LGBTQ people have a long tradition of celebrating our culture and communities through pride parades.
In June 1969, queer individuals rioted following a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. That November, the first gay pride parade was proposed. To commemorate the anniversary of Stonewall, "Christopher Street Liberation Day" was held with an assembly on Christopher Street and a gay pride march covering the 51 blocks to Central Park. Similar events were held in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The next year, pride marches spread to cities all over the globe – Boston, Dallas, Milwaukee, London, Paris, West Berlin, Stockholm… and by 1972 the participating cities included Atlanta, Buffalo, Detroit, Washington D.C., Miami, and Philadelphia.
Here at the University of Cincinnati, we celebrate the LGBTQ community through Queercat Pride Week. Monday will kick off the festivities with a "Rainbow Flash Mob" – we will line Main Street in monochromatic clothing to create a rainbow of people.
For a full list of events, check out the Facebook event here. There are many exciting events to take part in, including a picnic, speakers, art installations, queer zumba, and of course the Genderf*ck Drag Show! Hope everybody can make it to some of our great events!
-Ben
