A Brief History Of Pride

As we celebrate Pride month across many parts of the world, it’s great to brush up on the history of how the movement started.
Here are a couple of important points in LGBTQIA+ History that have paved the way for the Pride that we know and love today!

Stonewall Riots: 1969

Pride is a movement that was born from the Stonewall Riots on 28th June 1969, where riots ensued following a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a bar that provided a safe space for the gay, lesbian, and transgender community in New York City.

Christopher Street Liberation Day took place the following year, on 28th June 1970 to mark the first anniversary of the riots. This saw protest marches in New York (which passed the Stonewall Inn), LA, San Francisco, and Chicago. These are recognised as the first Gay Pride marches.

The First London March: 1972

A protest parade was held from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square London in 1972.
Held on Saturday 28th June, it was the first Gay Pride in a city in the UK.
The official website for Pride in London: https://prideinlondon.org/

he Gay Pride Flag: 1978

The Pride Flag made its debut in San Francisco, with the original design containing eight colours. A year later the pink and turquoise stripes were dropped due to shortage of pink fabric at the time and legibility concerns, resulting in the six-colour rainbow flag.

The Progress Pride Flag: 2018

The Progess flag was designed by non-binary designer Daniel Quasar in 2018.
The inclusion of black and brown on the flag were to highlight the discrimination faced by Black and Brown members of the LGBTQIA+ Community, with the white, pink and light blue to represent transgender and non-binary people. The arrow pointing right represents forward movement, symbolising the need for progress and inclusion.
In 2021, Valentino Vecchietti of Intersex Equality Rights UK adapted the Pride Progress flag design to incorporate the intersex flag.

UK Black Pride: 2015
Black Gay Pride celebrations began in the 1990s to represent and discuss the issues that are more unique to the Black LGBTQIA+ community.
UK Black Pride was formalised in 2005, and takes place in London. It is Europe’s biggest celebration for LGBTQIA+ people of people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern-descent.
The official website for UK Black Pride in London: https://www.ukblackpride.org.uk/

@missy @lemon @rambo @penny @yessybear