This June 28 marks the International Day of Pride or ‘Pride Day’.
On this day and throughout the month known as ‘Pride Month’, the self-affirmation of people who belong to the LGBTIQA+ community or movement is celebrated, in addition to raising awareness of the ongoing struggle for equality and dignity of people who belong to this community.
The origin of this celebration goes back to the early hours of June 28, 1969, after the Stonewall riots in the Greenwich Village neighborhood in New York.
In 1969, solicitation of same-sex relationships was illegal basically everywhere, including New York, so gay bars were places of refuge where people with different gender identities and orientations could socialize in relative safety.
One such gathering place for gay, lesbian, and transgender youth was the Stonewall Inn, which reportedly operated without a liquor license. In the early morning hours of Saturday, June 28, 1969, nine police officers entered the Stonewall Inn, arrested employees for selling alcohol without a license, manhandled many of its patrons, evicted the bar, and took several people into custody.
This time, however, the people outside the bar did not back down or scatter as they almost did in the past, but instead began taunting and shoving the police, as well as throwing bottles and debris, so the policemen they called for reinforcements and barricaded themselves inside the bar as some 400 people rioted. The police barricade was repeatedly breached, and the bar was set on fire.
Police reinforcements arrived in time to extinguish the flames and eventually dispersed the crowd.
The riots outside the Stonewall Inn increased and decreased over the next five days. Many historians characterized the uprising as a spontaneous protest against the perpetual police harassment and social discrimination suffered by various sexual minorities in the 1960s; however, they became a symbol of resistance to social and political discrimination that would inspire solidarity among the LGBT+ movement.
From The Heart Sounds, we wish you a Happy Pride Day!
