would march through the streets of New York Cy, proudly clarg their existence, their pri and their love was tly revolutnary back then. Acrdg to the History Channel, five months after Stonewall, Sargeant, Rodwell, and activists Ellen Brody and Lda Rhos attend the Eastern Regnal Conference of Homophile Organizatns (ERCHO) Philalphia and proposed a rolutn: that an annual march be held on the last Sunday June New York Cy to memorate Stonewall. ” Over a dozen LGBTQ+ rights groups were volved the planng, cludg lbian femist group the Lavenr Menace, formed rponse to mastream femism's excln of lbians; Gay Liberatn Front, formed post-Stonewall; lbian civil rights anizatn Dghters of Bilis; trans rights anizatn Queens Liberatn Front; and var stunt groups.

LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: THE ROAD TO AMERI'S FIRST GAY PRI MARCH

Though the first Gay Pri Liberatn March took place Manhattan 1970 to memorate the one-year anniversary of Stonewall, took 30 years for Pri Month to bee official, a 1999 proclamatn om former Print Bill Clton. The Internatnal Gay and Lbian Travel Associatn matas a lendar of over a hundred Pri events around the world, updated every year, to help you fd the celebratn that works bt for your Globe/Getty ImagWhat is the history of the NYC Pri Para? It was clear that there was tert holdg more events like , and over the followg year lol activists proposed a larger annual march, moled on quieter protts that had been happeng for years new annual prott was to be lled “Christopher Street Liberatn Day, ” and were anized by reprentativ om groups like The Mattache Society, Gay Activists Alliance, and the Gay Liberatn Front.

In San Francis, for example, anizers were outraged to see that the lol Pri event was partially fund by Google, spe the pany’s refal to fully addrs homophobic harassment on s YouTube rponse, activists have tablished pennt Pri events many ci. No matter the label, Pri Month has a rich history that directly rms how ’s observed Honors The Gay Rights Protts Of The '60sWhen asked about when the gay rights movement this untry began, people tend to pot to June 28, 1969: the night of the Stonewall Rts.

"The Christopher Street Liberatn Day Commtee was formed to memorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprisg of June 1969 wh a march om the Wt Village followed by a 'gay be-' gatherg Central Park, " McCarthy says. Both activists were also members of the anti-palist, ternatnalist group the Gay Liberatn Front (GLF), which anized march, held danc to raise funds for queer people need, and published a gay newspaper lled Come Out!

GAY US AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY MARCH BUDAPT PRI MARCH

"The protts, s-s and direct actns nducted and participated by early gay liberatn groups such as Gay Liberatn Front, Street Transvte Actn Revolutnari, Dyketactics and Combahee River Collective mand radil stctural change the face of ntued opprsn. Five months after the rts, activists Craig Rodwell, his partner Fred Sargeant, Ellen Brody and Lda Rhos proposed a rolutn at the Eastern Regnal Conference of Homophile Organizatns (ERCHO) Philalphia that a march be held New York Cy to memorate the one-year anniversary of the raid.

”Spencer Grant/Getty ImagView of the large crowd, some of whom are holdg up handma signs and banners, participatg a gay and lbian pri para the Back Bay neighborhood of San Francis, activists marched down Polk Street and held a “Gay-” at Goln Gate Park on June 28th, too.

Army service World War I, Gerber was spired to create his anizatn by the Scientific-Humanarian Commtee, a “homosexual emancipatn” group ’s small group published a few issu of s newsletter “Friendship and Freedom, ” the untry’s first gay-tert newsletter.