Pride Month

What is Pride Month?
Pride Month is a month dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of LGBTQIA+ Pride. It is typically celebrated in the month of June.

Stonewall Riots
Pride month is celebrated in June because of the Stonewall Riots that took place from June 28th, 1969, to July 3rd, 1969. On June 28th, 1969, the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York. Queer patrons of the bar and of other Lesbian and Gay bars fought back against the police when the police became violent.

The Stonewall Riots form the turning point of gay liberation and the modern LGBTQIA+ rights movement fighting for safety and acceptance. On the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, pride marches were held in several US cities, spreading to cities all over the world in the years after. These marches are still staples of Pride Month celebrations around the world.

Famous faces of the Stonewall Riots are predominantly lesbian and trans women of colour, including Marsha P. Johnson, Stormé Delarverie, and Sylvia Rivera.

Pink Saturday
On June 25th, 1977, the first pride march was held in Amsterdam, protesting unequal rights. In the years after, this event was renamed Pink Saturday and is still annually celebrated on the last Saturday of June. Every year, a different city is chosen to host Pink Saturday.

Amsterdam Pride
In contrast to Pink Saturday, Amsterdam Pride was born to celebrate the diversity and freedom of the LGBTQIA+ community. Amsterdam Pride is typically held at the end of July/beginning of August. Additionally, Amsterdam Pride is famous for its Canal Pride, a boat parade, filled with colour and queer people, through the canals of Amsterdam. Canal Pride is celebrated on the first Saturday of August.

While in many parts of the world, Pride Month is used as a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community, we shouldn’t forget its history and the fight for freedom that’s still happening.