How a Police Raid Started the Pride Movement
The LGBTQ Pride Month or the Gay Pride almost started by accident when some people protested against a police raid at a gay bar in New York in the June of 1969. In the present period, it witnesses month-long celebrations, picnics, parades and parties in most parts of the world.
June is now perceived as the month of self-pride – it sets a reminder for everyone belonging to the LGBTQ community to be proud of their identity. June is the month of love, as it establishes the fact that everyone is worthy of love and acceptance irrespective of their identity. June is also the month that reminds everyone about the day-to-day life struggles faced by the LGBTQ community, as well as commemorates them for their sacrifices.
The US was the first country to witness the Pride Movement. Before the 1970s, people from the LGBTQ community were seen as criminals. They were imprisoned, treated with chemical castration and were labelled as sexual offenders. The police would often raid spaces such as gay bars in search of them. The police officers would enter, beat all the bar staffs, identify gays and arrest them all. June 28th 1969 was one such day when the police raided a gay club named Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in New York. The officers claimed that they raided the bar because it was operating without any liquor licence. Thirteen people were arrested and most of them were either drag queens or gay men of colour.
Generally, the police harassment of the LGBTQ community would not lead to any actions on part of the general public. But the case of the Stonewall Inn was different. The crowds who saw the young LGBTQ members being arrested by the police got enraged. They started throwing debris, coins and bottles forcing the police officers to seek protection inside the bar. About four hundred people were rioting for a period of five days outside the bar. The riot came to be known as the Stonewall riot, also known as the Stonewall rebellion.
June 28th, 1970 marked one year of the Stonewall rebellion and a procession called Christopher Street Liberation Day march was organised. The procession was named as such because Christopher Street was the area where the rebellion took place exactly a year ago. The march was aimed at empowering all the LGBTQ members and asked them to have great pride in their sexual identity. Thus, the theme of the procession was “gay pride”. Approximately one thousand to two thousand people joined the march and chanted the slogan “Say it clear, say it loud. Gay is good, gay is proud.”
In the year 1999, Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the US, proclaimed June as the Gay and Lesbian Pride month. In order to be more inclusive, Barack Obama in 2011 retitled it to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. Thus, we see how a police raid on a bar led to the modern LGBTQ movement in the US which further spread to countries such as India and Canada.
References
“Explained: The history of Pride Month and why it is celebrated in June.” Firstpost, 1 June 2022, https://www.firstpost.com/world/explained-the-history-of-pride-month-and-why-it-is-celebrated-in-june-10745851.html. Accessed 17 July 2022.
Maitra, Labanya. “Looking Back At The History Of The Pride Movement.” Outlook India, 8 June 2022, https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/explore/story/71849/looking-back-at-the-history-of-the-pride-movement. Accessed 17 July 2022.
Wallenfeldt, Jeff, and Michael Ray. “Why Is Pride Month Celebrated in June?” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-pride-month-celebrated-in-june. Accessed 17 July 2022.
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