How Activists Organized the First Gay Pri Paras | HISTORY

Contents:

• ‘GAY AND PROUD’ HISTORIL FILM PROVIS LOOK BACK AT EARLY PRI MARCH
• ARE 'THE GAP' STOR NAMED FOR 'GAY AND PROUD'?
• HERE’S A LOOK AT THE GAY DAD’S ON ‘THE PROUD FAY’ REBOOT
• PRI MONTH: SAY IT LOUD, GAY IS PROUD
• LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: THE ROAD TO AMERI'S FIRST GAY PRI MARCH
• INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN
• GAY PRI
• HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
• GAY AND PROUD
• HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY

‘GAY AND PROUD’ HISTORIL FILM PROVIS LOOK BACK AT EARLY PRI MARCH

© Lynn Watson/ Colorful upliftg paras wh floats and celebri, joyo ftivals, workshops, piics, and parti are among the prcipal ponents of LGBTQ Pri Month, also lled Gay Pri, which is celebrated June the Uned Stat and elsewhere around the world.

Pri Month memorat years of stggle for civil rights and the ongog pursu of equal jtice unr the law for the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer muny, as well as the acplishments of LGBTQ dividuals.

For the four years prr to the Stonewall rts, activists Philalphia had staged protts outsi Inpennce Hall on July 4 as “Annual Remrs” that gays and lbians were beg nied basic rights of cizenship. At the Eastern Regnal Conference of Homophile Organizatns Philalphia on November 2, 1969, the ia of a march rponse to the Stonewall events was proposed. Although “gay power” had been proposed as the slogan for the march, was argued that the movement had yet to be polilly empowered but that s members felt great pri their sexual inty.

ARE 'THE GAP' STOR NAMED FOR 'GAY AND PROUD'?

On the day of the New York march, “the world’s first permted para advotg for gay rights” was staged on Hollywood Boulevard Los Angel and a “Gay In” was held Goln Gate Park San Francis. Thereafter, Gay Pri, or LGBTQ Pri, generally me to be celebrated the Uned Stat on the last Sunday June (though there were many exceptns) as somber march evolved to joyo celebratns.

HERE’S A LOOK AT THE GAY DAD’S ON ‘THE PROUD FAY’ REBOOT

Ernment when Print Bill Clton clared June 1999 “Gay and Lbian Pri Month, ” Print Barack Obama proclaimed June to be “LGBT Pri Month, ” and Print Joe Bin further expand the observance to “Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Pri Month. The film ntas footage of one of the earlit Gay Pri monstratn march, the first Christopher Street Liberatn Day Para, which was held New York Cy a year after the Stonewall rts on June 28, 1970. ”Advertisement - Contue Readg Below5 Glo Butler, Comedian Bridget Badore“What pri means to me is a celebratn of all of our gay and trans anctors that have fought for any of to walk the streets and even have an inty.

”Advertisement - Contue Readg Below7 Jam L, Head of Bs DevelopmentJam L“I am a gay Asian man and proud to be part of the LGBTQ+ muny.

PRI MONTH: SAY IT LOUD, GAY IS PROUD

Gettg back to Hoton's song, I thk is so praised wh the gay muny not jt bee of the inic late diva herself, but bee of what says: 'I need a man who’ll take a chance, on a love that burns hot enough to last/I wanna dance wh somebody/feel the heat wh somebody who lov me. Ak to the Troop Sport ("To Rule Over Opprsed People") and Adidas ("All Day I Dream About Sex") nards, the mor about The Gap asserts that drew s name om an ializatn of the phrase "Gay And Proud":. Although The Gap did beg San Francis, a cy home to a large homosexual populatn and strongly associated wh gay pri, s name has nothg to do wh eher of those cint facts.

"Gay and proud" beme a tchphrase wh the gay muny bee proclaimed a posively-voiced manner that s members took pri who they were rather than feelg ashamed of their liftyle. It wasn't that long ago that ncealg all evince of a same-sex preference was the orr of the day, and the phrase "Gay and proud" th reprented a major shift how a muny viewed both self and the value of s dividual members society. (It's one thg to wave a "Gay and Proud" sign if you know you're holdg , but que another to fd one has been pned to your back whout your knowledge.

