Since 1990, June has been nationally recognized as LGBTQIA+ Pride month. This year's theme is "The Fight Continues," focusing on supporting one another as we rebuild from the major losses COVID-19 inflicted while celebrating our forward momentum for equal rights and safety for all LGBT+ people.
June is designated as Pride Month due to the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, commonly called the Stonewall Uprising or Stonewall Revolution as well, taking place at the end of the month. In the early hours of June 28, 1968, police officers raided the Stonewall Inn, a well-known gay establishment in NYC, for the last time. Until 1965, serving alcoholic beverages to known homosexuals was illegal, and even after NYC removed that law, gay behavior (even holding hands or dancing with someone of the same sex) was still illegal. Sick of the constant harassment and lack of equality, patrons of the Stonewall Inn decided they had had enough and they were not going to leave. Led by Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and other transwomen of color, they fought back until the cops had to retreat from the burning building. What followed were days of marches, protests, fights, displays of frustration, and flyers handed out.
While the Stonewall Uprisings didn't start the Gay Rights Movement, it certainly gave future protesters and activists the strength and confidence to continue the fight. On the first anniversary of the original uprising, thousands of people marched in a parade from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park called “Christopher Street Liberation Day." The official chant was “Say it loud, gay is proud.” This parade went on to inspire others to follow.
Finally, on June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court struck down all remaining state bans on same-sex marriage. This effectively made same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states and required that all states acknowledge out-of-state marriage licenses for same-sex couples.
