The roots of the gay rights movement go back to the early 1900s, when a handful of individuals in North America and Europe created gay and lesbian organizations such as the Society for Human Rights, founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago in the 1920s.
Following World War II, a small number of groups like the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis published gay- and lesbian-positive newsletters and grew more vocal in demanding recognition for, and protesting discrimination against, gays and lesbians.
On June 28, 1969, the NYPD raided the Stonewall Inn, a bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. When the police aggressively dragged patrons and employees out of the bar, several people fought back against the NYPD, and a growing crowd of angry locals gathered in the streets. The confrontations quickly escalated and sparked six days of protests and violent clashes.
By the time the Stonewall Riots ended on July 2, 1969, the gay rights movement went from being a fringe issue largely ignored by politicians and the media to front-page news worldwide.
One year later, during the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, activists in New York City marched through the streets of Manhattan in commemoration of the uprising. The march, organized by the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations (ERCHO) and the Christopher Street Liberation Day Umbrella Committee, was named the Christopher Street Liberation Day March. In time, that celebration came to be simply known as the Gay Pride Parade. Marches and parades also took place that June in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In June 2000, President Bill Clinton officially designated June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, in recognition of the Stonewall Riots and gay activism throughout the years. A more-inclusive name was chosen in 2009 by President Barack Obama: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.
The origins of Gay Pride Month were also honored by Obama when, in 2016, he created the Stonewall National Monument, a 7.7-acre around the Stonewall Inn where the modern gay rights movement began.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, LGBTQ+ is an acronym that stands for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (or “questioning”), with a “+” sign to recognize limitless sexual orientations and gender identities.
Remember to join us for a night of story telling with Woman Cooper as she shares her experience of being a parent to a son who is transgender happening Thursday, June 5th at 7 PM at the Newburyport Senior Center. Hope to see you all there!