Pride month, celebrated in June, honors and celebrates the history of the LGBTQIA+ community and their continous fight for equality. Pride is a widespread event that has ties to the Bay Area.
After New York’s 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising in New York City, President Bill Clinton officially declared June “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month” in 1999. Later in 2011, President Barack Obama opened Pride Month to celebrate all identities in the LGBTQIA+ community.
The first Pride-related event in San Francisco occurred on June 27, 1970. This event was unlike current Pride parades, as it resembled a group march. Two years later, in 1972, the first organized Pride parade in San Francisco occurred. More than 50 years later, Pride is still a part of Bay Area culture.
In the Bay Area, Pride is commonly celebrated through parades, which are held near the end of June. There are also film festivals to celebrate LGBTQIA+ cinema, Pride celebration nights in sporting events, music festivals, concerts, and roller skating events open to every age.
Sophomore Cassidy Flowers, who uses she/her pronouns, has attended multiple Pride parades in San Francisco and has loved being there.
“[Pride] is awesome, I really enjoy going,” Flowers said. “It feels like a community, and it feels like a lot of people are just celebrating being themselves, even if that’s really difficult in America right now. It’s a very good atmosphere, and I generally feel pretty safe because it’s just a lot of people who care about each other and want to celebrate their identity.”
While the LGBTQIA+ community is celebrated during its Pride month, support for community members and allies happens year round. The Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club (GSA) at San Marin focuses on offering an inviting place for LGBTQIA+ students to feel safe and understood at school. GSA president and senior Adi Hirasaki, who uses he/she pronouns, believes that the club serves as a safe place for LGBTQIA+ students.
“It gives me a space where I feel safe, surrounded by people, so I don’t have to worry about anything like homophobia,” Hirasaki said. “[GSA club] tries to do some outreach and events, but it’s really about community building for me.”
Pride Month serves as a time to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community. Events through the Bay Area reflect the presence and contribution of community members in modern day society.
