Pride Month 2023

The month of June is celebrated as the Pride Month, dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) pride.

The concept of Pride Month began with the Stonewall riots, a series of riots for gay liberation that took place over several days beginning on June 28, 1969. As was common practice in many cities, the New York Police Department would occasionally raid bars and restaurants where gays and lesbians were known to gather. In response to such a police raid at the Stonewall Inn that began on June 28, 1969, patrons of the Stonewall, other village lesbian and gay bars, and neighbourhood street people fought back when the police became violent. This event has greatly transformed the gay liberation movement and the twentieth-century fight for LGBT rights in the United States. Modern-day Pride Month both honours the movement for LGBT rights and celebrates LGBT culture.

Following World War II, a small number of groups like the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis published gay- and lesbian-positive newsletters and grew more vocal in demanding recognition for, and protesting discrimination against, gays and lesbians. In 1966, for example, members of the Mattachine Society held a "sip-in" protest at Julius, a bar in New York City, where they demanded drinks after announcing that they were gay, in violation of local laws against serving alcohol to gays and lesbians. As said, stonewall riots greatly accelerated the gay liberation movement. Activists Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Stormé DeLarverie are credited for inciting the riots, though Johnson disputes her involvement. The year after the riots, the first pride marches were held in several US cities. The march in New York City, aimed to celebrate the "Christopher Street Liberation Day", alongside parallel marches across the US, is considered to be a watershed moment for LGBT rights.