🌈 June 28: Where Pride Began

June 28 is not just another date on the calendar. It marks a turning point in history. On this day in 1969, the LGBTQ+ community stood up, fought back, and sparked a movement that would forever change the world.

It all began at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village. In the early hours of June 28, police raided the bar, something all too common in that era. But that night, something changed. The patrons, led by trans women of color, drag queens, and queer youth, decided they had had enough. What followed was six days of protests and resistance, now known as the Stonewall Riots.

Image Credit : NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

Stonewall wasn’t the first act of LGBTQ+ resistance, but it was the spark that ignited the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. It galvanized people across the country and around the world to organize, march, and demand visibility, equality, and freedom.

More than five decades later, Pride Month, along with the parades, celebrations, and activism that come with it, all trace their roots back to that early morning uprising on June 28.

But it’s important to remember: Pride didn’t start as a party. It started as a protest. The people who stood at Stonewall weren’t just fighting for the right to gather. They were fighting for their lives, their dignity, and their right to exist.

Today, we honor their bravery and legacy. We celebrate how far we’ve come and acknowledge how far we still have to go. Around the world, LGBTQ+ people continue to face discrimination, violence, and marginalization. Pride is not only a celebration. It’s a reminder to keep pushing forward.

As we mark June 28, we carry the spirit of Stonewall with us in every march, every rainbow flag, every act of love and resistance.

Because love is powerful. Pride is powerful. And so are we.