The Fabulous History Of ‘Pride Month’ & Ways To Celebrate
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is celebrated each year in the month of June. Throughout the years, in major cities across the nation the original (single) 'Pride Day’ soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events. Today, celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia, and concerts. The LGBTQ Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. Memorials are held during this month for those members of the community who have been lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.
**** What's The Symbol? ****
You probably knew that the rainbow flag — created by artist Gilbert Baker in 1978 — is used as a symbol of LGBTQ pride, but did you know that each color on the flag has its own meaning? In the widely known six-color flag, red is symbolic of life, orange is symbolic of healing, yellow is sunshine, green is nature, blue represents harmony and purple is spirit. In the original eight-color flag, hot pink was included to represent sex and turquoise to represent magic/art.
There have been many variations on the flag. In 2021, the flag has was altered in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests, including black to represent diversity, brown to represent inclusivity, and light blue and pink, the colors of the trans pride flag.
**** Why Do We Celebrate In June? ****
We celebrate in June to coincide with the catalyst of the Gay Liberation Movement that was the Stonewall Uprising. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police raided a popular gay bar in N.Y.C.'s West Village, The Stonewall Inn. This was commonplace for the time, but on this particular evening, the patrons of the bar fought back, starting the Stonewall Riots, which went on for days.
The Stonewall Inn was declared a historic landmark by the city of New York in 2015 and later named a national monument by President Barack Obama in 2016.
This June is the 52nd anniversary of the first Pride parade, which happened in 1970, one year after the uprising.
**** Who Were The Major Figures? ****
Marsha P. Johnson is often credited with throwing the first punch at the Stonewall Inn (though there are many prominent figures who are also rumored to have done so). She was a Black trans woman celebrating her 25th birthday at the time of the riots and a tour de force in the gay community. She died in 1992 at just 46 years old after police found her body in the Hudson River — her death has initially ruled a suicide, despite friends and loved ones insisting that could not be the case.
Sylvia Rivera was an activist and self-professed drag queen who also played a part in the Stonewall Riots. She fought for transgender rights alongside Marsha P. Johnson, creating S.T.A.R. (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) to help house homeless LGBTQ youth. She advocated for transgender rights until her death in 2002.
Stormé DeLarverie was a gay rights activist and drag performer who was also at Stonewall when it was raided that night. Her friend, Lisa Cannistraci, told the New York Times upon her death in 2014, "Nobody knows who threw the first punch, but it’s rumored that she did, and she said she did. She told me she did.”
-- Ways To Celebrate (Around the area and all over the World) --
** Paint With Color:
6/14 Magical Rainbow Moon - https://www..../event/613488
6/15 Magical Elephants (*Couples Set) - https://www..../event/612885
6/18 Poppy Prism - https://www..../event/604545
6/19 Solidarity (*In celebration of ‘Juneteenth’) - https://www..../event/612904
6/23 Rainbow Mandala - https://www..../event/612893
6/23 Love Is Love - https://www..../event/621600
6/29 Our Floating Hearts (*Blacklight Class~!) - https://www..../event/612899
** NaperPride Storytime: https://myki...e/2022-06-13/
** Joliet PrideFest 2022: https://www....778000962346/
** LGBTQIA+ Pride Month Celebration - Connecting Cultures in the Community: https://alle...-up-eventlist
---> More At Naper Pride . Com: https://naperpride.org
** MORE IDEAS: https://sesa...e-pride-month
Celebrate VIRTUALLY: https://blog...-month-ideas/