THE FIRST EVER PRIDE
The first ever pride event held by a group of New York gay activists, one year after the Stonewall Riots.
On June 28th, 1970, a group of young gay activists organised a march and marched from Washington Square Park to Central Park. The pride march was to remember the events of Stonewall which had happened only a year beforehand. Many passers by spontaneously joined in with the Pride march, and attracted over 2,000 people to join. Gay people proudly marching through the streets and proclaiming their love for one another was one of the bravest things an LGBTQ+ person could do at this time.
The marches were in memory of the events of the Stonewall riots a year earlier. The stonewall riots were a series of protests stretching over the span of six days in advocation against the police brutality and law enforcement largely targeting the LGBTQ+ community at the time. Take a look at our Stonewall Riots lesson if you're interested to know more about this series of protests, sparking the civil rights movement for the LGBTQ+ community.
_jfif.jpg)
_jfif.jpg)
Essentially, the first Pride march was to show the world that the events of the Stonewall Riots would not be forgotten, nor would the bravery of every single LGBTQ+ person who had fought back against the police brutality. It was our way of saying "Yes. We're here. What are you going to do about it? We will be always be here." And we weren't afraid to say that anymore.
This has inspired many more Pride events to be held since. Now, Pride is a globally recognised LGBTQ+ celebration, usually taking place in the summer months of between June - August. It attracts millions of people each year, and many places have Pride events held annually. Pride is now a happy celebration of love and peace, but we must remember that the first Pride was a protest, and the rights which we have earnt today were fought for tirelessly by brave individuals.
.jpg)
.jpg)
We must use Pride as a way to show our bravery, and remember the bravery of those who came before us. Pride has been our constant reminder that in a world so hostile towards our community, individuals like Marsha. P Johnson were able to find the strength to fight for what they knew was right.
