June is the month of diversity. A month that dresses in colors and that raises its voice very loudly to continue eradicating intolerance, hatred and continue the fight for LGTBIQ + rights. Fight that does not stop.
The month of July has just started, and I ask you not to pick up the flag. Raise it high every day of the year, educate, set an example and above all things do not stop informing yourself.
Do you know what the acronym LGTBIQ + means?
Do you really know the reason for this celebration?
LGTBIQ + pride month is celebrated during June in commemoration of the riots that occurred in the Stonewall on June 28, 1969 in New York. They consisted of a series of spontaneous and violent demonstrations against a police raid. Becoming the first time in the history of the United States, in which the LGTB community fought against a system that persecuted homosexuals with the consent of the government.
Stonewall Inn was a speakeasy in the Greenwich Village neighborhood, in which the majority of its clientele was homosexual. They met with measure and discretion, since it was the 1960s and at that time the homosexual community was penalized, discriminated against and lacked civil rights. They could not practice medicine, law or teaching, nor could they work for the state.
The owners of the premises were gangsters who had bribed some police officers, who would notify them in advance if they had a raid planned. The morning of June 28 was different, the police interrupted the pub without warning. This raid triggered riots, beatings, and arrests.
The attendees resisted and the protests lasted several hours, causing more and more people to accumulate outside the pub and the following days, one protest after another was called.
A year later, this date became the first manifestation of gay pride in history, in which around three thousand people were present.
The Stonewall riots have gone down in history as a turning point, in which the LGBT community began to raise its voice, but even so the road of struggle remains long.
Here is a chart updated by Pew Research Center, about the 31 countries that gave Yes to equal marriage.
As you can see, there is still a long way to go, so it is essential that we all take part in this fight, informing and educating ourselves to one day be able to live in a more egalitarian, tolerant and respectful world.
That said, I invite us to reflect on our actions every day of the year,
not only in June.
Happy pride, 365 days a year.
Joselina Sánchez
Blogger & Content Creator at Nova Connect