AFPĪccording to a USA Today report, a majority of those people were “were either drag queens or gay men of colour”. The Stonewall Inn in New York City has become a memorial of the celebrations and struggles of the LGBTQ+ community. That day police entered Stonewall and arrested at least 13 people. During those years, the city administration wouldn’t allow bars to serve gay people. The gay club in New York City was raided on the pretext of operating without a liquor license.
Customers would then pour out into the street, line up and wait for the police to arrest them.īut the morning of 28 June, 1969 was to be different and entirely unexpected from the police’s point of view as they raided the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street.
Police officers would enter, threaten and beat the bar staff and clientele. It wasn’t unusual for police to raid gay bars in Manhattan in the 60s and almost all the raids followed the same template. How a police raid on a bar ignited the modern LGBTQ+ movement? Let’s take a look back at how it started and what is its history: In the last more than 50 years since the first Pride Month was celebrated in the United States, the month-long celebration of love, acceptance, diversity, and self-pride has become a global phenomenon. The month also commemorates the sacrifices made by the LGBTQ+ community in becoming a legally and socially accepted people from being considered criminals who were imprisoned, treated with chemical castration, social ostracisation and labeled as sex offenders for life. What started from the United States in 1969 has since become a global symbol of celebrating and accepting identities. Come June, proud voices retell stories of courageous people for it is Pride Month, the month that became a thriving memorial of struggles and victories of the LGBTQ+ community. 1.Come June, there is a different hue in the sky that spells freedom as flags of rainbow colours become more prominent in public places. Flags are, after all, meant to be flown - loudly and proudly! Below, we’ll walk you through the origin, meaning and colors of 21 LGBTQ flags, from the original pride flag to new pride flags flown today, so that you can understand which identity each flag celebrates. Although the symbolic use of bright colors has long been connected to queer culture, these flags, fittingly, are a highly visible, widerspread signal of queer identity compared to some of the slightly more covert LGBTQ+ symbols that preceded them. Today, there are dozens of LGBTQ+ flags representing just as many gender identities, sexualities and intersections of communities. Much like the communities they represent, these flags are in a constant state of evolution, expanding to better and more inclusively encompass every queer identity under the rainbow. Ever since the first rainbow-hued LGBTQ flag was created in 1978, pride flags have been a colorful symbol of queer identity.