The History of Pride Month
Homophobia was still strong in New York City in the late 1960s, with many gay clubs driven “underground,” due to harassment and same-sex relationships being illegal. Because of this, Mafia mobs saw an untapped clientele and bought local restaurants to create gay bars, often bribing the area police to look the other way.
On June 28, a raid occurred. 13 people were arrested, and some patrons were forced to undress in bathrooms to reveal their genitals (“cross-dressing” was illegal). The rioting began as a lesbian patron was hit by an officer as she was being arrested, and she called on the group around her to witness how she was being treated, and they began throwing everything they had.
Six days, tens of millions of dollars of damages, 13 arrests, and many hospitalizations later, the LGBTQ community had gathered together and began to memorialize the violence against them on the anniversary every year – which became the precursor to Pride Month.
Books:
Elementary Age:
Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag
Stonewall: A Building, An Uprising, A Revolution
Strong by Rob Kearney (first openly gay strongman)