Pride-A Month-Long Celebration Of The LGBTQ+ Community, History, Diversity, and Love.

It’s June and it means happy LGBTQ+ Pride Month everyone!

In 2021, we continue to celebrate and work for the improvement of LGBTQ+ rights all around the world. Most recently European Union declared the whole of the European Union as an “LGBTQ+ Freedom Zone”. While the work for equal rights and recognition goes on, life was not easy for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images(1)

Not everything started at the Stonewall, but the movement has ignited first there and still continues. The first Pride stance was a protest outside the Stonewall Inn in New York in 1969, led by Black transgender women.

Pre-Stonewall LGBTQ+ Movement

In the US, the movements for LGBTQ+ rights started with the movement of the 1950s. Influenced by leftist politics a group of gay men founded The Mattachine Society. This Society lobbied for reform in-laws to recognize homosexuals as equal to heterosexual white men.  However, this movement was never really accomplished what they want to achieve and they dissolved around the mid-60s.

Members of the Mattachine Society. Mattachine Society, 2017, Photo by James Gruber. (2)

While the society was a failure, like other movements of the 60s, the Gay Pride Movement also moved to a more radical and violent stance. Young gays and lesbians of the era wanted a structural change for the recognition of rights.

This is why the 60s Gay Pride movement was more inclusive in terms of identity, sexuality, and in terms of color. After while police began to raid gay bars all around the country. During those raids, white men generally not arrested while drag queens, butch lesbians, and drag queens are arrested violently.

In 1969, especially after the death of Judy Garland, the crowd began to increase and people became more impatient against the raiding of the bars. Hence, The Stonewall riots.

Stonewall Riots and The Impact On The LGBTQ+ Movement

“At 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, 1969, four plainclothes policemen in dark suits, two patrol officers in uniform and Detective Charles Smythe and Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine arrived at the Stonewall Inn’s double doors and announced ‘Police! We’re taking the place!’ The music was turned off and the main lights were turned on. Approximately 205 people were in the bar that night. Patrons who had never experienced a police raid were confused. A few who realized what was happening began to run for doors and windows in the bathrooms, but police barred the doors. Michael Fader remembered: Things happened so fast you kind of got caught not knowing. All of a sudden there were police and we were told to all get in lines and to have our identification ready to be led out of the bar.” ( Carter, 2004)

While these riots were not very unusual, the night of June 28th, at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan, New York City, the first response was given for the LGBTQ+ oppression.

“When did you ever see a fag fight back?… Now, times were a-changin’. Tuesday night was the last night for bullshit… Predominantly, the theme [w]as, ‘this shit has got to stop!’” (Carter, 2004)

A Gay Pride parade in London, July 6, 1996. Photo by Steve Eason/Getty Images (3)

Say Her Name: Marsha P. Johnson

Many leading figures of the Stonewall Riots were transgender women of color.  Marsha P. Johnson became a symbol figure like Zazu Nova and Jackie Hormona as Stonewall veterans.  Johnson became one of the first drag queens of Stonewall Inn, and one of the leaders of the movement on the night of June 28th and onwards.

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, Netflix (4)

Following the Riots, Johnson joined the Gay Liberation Front. However, the drag queens and transgender women often not liked by gays and lesbians of the group. Gays and lesbians of the group even banned Johnson and Sylvia Rivera from the Pride parade, because they believed “drag queens were giving them a bad name”.

Following this, Johnson and Sylvia founded  Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). This organization became a shelter for gay and trans street kids.  Not only that but Johnson and STAR became a hope for trans and gender nonconformists and the people of color as the organizations helping projects continued.

In 1992, just after the Pride parade, Johnson’s body has found on the Hudson River, and from the reports, Johnson’s head had a massive wound. Even though there were implications of violence, the case is closed and the cause of death ruled as suicide by the police.  Since then, many worked to reopen the case, but justice was not found yet.  Most recently, the documentary The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017) shows the work for the reopening of the case.

LGBTQ+ Pride 2021

There are no guidelines or structural rules for the Pride celebration. The important aspect is to be inclusive and respectful towards one another. Some are drinking and dancing in the parks, some are marching for equal rights and recognition and some are spending time with their friends and loved ones. If you want to support but not attend outside celebrations that is also an option. If you’re looking for a place to donate, you can check these LQBTQ+ organizations and projects:

• Queer Detainee Empowerment Project,
• The National Center for Transgender Equality,
• The National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network,
• and The Trevor Project.

You can also check your local Pride events. As an example, where I live( Dublin), there is an event every day during Pride month. From film screenings to gatherings, there is always something to do.  Whatever it is, this is the perfect time to learn, grow, and, yes, party!

UWinnipeg’s Pride Banner, 2015 (5)

“I’m one of those who believes that Pride is a protest, but I’m not saying take the party away,” she says. “I’m saying make sure we don’t forget the real reason for the season as well… Get educated before dressing in rainbow and dousing yourself with glitter — and remember who threw the first brick.” -Karleigh Chardonnay Merlot, a transgender activist and operator at the suicide prevention organization, Trans Lifeline.

Sources:

Carter, D. (2004). Stonewall (p. 137). St. Martin’s Griffin.

Marsha P. Johnson. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 2, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsha_P._Johnson

Matzner, A. (2015). Stonewall riots. GLBTQ Archive.

Pride is back in 2021! Here’s how to celebrate with parades, in-person and online events. (2021, May 27). USA Today. https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/05/27/pride-month-2021-how-and-where-celebrate-person-and-online/7446989002/

Stein, M. (Ed.). (2020). The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History. New York University Press.

What Is Pride Month and How Did It Begin? (2019, May 19). Reader’s Digest. https://www.rd.com/article/when-is-pride-month/

Why we owe Pride to black transgender women who threw bricks at cops. (2019, June 24). USA Today. https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2019/06/24/pride-month-black-transgender-women-stonewall-marsha-p-johnson/1478200001/

Image Sources:

1. EU to be an LGBTIQ Freedom Zone. (2021, March 9). [Photograph]. Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.ie/detail/news-photo/members-of-the-european-parliament-roll-out-a-banner-to-news-photo/1231613178?adppopup=true
2. Mattachine Society. (2017, November 19). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattachine_Society#/media/File:Mattxmas.jpg
3. Gay Pride parade in London, 1996. (1996, July 6). [Photograph]. Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.ie/detail/news-photo/protestors-from-lesbian-gay-and-bisexual-rights-charity-news-photo/117704685?adppopup=true
4. France, D. (Director). (2017) The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson [Film] Public Square Films
5. UWinnipeg’s Pride Banner. (2015, June 2). [Illustration]. https://news.uwinnipeg.ca/pride-proud/