I love that June not only brings the start of summer but also all of the celebrations and festivals for Pride! Pride Month is celebrated to honor the 1969 Stonewall Riots to get equality for those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. The acronym PRIDE stands for Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, and Excellence which goes hand in hand with the rainbow-striped Pride flag.
The Stonewall Riots were a series of protests by members of the community after violent police raids at the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969. It was considered a turning point for the gay civil rights movement and helped push for them to get the rights they deserve. According to ARCUS Foundation, “It took the efforts of veteran pre-Stonewall activists working alongside newly radicalized young LGBTQ people to channel the energy and anger released at Stonewall into a newly supercharged national movement (…) the riot may have been spontaneous, but the dramatic growth of the movement that came in the aftermath of the riots would not have been possible without the groundwork laid by the pre-Stonewall homophiles.”
Pride festivals and parades are celebrations of their “social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride.” It is a time to stand together as a community and love each other for who they are.
“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward.”
– Roy Bennett
Click here to read ARCUS Foundation’s Stonewall: Key Turning Point– Not Starting Point– in LGBTQ Rights Movement
Ava Grace
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