However, no other symbol has gained such popularity and recognition as the rainbow flag, which is also known as the pride flag. Long before the LGBTQ+ community started being recognised by the colours of a rainbow, the Greek alphabet ‘lambda’ and also a pink triangle were used to symbolise the community. Must read: Arundhati Katju: Section 377 was never only about sex, it was actually about right to citizenship The impact of an increased visibility and firm voices of the LGBTQ+ community also raised awareness in India as on 6 September, 2018 the Supreme Court legalised consensual gay sex, abolishing a Britsh era law under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. In the last few decades, Pride events have started being organised all over the world. In the years since the uprising, LGBTQ activists pushed for-and largely achieved-a broad expansion of their the legal rights, and in June 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling guaranteeing same-sex couples the right to marry. What happened in the Stonewall Inn and the uprising thereafter has long been considered to have fundamentally changed the dialogue surrounding the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement.Īccording to the National Geographic, each June, Pride Month honors the history of Stonewall with parades and events. It was not new for queer people to be harassed by the police but on this night, members of the LGBTQ+ community stood up for themselves and fought back for several days to come in what came to be known as Stonewall Riots and is now known as the Stonewall Rebellion.Įven though it wasn’t the first gay uprising in the United States, it helped spark the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement. 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. Come June, there is a different hue in the sky that spells freedom as flags of rainbow colours become more prominent in public places.