As Pride Month Ends, Pride March Commemorates Stonewall Riot and Birth of Gay Rights Movement

By Carol Tannenhauser

“Friday was the anniversary of the Stonewall Riot [or Uprising], and Sunday is the Pride March. I just thought it was appropriate to post this,” wrote illustrator and animator Gary Martin, along with this week’s illustration.

Who besides me would like a ticket to Martoonerville?

Here’s some background on the Stonewall Uprising and Pride March, which is taking place in New York City this afternoon.

Pride Month ends on Sunday, June 30, with the Pride March, which passes by the newly opened Stonewall National Monument on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar, was raided by police, and many patrons and employees were ejected or arrested. For context, in 1969, “homosexuality was still considered a criminal offense,” and “individuals could not wear more than three items of clothing that did not match their assigned gender at birth (See: New York Penal Code 240.35, Subsection 4),”  according to the Library of Congress. Furthermore, it had only been since 1966 that the prohibition against serving alcohol to known gays had been lifted. “This led many gay establishments to operate sans liquor license, providing an open door for raids and police brutality,” wrote the LOC. The police had a search warrant to investigate illegal alcohol sales at the Stonewall.

But a tipping point had been reached, and the gay community fought back, the LOC continued. “By that evening (Saturday, June 28), thousands of protesters had gathered at the Stonewall and in the surrounding area. The protests continued into the next week, with another outbreak of intense fighting occurring that following Wednesday.”

The Stonewall Uprising is widely considered the birth of the gay liberation movement and the concept of gay pride.

The first Pride March took place on the first anniversary of the uprising, June 28, 1970. “Although ‘gay power’ had been proposed as the slogan for the march, it was argued that the movement had yet to be politically empowered but that its members felt great pride in their sexual identity. Thus, it was decided that the march’s theme would be ‘gay pride,'” according to Britannica. That first march began at Christopher Street and culminated “51 blocks north in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow….Individuals joined the procession en route in solidarity, chanting such slogans as ‘Say it clear, say it loud. Gay is good, gay is proud.’”

For details on the 2024 Pride March, click — HERE.

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