Celebrating Pride Month
Happy LGBT Pride Month! Each year, June 1st marks the start of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month. Pride Month is celebrated annually in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots. The Stonewall riots (also referred to as the Stonewall uprising or the Stonewall rebellion) occurred on June 28th, 1969, and marked a pivotal moment in history in the liberation of the LGBTQ community. The continued discrimination and violence-based behavior imposed by law enforcement sparked a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ community in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Many in the LGBTQ community credit Marsha P. Johnson—A Black trans-woman—with sparking the Stonewall uprising.
A year after the uprising, to mark the anniversary on June 28, 1970, the first gay pride marches took place in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The anniversary of the riots was also commemorated in Chicago and similar marches were organized in other cities. Within a few years, gay rights organizations were founded across the U.S. and the world. Today, LGBTQ Pride events are held annually throughout the world toward the end of June to mark the Stonewall riots.
This month, Foley will host programs and provide education focused on achieving equal justice and equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (or questioning) (LGBTQ) Americans.
The photo below was created by Foley’s LGBTQA Affinity group. It features affinity group members showing their #LGBTQ Pride.
Alexis P. Robertson
Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
[email protected]