At the heart of it all. . . a squeaky clean, impressively pink Gay Bar!

In June of 1970, the nation’s first PRIDE parade was held in New York City to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots (a nearly week-long uprising between NYC police officers and the city’s youth, following a raid of Stonewall Inn).  Stonewall was a popular gay bar located on Greenwich Village’s Christopher Street, and the uprising helped bring the LGBT civil rights movement into the national spotlight for the first time.  This first parade was named the “Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day” march.

Here in Philadelphia, official PRIDE parades began in the late 1980s, and continue today thanks to the hard work of Philly Pride Presents, a grassroots, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  The annual PRIDE parade and celebration at Penn’s Landing attracts more than 25,000 people!

Fast forward to June, 2009, and the LGBT civil rights movement garnered a new level of support when the President of the United States of America proclaimed:

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.”

This year’s Philly PRIDE celebration will be held tomorrow (Sunday, June 9, 2013) beginning at 12 noon in the heart of Philly’s Gayborhood.

Now, go get washed up, and we hope to see you there!

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