In many parts of the world, June is 2SLGBTQIA+ Pride month! 🏳️🌈
Here in Newfoundland, we also celebrate Pride in July since we typically have better weather in July than we do in June. Personally, I'm grateful for the extra time to celebrate queerness and advocate against injustices while there is a spotlight on the queer community.
Let’s take a look back at the history of 2SLGBTQIA+ pride and how it's always been a protest alongside a celebration.
The modern 2SLGBTQIA+ rights movement started in the 1950s and 1960s with the Stonewall Uprising and the Compton's Cafeteria Riot, two protests in response to police brutality and mistreatment of queer people in New York City and San Francisco. These protests (among others) marked a turning point in the fight for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, a fight we continue today.
Annual Pride parades and marches have always been a reflection of the grassroots, intersectional, and political nature of the movement. The first Pride march in 1970 was organized by the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), a radical leftist organization formed in the wake of the Stonewall Uprising, and was explicitly political in nature.
Over the years, Pride parades and marches have been continuously shaped by leftist movements, including the Black Lives Matter movement, which has brought attention to the ways in which racism and other forms of oppression intersect with homophobia and transphobia.
With all of this history in mind, here are a few reasons we continue to celebrate pride today:
- To show neighbors that no matter who they are or who they love, they're safe with us. We're looking at you, allies!
- To recognize the ongoing discrimination, violence, and inequality facing the queer community, particularly those of color, and remind our oppressors that we're not going anywhere.
- To honor the power of collective action, and the work of 2SLGBTQIA+ activists, past and present.
- To admire the the beauty, resilience, and diversity of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community!
While Pride today is a celebration of human rights progress for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, it's also a reminder of how much work still needs to be done to create a world where all queer people can live openly with dignity and respect.