The riots helped launch the modern iteration of the LGBTQ movement and led to laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation. In the United States, Canada, and Australia, it is celebrated in October to coincide with National Coming Out Day on 11 October and to commemorate the first and second marches on Washington in 19 for LGBT rights. The altercation involved patrons at the Stonewall Inn fighting back against harassment by police and other forms of discrimination against LGBTQ Americans, which was quite common, according to the website for the Anti-Defamation League. The month-long celebration occurs each June to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which took place in Manhattan in 1969, according to the website for the Library of Congress.
In fact, in 2011, then-President Barack Obama proclaimed June to be LGBT Pride Month, giving it its own month separate from LGBTQ History Month, which is celebrated each October.But what is Pride Month?Īccording to the website for the Library of Congress, Gay Pride Day was formerly celebrated on the last Sunday in June, but as local celebrations in cities across the country grew bigger, it eventually became LGBT Pride Month. The month includes many events, with cities and towns organizing their own local celebrations.
Each year during the month of June, members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer community, their family, friends, and other allies celebrate diversity, work to end prejudice, and advocate for further progress. In the United States, June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month).