The First Gay Pride Parade

At 1:20 am on June 28th, 1969, when police riots on gay bars were commonplace, the most notable uprising for LGBT rights occurred in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Undercover of night, the Stonewall Inn was stormed by police, and employees were arrested and dragged from the establishment.

The sight enraged both patrons and neighborhood residents, who were tired of the discrimination, sparking a week-long period of protests. Beyond that, the Stonewall Riots lit the flame that sparked the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights in the United States and globally.

The Stonewall Riots were the tipping point after years of police brutality, discrimination, and incarceration of the LGBTQIA+ community. Solicitation of same-sex relations was illegal in NYC, and even alcohol consumption by LGBT individuals was prohibited. The mere gathering of the Queer community was seen as "disorderly."

Because of the social outcasting, they flocked to bars and nightclubs to maintain a sense of community. These establishments were used as a refuge from a society that didn't want them. Because the New York Alcohol Authority was shutting down businesses suspected of serving alcohol to LGBT people, it became a black market industry controlled by the Mafia.

By the mid-60s, the Mafia owned most of the gay bars in Greenwich Village, operating without a liquor license and blackmailing wealthy patrons with the threat of outing their sexuality.

Stonewall became one of the only bars to still allow dancing, as even the sight of two people of the same sex holding hands was worthy of legal punishment. The Inn was also one of the only bars to welcome Drag Queens, a group largely responsible for leading the LGBT rights movement, and one of the most marginalized subsets.

The Mafia saw the Queer Community as a cash cow and cut corners anywhere they could. The bathrooms at Stonewall regularly overflowed, there was no sink to wash glasses, and the drinks were watered down beyond recognition. Even still, the Inn became a staple of LGBTQIA+ life, serving as a nightly home for runaway youth.

On the night of the Stonewall Riots, the Mafia was not tipped off about the coming police raid. With warrant in hand, the police entered the Inn. They seized the illegal alcohol, arrested employees and people suspected of violating clothing laws, even taking patrons into the bathroom to "check their sex."

Neighborhood residents and patrons stayed outside the bar instead of dispersing, growing angrier and angrier at the treatment by law enforcement. After a lesbian woman was hit over the head while being put into a vehicle, the riot ignited, and people began throwing bottles and other objects at the police.

Activists like Marsha P. Johnson are credited with leading the charge and possessing the bravery to throw the first brick at law enforcement. Yet are often left unrecognized as Elisa Toy points out in "Why We Owe Pride Month to Transgender People of Color."

Tensions continued to rise and the crowd grew to hundreds and forced the police to barricade themselves inside Stonewall. The barricade was breached repeatedly by protestors, and the building set ablaze.

“No, this wasn’t a 1960s student riot. Out there were the streets. There were no nice dorms for sleeping. No school cafeteria for certain food. No affluent parents to send us checks. There was a ghetto riot on home turf. We already had our war wounds.

So this was just another battle. Nobody thought of it as history, herstory, my-story, your-story, or our-story. We were being denied a place to dance together. That’s all.

The total charisma of a revolution in our CONSCIOUSNESS rising from the gutter to the gut to the heart and the mind was here. Non-existence (or part existence) was coming into being, and being into becoming. Our Mother Stonewall was giving birth to a new era and we were the midwives.”

― New York Public Library, The Stonewall Reader

Eventually, a riot squad was able to tame the protest and extinguish the flames. But the unrest and protests continued for days after the original incident. The Stonewall Riots spurred LGBT activism, and from it, we saw the creation of organizations like The Gay Liberation Front.

The Stonewall Riots also gave the LGBT community the confidence to come out of hiding and amplify their message. But what was it? All they knew was that nothing would change if they continued to be passive and non-confrontational.

Five short months after the riots, a group of activists including Craig Rodwell, his partner Fred Sargeant, Ellen Brody, and Linda Rhodes posed a solution during the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations (ERCHO) in Philadelphia. They suggested that a march be held in New York City to commemorate the first anniversary of the raid.

The date was set for the last Saturday in June; Bronx native Brenda Howard was charged with the planning of the event. Howard can be seen at the forefront of the fight for any group that needs her. She was known for her ability to campaign and possessed a fiery spirit.

Howard was openly bisexual and active in the anti-war and feminist movements during the tumultuous 1960s. She could have been killed for her lifestyle, but she wasn't afraid to fight for her beliefs. Howard coined the idea to celebrate for a week instead of one day (a tradition still practiced in most cities).

Howard met in Craig Rodwell's apartment and bookstore to plan the first NYC Pride Parade. Within the bookstore, the planning committee hashed the details out, and using Oscar Wilde's mailing list; they were able to spread the news about the coming festivities.

During a meeting to decide the slogan for the Christopher Street Liberation Day March. Activist Craig Schoonmaker suggested "pride" while others threw "gay power" out as an option; Schoonmaker argued that the LGBTQIA+ community lacked power; what they had was pride.

Schoonmaker explained, “A lot of people were very repressed; they were conflicted internally and didn’t know how to come out and be proud. That’s how the movement was most useful, because they thought, ‘Maybe I should be proud.’” The official chant for the march became, “Say it loud, gay is proud.”

The Christopher Street Liberation Day March was held on the exact year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. It wasn't like the parades today; the march was more of an experiment. A prime example is the lifted dress code. During events before the Stonewall Riots, men were required to wear jackets, and women to wear dresses. They also typically marched in complete silence.

The activists wanted to gauge the public reaction to a more visible LGBT presence. In total, they marched 51 blocks all through Greenwich, and through their courage, we can continually get closer to equality. June is now pride month not only in the United States but many countries around the world.

A time of celebration and pride stemmed from one of the darkest periods in LGBT history.

“The spirit that emerged outside a Mafia-run bar in 1969 became the pulse of the gay community and inspired not just an annual parade but ways to express gay pride in individual lives.

Stonewall happens every day.”

― Ann Bausum, Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights.

We need to praise our heroes and protect our history. Activists like Marsha P. Johnson should not be forgotten, and their contributions should be revered.

Parting Words

I spent many years in the closet, scared to be myself, scared of what others might think. But you can only widdle yourself down so much before you snap. There is power in being out, there is strength in being able to be my complete self, but more than anything, there is pride.

Happy Pride Month, and welcome to the new Vocal LGBTQIA+ community. I hope you learned something new and gained a better understanding of why June means so much to the Queer Community. I can’t wait to see what you create.

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Sources:

Stonewall Riots

Planning the First Pride Parade