We all know how important Pride Month is for the LGBTQ+ community, but do we truly understand its underpinnings and how it originated? While pop culture often represents Pride Month through parades and rainbow symbols, it often overlooks the full story behind its beginnings. Let's reflect on Pride’s origins in the Stonewall Riots, and strive to make Pride Month truly meaningful and inclusive for all. 🌈✨
Understanding the Origins of Pride Month
Pride parades are not only a time of celebration for the LGBTQ+ community but also a time to remember the reason for the first Pride Parade, which was organized as a response to the Stonewall Riots.
The Stonewall Riots: A Catalyst for Change
The Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, NYC, in 1969 marked a turning point in LGBTQ+ activism, sparked by a rebellion against police oppression. They occurred when the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular bar in the LGBTQ+ community, to collect bribe money.
Led and ignited by the courage of Black trans women and drag queens of color such as Marsha P. Johnson and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, an uprising of queer individuals stood up against the police, protesting for several days.
Commemorating Resilience: The First Pride Parade
The 1970 Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day March the following year is often considered the precursor to modern day Pride events. It was intended to commemorate the Stonewall Riots and pay tribute to the resilience of the LGBTQ+ community in the face of oppression and police brutality.
Amidst the vibrant celebrations, it's important not to overlook that Pride is rooted in resistance against systemic oppression. The Stonewall Inn remains a sacred and symbolic place to many, representing LGBTQ+ struggles and resistance against injustice.
Embracing Intersectionality
To create inclusive Pride celebrations, we must acknowledge and embrace the diverse needs and perspectives within the LGBTQ+ community. Embracing intersectionality allows us to recognize, understand, and embrace difference, which sets the stage for inclusive group activism that meets the diverse needs within a community.
Intersectionality, a concept developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw, recognizes the unique experiences and challenges faced by individuals at the intersections of different marginalized identities. It challenges the notion that everyone's experiences are the same - including the idea of a homogenous LGBTQ+ experience.
Recognizing and Addressing Challenges
Pride originated as a protest against oppression by marginalized community members, including people of color, trans women, unhoused individuals, and sex workers. Despite increasing visibility of Pride in general, some mainstream Pride events have fallen short in embracing intersectionality within the full LGBTQ+ community and its history.
Black and trans LGBTQ+ activists across the country continue to emphasize the urgency of centering the needs and concerns of most marginalized. This includes addressing the systemic racism, police brutality, and all forms of anti-Blackness faced by Black LGBTQ+ community, and the healthcare disparities, anti-Trans laws, and lack of gender-affirming spaces and policies faced by trans individuals.
As Pride has become increasingly corporatized and commercialized, recent grassroots movements such as the Queer Liberation March have called for a return to the true essence of Pride.
Reclaim the true spirit of Pride and honor its roots at Stonewall.
By amplifying marginalized voices, prioritizing intersectionality, and supporting smaller initiatives, we can do justice to Pride’s roots in communal resistance, resilience, and support. For example, challenging exclusionary practices pushes for further inclusivity within mainstream Pride organizations.
The LGBTQ+ community deserves a meaningful and inclusive Pride Month that celebrates triumphs, acknowledges struggles, and uplifts all LGBTQ+ individuals. Fostering understanding and embracing diverse narratives allows us to pave the way for a brighter, more inclusive future for all.
Reflections
Who can you collaborate with to dream up inclusive and intersectional approaches to celebrating Pride in your workplace or community?
Brainstorm two concrete ways that Pride celebrations can prioritize and honor a broad range of needs, abilities, perspectives, and voices. In addition, personally commit to two actions to better listen to, learn from, and center the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community.
How do you think the corporatization and commercialization of Pride makes it difficult to protest against continued oppression?
Unearth a story about Pride celebrations, Stonewall, or LGBTQ+ history that you haven’t heard before or that inspires you. How can you share that story in a meaningful way that honors Pride’s origins in resistance & resilience?
Image Rights:
Title Slide: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/event/Stonewall-riots)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/18/us/stonewall-riots.html)
https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/bonjour-gay-paris/gay-paris/stonewall-riots-and-their-impact-on-gay-liberation/
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-intersectionality/
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