Brenda Howard

Bisexual rights activist Brenda Howard is often called the Mother of Pride, organizing the first Liberation March on Christopher Street on June 28, 1970 to celebrate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. 

2016

President Barack Obama designated it as a national monument on June 24, 2016. It is the first national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights.

The Gay Liberation Front

The Gay Liberation Front was formed in the weeks after the Stonewall Riots took place. Founding members included prominent activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. 

Bill Clinton

President Bill Clinton issued the first presidential proclamation for Pride Month in 1999. At the time, he said the month would celebrate how "America's diversity is our greatest strength. But, while we have come a long way on our journey toward tolerance, understanding, and mutual respect, we still have a long way to go in our efforts to end discrimination."

He issued another declaration in 2000, and Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden issued proclamations every June of their presidencies. Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump did not continue the practice.

Pennies

While plenty of shade was undoubtedly thrown at the officers who arrested bar patrons before the uprising began, numerous recounts say that patrons threw pennies while shouting, "copper" (a slang term for police) and “Here’s money, pigs. You haven’t been paid off enough!” Numerous historians have said that the bar's mafia owners regularly paid off police to not raid it. 

“Homo Nest Raided, Queen Bees Are Stinging Mad”

The news article, written by Jerry Lister, was just one of several about the uprising that depicted the uprising's LGBTQ+ participants as a joke. It referred to the patrons as "little girls," the uprising as "a homosexual Academy Awards Night," and said, "The queens had turned commandos and stood bra strap to bra strap against an invasion."

One patron interviewed by Lister told him, "I don't like your paper — it's anti-f*g and pro-cop."

Chicago

Several U.S. cities - including New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago - held marches and parades during the last weekend in June 1970 to keep the spirit of Stonewall alive. Chicago's was held on the Saturday and earlier in the day than San Francisco's, making it the first. New York's and LA's were held on that Sunday, June 28.

Stormé DeLarverie

On June 28, 1969 in New York City’s Greenwich Village, patrons spontaneously fought back during an early morning police raid of the Stonewall Inn. Rioting broke out, and while no one really knows who started it for sure, it is widely believed that drag king Stormé DeLarverie was the catalyst.

DeLarverie famously shouted, “Why don’t you guys do something!” as police tried to drag her away. She then allegedly threw the first punch. 

All of them

The Compton's Cafeteria riot in San Francisco occurred in May 1959. The Cooper Do-nuts Riot in Los Angeles occurred in August 1966. The Black Cat protest in Los Angeles occurred in 1967. All three were uprisings against police harassment of LGBTQ+ people.

Gilbert Baker

In 1978, Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician elected to office in California, asked his friend Gilbert Baker to create a symbol for the LGBTQ community, and he created multi-colored flags as a result.

The flags were unveiled at San Francisco Pride that same year and demand quickly increased. Their colors were then narrowed down from eight to six and the rainbow flags were displayed far and wide. Nowadays, we have several adaptations of the original flag to include all members of the community.

Thom Higgins

Gay activist and radio journalist Thom Higgins is often credited with coining the term while he was working with the group Fight Repression of Erotic Expression (FREE).

Higgins also famously threw a pie in anti-LGBTQ+ campaigner Anita Bryant's face.

The Christopher Street Liberation Day March

On June 28, 1970, the Christopher Street Liberation Day March took place in New York City to celebrate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. It would come to be known worldwide as the first-ever Pride parade.