Pride Month: A Look at the History of the LGBTQ Community

Rainbow flags flap in the breeze, a huge crowd of celebrators milling about underneath them. It’s a typical weekend in June, and Pride events are in full swing around the globe. The people who come to celebrate have one thing in common with each other. They are either in, or supportive of, the LGBT community.

If you’re not familiar with the term, LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer. It is used to describe any person whose sexuality falls outside what most people consider to be norm. These events are festive and unique now, but their past is commemorative of a darker time in the community’s history. June is considered Pride month in memory of the Stonewall Riots that took place that month in 1969.

50 years ago, the world had a very different view of homosexuals. Lesbians, Gays, and others in the community were treated very poorly by the rest of the world. There were very few places that homosexuals could mingle without being attacked for their orientation. Most bars and clubs outright refused same sex couples. The only safe places to meet were at specific bars, which were regularly raided by the police. Men were arrested, and the bar fined on a regular basis. When a police department raided yet…