Gay Pri | History, Flag, & Facts | Branni

Contents:

• HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
• FROM GLTER TO UNY: UNVEILG THE GLOBAL SPECTACLE OF THE GAY PRI PARA
• GAY PRI
• INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN
• GAY RIGHTS

HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS

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. 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. Stonewall RtsAs was mon practice many ci, the New York Police Department would ocsnally raid bars and rtrants where gays and lbians were known to gather.

FROM GLTER TO UNY: UNVEILG THE GLOBAL SPECTACLE OF THE GAY PRI PARA

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.

GAY PRI

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. Even the Uned Stat, a rise bloodshed, killgs and threats at Pri and other gay events and gathergs highlights the opprsn the LGBTQ muny still fac. 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.

” The ia of “Gay Power” was thrown around, but Schoonmaker said gay dividuals lacked real power to make change, but one thg they did have was pri. At the time, homosexual acts remaed illegal every state except Illois, and bars and rtrants uld get shut down for havg gay employe or servg gay patrons. 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.

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

Here, protters monstrate outsi the New York gay bar, Christopher's the early hours of June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn was raid by police wh no warng. As -founr of the Gay Liberatn Front, Rivera was known for participatg the Stonewall Rts and tablishg the polil anizatn STAR (Street Transvte Actn Revolutnari).

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.

GAY RIGHTS

They are pictured here marchg Tim Square,, Sylvia Ray Rivera (ont) and Arthur Bell are seen at a gay liberatn monstratn, New York Universy, 1970 Marsha P. 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. One month after the monstratns and nflict at the Stonewall Inn, a group of approximately 200 people march along Wt 4th Street (seen here at Grove and Sherdan Square) the first mass rally support of gay rights, New York, New York, July 27, 1969.

People hold ‘Gay Pri’ and ‘Mattche’ (The Mattache Society was a early Amerin gay rights anizatn) signs durg the first Stonewall anniversary march, then known as Gay Liberatn Day (and later Gay Pri Day), as they para along 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Ameris) at Milligan place, New York, New York, June 28, 1970. UNITED STATES – JUNE 26: The 25th anniversary of revolt homosexual of Stonewall, bar gay at Greenwich cy In New York, Uned Stat On June 26, 1994. 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.