6-21-2026 9:18am

June Is Pride Month

John Williams Editor

Photo by Katie Rainbow on Unsplash

Pride Month is celebrated annually in June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City. What began as a multi-day series of riots against police brutality at the Stonewall Inn evolved into the modern gay liberation movement and a global celebration of LGBTQ+ culture, rights, and visibility. The Stonewall UprisingIn June 1969, homosexual acts remained heavily criminalized across most of the United States, and police frequently raided gay bars to harass and arrest patrons. On the early morning of June 28, 1969, the NYPD raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay dive bar in Greenwich Village. However, this time, fed up with constant harassment and discriminatory laws, the bar patrons, staff, and neighborhood residents fought back. The resulting protests and clashes with law enforcement lasted for nearly six days. The First MarchesOn June 28, 1970, on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, activists organized the Christopher Street Liberation Day March. Starting at the Stonewall Inn and concluding in Central Park, this event is widely considered the very first Gay Pride parade. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 individuals marched, demanding equal rights and visibility. During the early 1970s, activist Craig Schoonmaker coined the term "Pride," advocating that the community should embrace who they are despite living in a society that gave them very little power. National Recognition and EvolutionWhat started as a one-day localized demonstration gradually expanded into week-long events and, eventually, month-long commemorations across the country. Official government recognition took three decades to achieve:

1999: President Bill Clinton issued a proclamation declaring June "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month".
2009: President Barack Obama expanded the designation to the wider LGBT community.
2022: President Joe Biden officially expanded the commemoration name to include LGBTQI+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex) individuals.

For a quick, visual walkthrough of exactly how the events unfolded, from initial raids to the global celebrations seen today:

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Modern CelebrationsToday, Pride Month features millions of participants worldwide taking part in parades, rallies, workshops, and concerts. It also serves as a time for the community to honor those lost to hate crimes and the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and to advocate for continued legislative and social equality.

(From a variety of Sources)