Grab some sticks and stones, queens. It’s time to go after ‘The Man.’ Kidding. Put that shit down. Today marks the 43rd Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots; which many believe was the kick-starter to the modern gay rights movement here in the States and, in time, across the globe.
In the wee hours of morning on June 28th, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn to purposely target sexual minorities. Most states had a law on the books outright banning all homosexual behavior as “sodomy.” Following the raid, the homosexual community united against the brutal event and sparked the first violent front against system-backed police action that used persecution as a method to disperse and contain activities they deemed “unpalatable.”
As a result, community activist groups began to form to establish places where LGBT individuals could express their sexuality openly leading up to the first Gay Pride Marches on June 28, 1970 in the cities of New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Ever wonder why Gay Pride is always in the month of June? There you go. “The More You Know.” (Cue cutesy fucking rainbow icon.)