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

Sce the Proud Fay reboot was announced, fans have been eagerly wag to see the new characters, cludg a pair of gay dads who Billy Porter and Zachary Quto voice. I unrstood how bearg wns to atroci like the AIDS crisis and the do-nothg rponse om the Reagan admistratn would make most any gay person who managed to survive them wary of jog a heterosexual stutn that for thoands of years reerated how much my people didn't belong.

In the flurry of analysis that followed, punds hammered home one pot particular: gay marriage might be next on the Supreme Court's choppg block.

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

Let me expla: Right around the first time my feelgs for another girl brought me to my kne, Bh endorsed a nstutnal ban on gay marriage.

Another one of her reas ed me more heartache: "Beg gay is hard, " she would tell me whenever I floated hypothetil qutns meant to tt how she might react to possibly, maybe havg a gay dghter. " My mom didn’t want this to be te—she was and remas an outspoken LGBTQ activist—but she knew om the many gay iends she’d loved and lost over a s-long reer theater that jt was.

” Two important gay anthems that me out durg the Obama admistratn, Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and Macklemore's "Same Love, " embraced the notn that homosexualy isn't a choice.

GAY PRI

It began as a repudiatn agast nversn therapy, which stipulated that, wh a ltle relig shamg, gay people uld choose to bee straight. Frank Bni summarized the issue wh the born-this-way theory 2012 when he wrote, "By hgg a whole movement on a ncln that hasn’t been—and perhaps won’t be—scientifilly ppoted and proved beyond all doubt, they [gay advot] hch to a movg target.

When a childhood iend rmed me that a preppy girl om high school—she drove around a Land Rover wh a big Dubya sticker affixed to s bumper—me out as gay, I rpond wh "Homosexualy is ad, and she murred .

" Fdg out a former Bh supporter was a lbian felt like a particularly vlent and unnecsarily personal way to have to learn about homonormativy. The guy who refed to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell and forced a bunch of closeted homosexuals to march to Iraq and Afghanistan?

HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS

I rema nstantly disturbed by doctors’ and surance provirs’ need to procs my homosexualy relatn to heterosexualy to unrstand . ”In March, some men will cry the need for an Internatnal Women’s Day, celebrated on the is Pri Month, a time to reflect on and celebrate lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer history.

There is a level of social and systemic privilege not afford to many members of the LGBTQ muny North Ameri, and certaly many untri around the is herently polilPri has been celebrated every year June sce 1970 after the 1969 Stonewall rts New York, when police raid the Stonewall Canada, Toronto’s Pri was lnched siar fashn after protts epted when police raid four bathho Febary 1981 and arrted hundreds of gay motive has always been — and should rema — polil. The slg back of hard-earned rights and protectns of LGBTQ people, particularly transgenr people, is difficult to when straight people ask why there is a need for gay pri or wonr why there aren’t straight pri celebratns, feels a lot like they are sayg ntributns by LGBTQ people — a mory group that fac nstant adversy — are simply not worthy of regnn. June is Pri Month, a time to celebrate lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer/qutng, asexual, and tersex (LGBTQAI+) people and their rights.

GAY AND PROUD

Neverthels, the other stat, the punishments varied om f to prison, and everywhere, society was punishg gay people wh vlence, discrimatn, persecutn, and harassment.

Let’s take a eper dive to how this all me Stonewell Inn and the Change of an Era for the Gay CommunyThe 60s were a difficult time for the gay muny. LGBTQ dividuals flocked to gay bars and clubs as plac of refuge where they uld exprs themselv openly and socialize whout worry. At that time, the Stonewall Inn had bee an important stutn as accepted all members of the gay muny cludg transexuals and drag queens.

The legacy of this event is huge as was a galvanizg force for LGBTQ polil activism, leadg to the formatn of numero gay rights anizatns.

HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY

The followg year thoands of people marched the streets om Stonewall Inn to Central Park wh the official chant “Say loud, gay is proud”.