How Activists Organized the First Gay Pri Paras | HISTORY

Contents:

• GAY PRI
• GAY RIGHTS
• HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
• GAY PRI MONTH: HOW DID START, WHO CELEBRAT AND WHERE AND WHEN DO THE EVENTS TAKE PLACE?
• GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
• LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: THE ROAD TO AMERI'S FIRST GAY PRI MARCH
• GAY RIGHTS TIMELE: KEY DAT THE FIGHT FOR EQUALY

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. 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.

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. 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.

GAY RIGHTS

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. 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).

HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS

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).

GAY PRI MONTH: HOW DID START, WHO CELEBRAT AND WHERE AND WHEN DO THE EVENTS TAKE PLACE?

Acrdg to the Library of Congrs, origal fliers promotg the very first Pri March stated that the march aimed to "memorate the Christopher Street Uprisgs of last summer which thoands of homosexuals went to the streets to monstrate agast centuri of abe...

GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

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. June 28, 1969 marks the start of the Stonewall rts which the queer muny rpond to a police raid that began at the Stonewall Inn, a bar loted the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, that served as a safe haven for the cy’s gay, lbian and transgenr the time, homosexual acts were emed illegal almost every state, and bars and rtrants faced gettg shut down for havg gay employe or servg gay patrons.

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

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.

GAY RIGHTS TIMELE: KEY DAT THE FIGHT FOR EQUALY

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. As Baker told the Mm of Morn Art durg a 2015 terview, he had been spired by the celebratns markg Ameri’s bicentennial 1976, notg that the nstant display of stars and strip ma him realize the cultural need for a siar rallyg sign for the gay muny. And as a stgglg drag performer who was acctomed to creatg his own garments, he was well-equipped to sew the soon-to-be inic the time, the most monly ed image for the burgeong gay rights movement was the pk triangle, a symbol ed by the Nazis to intify homosexuals.