| What makes it historical? |
If you’ve ever wondered why the month of June is called LGBT Pride Month, it all stems back to June 28, 1969 when 200 patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought back against a police raid! See, at that time, it was illegal to serve LGBT people alcohol and for LGBT people to dance with each other, so police had made a point of doing random raids, arresting anyone who appeared to be dressed inappropriately, and generally harassing folks!
Well, by 1:20 AM on that fateful night, enough was enough! Folks stopped cooperating with police, and a crowd gathered outside the Inn, throwing pennies, bottles and bricks! Four officers were injured, and a number of other folks sent to the hospital by the time it cleared up three hours later, but the movement spread throughout Greenwich Village! Up to 1,000 protestors at a time battled it out on the streets for the next five nights!
From this rebellion, the Gay Liberation Front and other important civil rights groups arose, and a new movement for respect and equality began! This is also why gay pride parades happen across the country in June! The very first ones started to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the rebellion! |
