More than three decades before June's annual celebration became official, the concept of "gay pride" had already emerged within the LGBTQ+ community. As early as 1966, a group had adopted the acronym P.R.I.D.E., which stood for Personal Rights In Defense and Education. The terms "gay pride" and "gay power" were also influenced by the civil rights movement’s language of "Black pride" and "Black power." Several people have claimed to have coined the term "gay pride," including activist Thom Higgins.
During planning for early LGBTQ+ marches, organizers debated which slogan to adopt. Activist L. Craig Schoonmaker championed the term, explaining that while not everyone has power, anyone can have pride—a sense of self-worth that can drive change and reject stigma. “Say it loud, gay is proud” became a rallying cry for some, though it took years for the word to become the dominant term for LGBTQ+ events.
How did June become Pride Month?
Activists held the first Gay Pride Parade in New York City on June 28, 1970. Originally called the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, the event commemorated the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising—when a police raid on a Greenwich Village gay bar sparked six days of protests and clashes with law enforcement. With people chanting "say it loud, gay is proud," the march honored a turning point in the gay rights movement and served as an outward affirmation of LGBTQ+ identity, community and activism. Smaller marches also took place that day in Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco.
“By all estimates, there were three to five thousand marchers at the inaugural Pride in New York City, and today marchers in New York City number in the millions,” the U.S. Library of Congress states. “Since 1970, LGBTQ+ people have continued to gather together in June to march with Pride and demonstrate for equal rights.”
In subsequent years, “Gay Pride Day” was often held on the last Sunday of June, eventually expanding into a month-long celebration. While the momentum for acceptance grew, progress was gradual. It wasn't until 1999 that President Bill Clinton designated June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, something New Zeland followed with celebrations in June.
In the late 1970s, San Francisco politician Harvey Milk commissioned Gilbert Baker, an artist, Vietnam War veteran and drag performer to create a flag for the city’s annual pride parade. The flag debuted at the Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978.
The flag was created as a vibrant declaration of the sentiments behind the Pride movement. The first version featured eight colors: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic, blue for harmony and purple for spirit. After Harvey Milk’s assassination in 1978, demand for the flag surged, but due to manufacturing limitations, the pink and turquoise stripes were removed. Today it remains a symbol of gay pride, encouraging people to embrace their multi-faceted identities, even in the face of adversity.
HISTORY.COM