City to Raise Pride Flag on Monday

The city will raise the Pride Flag on Monday at 12:30 p.m.

The brief ceremony will be held at the flagpoles in front of City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave.

The ceremony will be open to the public, community members and city staff, and be conducted in a safe manner with masks and social distancing.

Mayor Victor Gordo is scheduled to attend the event.

June marks the celebration of Pride Month — a time when millions of people come together in support of the LGBTQ+ community by walking in parades and attending festivals. This year, many celebrations across the globe will resume as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and more people are vaccinated.

Pride Month started on June 28, 1969, when police raided a gay club called the Stonewall Inn in New York.

Though the police claimed the bar was operating with an improper liquor license, the raid was about nothing more than violently harassing and arresting LGBTQ+ people in one of the few places where they felt safe.

Similar raids on gay-friendly businesses had been occurring for decades, but Stonewall was one of the first times when the patrons fought back.

In the incident, a diverse crowd of lesbians, gay men and transgender women, many of whom were people of color, clashed with police, threw bottles and refused to be intimidated. The ensuing six-day period of protests and demonstrations is now known as the Stonewall Riots. A New York rally held the next year to commemorate the first anniversary of the riots started the now-regular tradition of Pride Month.

The riots are considered a landmark moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

Within six months of the event, two gay activist organizations were formed in New York, and three newspapers were established to promote rights for gay men and lesbians.

One year later, the first gay pride marches took place in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

On June 24, 2016, President Barack Obama officially designated the Stonewall National Monument, making it the nation’s first national monument designated as an LGBT+ historic site.