When we think of LGBT Pride Month, we think of raucous, joyful parades in cities all across America. Rainbow flags abound, drag queens dance atop colorful floats, and a true sense of happiness pervades the festivities. But this celebration is about more than a party.
The first Pride parade took place in June 1970, to commemorate the first anniversary of the riots at New York City’s Stonewall Inn. Dubbed “The Christopher Street Gay Liberation March”, the parade was less about jubilance and more about asserting human rights for the LGBT community. It was a full-fledged protest, and the world took notice.
Fast forward to 2018, and this year’s Pride celebrations will have a lot in common with the first Liberation March. In the past year, important federal protections that prevent discrimination against LGBT employees have been overturned. Obama-era protections for transgender students have been lifted. And the Supreme Court is debating whether businesses can refuse service to LGBT customers on the basis of religious freedom. If anything, LGBT Pride Month is both a reminder of how far we’ve come and an indication of how little progress we’ve made.
This month, we must recognize those who are keeping the community visible. On the entertainment front, RuPaul is making waves. RuPaul’s Drag Race, while light on the surface, offers a national stage to an oft-shunned sect of the LGBT community. And other RuPaul entities, like DragCon, give LGBT youth and adults a place to convene and be themselves.
Transgender youth like Jazz Jennings have given a face and nuance to the struggles of the trans community.
And creators like Larry Kramer have solidified the power of the community in plays, novels, and short stories. The Normal Heart put the human side of the AIDS epidemic in the spotlight, and it still resonates to this day. A Ryan Murphy-directed adaptation was released in 2014.
LGBT Pride Month will always be a celebration, as millions take to the streets to show solidarity with one another, but we mustn’t forget the underlying reason for the parades—the fight is ongoing.
