By Annabelle Matt, Senior Historian

June is recognized internationally each year as Pride Month—a celebration of LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and additional identities not explicitly included in the acronym) history, rights, and community. Commonly referred to as “Pride,” it’s also a recognition of the years of protests, marches, and demonstrations in the name of securing equal rights, acceptance, and the freedom to be authentically oneself.

The Original Symbol and Its History

Pride Month is held in June to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising, a rebellion against police brutality and attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community. At 1 AM, on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village in Manhattan, after years of routine searches and discrimination, patrons of the Stonewall Inn gathered to openly fight back against a police raid. A crowd of hundreds of individuals from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum grew outside the bar to push back the police, eventually trapping the officers inside the Stonewall. The rebellion continued over the next six days as thousands of individuals showed up to demonstrate their solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community.¹

The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York. Drag Queens and transgender activists such as Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson were instrumental in the success of the Stonewall Uprising and following decades of LGBTQIA+ advocacy. (National Archives and Records Administration, p.48)

On the first anniversary of Stonewall, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies held organized marches in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City in what was called “Christopher Street Liberation Day,” named after the street where the Stonewall is located. Although the Stonewall Uprising was not the first demonstration against LGBTQIA+ oppression, it marked a turning point in the struggle for equal rights and galvanized LGBTQIA+ communities across the world to loudly, and proudly, take action to defend their rights.²

Thirty years later, in recognition of Stonewall’s legacy, President Bill Clinton declared the month of June as “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month” in 1999. It marked the first time the U.S. government formally acknowledged the month in celebration of groups within LGBTQIA+.³ Pride Month’s official title continued to expand to include more factions of the LGBTQIA+ community across administrations. And in 2016, President Barack Obama, as part of the monthly celebrations, designated the site of the Stonewall Inn and the surrounding area as a national monument. It is the first national site dedicated to LGBTQIA+ history in the United States.⁴

Activist and flag-maker Gilbert Baker presented President Barack Obama with the Gay Pride Flag at a White House LGBT Pride Month reception in June 2016. (National Archives and Records Administration)

A Prism of Representation

The Stonewall Uprising became one of the most iconic demonstrations of LGBTQIA+ civil disobedience. It was essentially a symbol for the community. However, over the years, other activists created new symbols to represent the community’s struggle, unity, and celebration. Gilbert Baker, an activist, designer, and flag-maker, created the Rainbow Flag in 1978 to celebrate members of the gay and lesbian political movement. Each of the original eight colored stripes were assigned specific meaning: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic, indigo for serenity, and violet for spirit.

After the assassination of San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected public officials, in November 1978, the Rainbow Flag became a symbol of unity for the LGBTQIA+ community. However, over the following year, increased demand for hot pink fabric and legibility concerns resulted in Baker dropping the pink and turquoise stripes. As a result, the six rainbow stripe flag became one of the most recognized icons of the queer community.⁵

Emblematic Inclusivity

Over time, the Rainbow Flag has evolved to directly represent more members of the growing LGBTQIA+ community and call for a more inclusive society. Daniel Quasar, a non-binary artist and designer, went viral online in June 2018 after posting a redesigned version of the flag that included black, brown, light blue, pink and white stripes in the shape of an arrow.

Known as the Progress Pride Flag, the light blue, pink and white stripes represent trans and non-binary individuals while the brown and black ones represent marginalized People of Color (POC). Quasar has explained that the black stripe has a double meaning as it is also intended to honor individuals who have died from AIDS and recognize those still living with the disease.⁶

Honoring Progress and Embracing the Path Ahead

Posters like this one, created by the AIDS activist organization ACT UP, were popularized to protest the federal government’s response to the AIDS epidemic throughout the 1980s. The design featured an inverted pink triangle—reclaiming a symbol that gay men were assigned to wear during the Holocaust. (SI, National Museum of American History)

While the fight for LGBTQIA+ acceptance, inclusion, and equality has slowly made strides in modern history—notably with milestones such as the 2015 federal legalization of gay marriage as a result of the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision—progress is still an ongoing process. As of June 1, 2025, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has tracked 588 anti-LGBTQ bills advanced throughout United States during the 2025 legislative session—an increase from the 533 anti-LGBTQ bills tracked in 2024 and 510 in 2023.⁷ These bills primarily attack a variety of issues such as valid identity documents, free speech and expression, healthcare, public accommodations, student and educator rights, and other civil rights restrictions—all disproportionately affecting transgender youth.⁸

As a result of increased anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric and policies, many corporations have also rolled back their Pride Month product lines and celebrations. Despite facing these ongoing challenges, Pride Month continues to be a time for celebration, honoring diversity, and striving to achieve equality for all.

Members of the Bureau of Land Management, National Forest Service, and National Park Service participated in the 2022 Utah Pride Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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References:

Cover Image: By Matt Popovich from Washington, DC, United States – Obergefell v. Hodges Decision Announced — June 26, 2015, CC0

Want to learn more about the Stonewall Uprising? Check out Pride and Prejudice: A History of LGBTQ+ Civil Disobedience and Protest.

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Celebrating Pride Month: Over 5 Decades of Symbolic Representation

The Original Symbol and Its History

A Prism of Representation

Emblematic Inclusivity

Honoring Progress and Embracing the Path Ahead

Preserve and Activate Your Heritage