Pride Month is celebrated each June to commemorate the Stonewall Riots at a gay club in New York City on June 28, 1969. Police raids on LGBTQ+ spaces were common, but the one at the Stonewall Inn sparked an uprising that lasted several days and precipitated significant change in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. Christopher Park, across from the Stonewall Inn, was at the heart of the LGBTQ+ community in the late 1960s, serving as a refuge for young LGBTQ+ people hoping to avoid police brutality. Because of this, parks became frequent targets of raids and mass arrests. After the Stonewall Riots, people continued to gather at Christopher Park to protest for gay rights.
In the following years, the first Gay Pride marches were held across the U.S., from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles. In 1999, President Clinton officially recognized June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, and over time, Pride has come to include all LGBTQ+ individuals.
A primary function of public parks is to provide safe and accessible spaces for everyone, regardless of gender, race, or sexuality. They are places of gathering and community, deeply connected to providing safe spaces for those who may not find it elsewhere. Throughout history, public parks have been core places of both remembrance and festivity for the LGBTQ+ community and continue to honor their history.
Pride is a time for the LGBTQ+ community to come together to celebrate its culture with parades and festivals and to highlight the community’s contributions to history. Often, Pride is commemorated with a park festival at the end of the march, from the original protests at Christopher Park to Atlanta’s own Pride celebration at Piedmont Park in October, and more!