The very first gay pride parade
Situating this story at its beginning in mid-1970, the book outlines the scene where approximately 5,000 gays and lesbians (and surely a handful of straight allies) marched through the streets of Manhattan, West Hollywood, and downtown Chicago in the first ever Pride events. In Part I, the author explores how gays and lesbians established the event in the early 1970s as a parade to affirm gay identities. Pride Parades tells the story of Pride in two parts. The events were a curious mix of protest march and parade - more festive than a typical angry march but with more contention than a typical. We march today because a bisexual woman marched then.Pride Parades tells the story of Pride in two parts. That’s because every year around the world, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals march proudly, celebrating their individuality, their families, and their freedom. And even if her name isn’t as well-known as some other LGBT pioneers, her accomplishments can’t be forgotten. Howard was a hands-on, grassroots activist who fought for the rights of the minorities. She successfully lobbied for the inclusion of bisexuality in the 1993 March on Washington, at a time when the movement was focused primarily on gay men and lesbians. Howard cofounded the New York Area Bisexual Network in 1988, an organization that, to this day, serves as a central communication hub for bisexual and bi-friendly groups in New York City and the tri-state area. While she was undoubtedly an accomplished activist, some of the work closest to her heart was in the bisexual community. She was arrested multiple times for social justice causes, but she always kept fighting. She was arrested in Georgia in 1991 for protesting the firing of a lesbian from the state attorney general’s office due to Georgia’s anti-sodomy law. Howard was arrested in Chicago in 1988, while demonstrating for national health care and the fair treatment of women, people of color, and those living with HIV and AIDS. “She fought for anyone who had their rights trampled on.”
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She was militant and was a voice for all minorities. “She was an in-your-face activist,” Nelson said. Her lifelong advocacy ended when she died in 2005 - during New York City’s Pride Week. Her advocacy for the community started then, but it continued for more than three decades. She was friends with many of the individuals who were inside the bar that night the Stonewall Riots began. Until June 28, 1969, when those fairies, drag queens, queers, trans people, and gender-nonconforming folks said “Enough is enough.” The three-day standoff that ensued, infamously known as the Stonewall Riots, launched the modern-day LGBT rights movement.īorn in the Bronx, Howard had a heart for activism, and was involved with antiwar and feminist movements in earlier years, Nelson tells The Advocate.
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Many times, the raiding officers got rough, making police brutality a common occurrence at Stonewall and other LGBT-focused watering holes around the country. They would raid the bar, arrest the queers, and fine the establishment. The police knew that gays went to Stonewall. When it comes to crime syndicates, queer money is as good as straight money, it turns out.
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Back then, it was run by the Mafia, and was one of the only places that would allow these so-called degenerates inside the doors. Then, as now, Stonewall was a bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village. But there was one place where everyone could gather - all the fairies, drag queens, queers, trans people, and gender-nonconformers - The Stonewall Inn. Most bars wouldn’t allow queers into their establishment, fearing police raids and fines. It was illegal for LGBT people to get together and have a drink or dance with same-sex partners.