Marching for Pride

When New York City Police raided the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969, it was a common occurrence. But bar patrons were particularly angry after numerous raids, arrests, and abuse from the police. When they fought back, the riot lasted for 3 days, resulting in many arrests, newspaper and TV coverage, and a growing sense of solidarity within the community. From butch lesbians to trans women to teenagers, there was a common cause. The Stonewall Uprising became legendary. On June 28, 1970, the Christopher Street march (Christopher Street Liberation day) was held in New York City specifically to mark the Stonewall Uprising. Similar marches were held in Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. 

Before Stonewall, there were other public displays of LGBT demands for civil rights, including the Compton Cafeteria Riot in 1966 in San Francisco, where trans women and gay men acted against police officers harassing them. From 1965 through 1969, the Annual Reminder took place every July 4 in Philadelphia. Organized by the East Coast Homophile Organizations (including the Daughters of Bilitis and the Mattachine Society, early lesbian and gay organizations), a picket of lesbians and gay men, many dressed in business attire, stood in front of Independence Hall carrying signs stating “15 million Homosexual Americans Ask for Equality, Opportunity, Dignity” and “Support Homosexual Rights.” In 1970, organizers turned to Christopher Street Liberation Day as their focus and marches and rallies were held in June throughout the twentieth century and into the present.