Why was I seeing rainbow colored logos all over my LinkedIn the past month?
Last year when this post was written my only source of information about Pride month was a comic app that celebrated it and I learnt that June is an important month in the history of LGBTQ activism. This year the experience expanded a lot with a visit to New York in June witnessing rainbow billboards at Times Square, seeing friends’ posts about being part of Pride parades and best of all, corporate logos getting rainbow colored.
Because Pride month is much more than rainbows and parades, I wanted to write this post celebrating LGBTQ activism. A bit of Google search will also get you the facts below and you are welcome to do that!
The story starts in June, 1969 when Stonewall Inn in New York, a bar known for serving gay people was raided by Police. It was not uncommon for such events to happen during those times but this time there was enough resistance that one altercation led to another and riots ensued. These went on for a few days and marked a beginning of the LGBTQ movement. To commemorate the events that took place, the following year on 28 June, first Gay Pride Parade was organized.
Searching about why the term pride was used this incident comes up where when the term “Gay Power” was suggested it was said that while gay individuals lacked power to make change, they had their pride. The slogan “Say it loud, gay is proud” was powerful because people from LGBTQ community often had to repress their real self and deal with a society that made them feel wrong about themselves. In such a scenario being proud became a form of resistance.
Fast forward to the present, Stonewall Inn area has been designated as a US National Monument, NYPD commissioner apologized for the 1969 and we see Pride Parades as fun parties around the world. Not to say things are anywhere near solved or everyone is accepting, we are atleast moving in the right direction.
So, if you attended a pride parade as a straight ally I hope you understood the meaning behind it.When we force people to behave in a certain way the parade is a chance to express and fight back that oppression. It is not a dress up party, it is a celebration of “unapologetic otherness”.
History Facts:
https://www.history.com/news/stonewall-riots-timeline
https://www.history.com/news/how-activists-plotted-the-first-gay-pride-parades
