How Activists Organized the First Gay Pri Paras | HISTORY

Contents:

• GAY PRI
• HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
• LONDON PRI PARA: HISTORY OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK
• THE HISTORY OF GAY PRI
• INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN

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. 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.

HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS

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. A more-clive name was chosen 2009 by Print Barack Obama: Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr Pri origs of Gay Pri Month were also honored by Obama when, 2016, he created the Stonewall Natnal Monument, a 7.

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. Gay Pri, also lled LGBT Pri or LGBTQ Pri, byname Pri, annual celebratn, ually June the Uned Stat and sometim at other tim other untri, of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer (LGBTQ) inty.

LONDON PRI PARA: HISTORY OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK

Gay Pri memorat the Stonewall rts, which began the early hours of June 28, 1969, after police raid the Stonewall Inn bar New York Cy’s Greenwich Village neighbourhood. 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). Early Gay Pri events (often lled Freedom Day or Gay Liberatn Day) were often sparsely attend and enuntered protts, particularly bee of the outlandish stum that some marchers wore. As acceptance of the LGBTQ muny creased among the straight muny, policians sympathetic to the views of the LGBTQ muny and gay-iendly bs and rporatns began participatg the march.

The total number of people participatg—both gay and straight—mhroomed, and Pri events were held many part of the globe, cludg ci where they sometim enuntered stiff ristance (e. 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. Most gay bars and clubs New York at the time were operated by the Mafia, who paid rptible police officers to look the other way and blackmailed wealthy gay patrons by threateng to “out” them.

THE HISTORY OF GAY PRI

After the Stonewall Rts, a msage was pated on the outsi of the board-up bar readg, "We homosexuals plead wh out people to please help mata peaceful and quiet nduct on the streets of the village. " This sign was wrten by the Mattache Society–an early anizatn dited to fightg for gay unintified group of young people celebrate outsi the board-up Stonewall Inn after the rts.

”Over the next several nights, gay activists ntued to gather near the Stonewall, takg advantage of the moment to spread rmatn and build the muny that would fuel the growth of the gay rights movement.

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

Johnson is seen at a Gay Liberatn Front monstratn at Cy Hall New York, a large crowd memorat the 2nd anniversary of the Stonewall rts Greenwich Village of New York Cy 1971. The march was 51 blocks long om wt of Sixth Avenue at Waverly Place, Greenwich Village, all the way to Sheep’s Meadow Central Park, where activists held a “Gay-.

”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. Harvey Milk, the San Francis Supervisor who was the first openly gay elected official California, challenged his iend, gay rights activist Gilbert Baker, to e up wh a symbol of pri for the muny.