Happy Pride Month!
What is Pride Month?
Every June, Pride Month commemorates LGBTQ+ culture and history and the acceptance of LBGTQ+ people. Celebrating Pride Month can be as simple as hanging a pride flag in front of your home, or elaborate as educating others about LBGTQ+ history! The month serves as a reminder of how dangerous homophobia was and still is. Although queer people have been around since ancient history, it is often treated it as a new, emerging concept.
Pride Flag Meaning
In the 6-colored pride flag, each color has its own meaning. Red symbolizes life, orange represents healing, yellow is sunshine, green portrays nature, blue represents harmony, and purple is spirit.
Why in June?
Pride Month originates from the Gay Liberation Movement or the Stonewall Uprising which took place in the same month of June. Same-sex marriages were not allowed in New York City in the 60s, so police raids on gay clubs were frequent. On June 28, 1969, N.Y.C. police raided a bustling gay bar in New York City’s West Village, called the Stonewall Inn. The patrons fought back, extending the riots to several days. Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans woman, is a prominent figure who fought first in the Stonewall Inn. Another figure named Sylvia Rivera participated in the fight for LBGTQ+ rights alongside Marsha P. Johnson. Rivera was a social activist and drag queen, who initiated S.T.A.R. (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) to aid LBGTQ+ youth without homes
Other Early LGBTQ+ rights movements
A German Immigrant named Henry Gerber founded the Society for Human Rights, the first U.S. gay rights organization. In 1925, it was shut down by police, but SHR was able to publish articles in their newsletter, “Friendship and Freedom” before it was closed.
Daughters of Bilitis was one of the first lesbian organizations. It was founded in 1955 in San Francisco by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. Beginning as a social haven for lesbian women, it gradually transformed into a political organization. As DOB progressed, conflicting ideologies among its leaders led to its dissolution in the 1970s, though local branches remained for a couple of years. DOB gave lesbian women the chance to be comfortable with their sexuality and share it with people like them, but politically, it jumpstarted the fight for lesbian acceptance.
The Mattachine Society was a secret organization for gay men based in Los Angeles. Mattachine is a medieval French term used to describe masked male dancers. Harry Hay, its founder, felt that the term resonated with gay men, as they had to hide their identities behind a mask. The first meetings focused on bringing awareness and education on social justice and homosexuality. The Mattachine Society laid the groundwork for future LGBTQ+ rights movements.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52872693
https://people.com/human-interest/pride-month-explained-pride-month-facts/
https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daughters-of-Bilitis
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harry-Hay-Jr#ref1261762
