On June 28, 1970, on the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising—six days of protest after a police raid of a popular gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village–the first Pride marches were held in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Since then, June has been designated Pride Month, with federal agencies, local governments and communities participating in Pride activities and honoring the significant victories since the 1970s. Pride Month is now a global movement, with celebrations in the U.K., Greece, Hungary, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, and more.
In New York City, more than 2 million participate in the annual pride march, and Brazil has been home to the world’s largest pride parade—with an estimated 3 to 5 million in attendance.
Here’s a History of Pride that’s still available on the Library of Congress website, which makes the point that “the events of Stonewall and the liberation movements that followed were a direct result of prior decades of LGBTQIA+ activism and organizing.”
NOW members know how important that activism and organizing is to the ultimate success of our intersectional feminist movement. Especially now, when so much of what we fought so hard to win is being rolled back, torn apart and attacked at the highest levels of government.
Immediately upon taking office, Donald Trump directed an all-of-government takedown of programs, policies, references and activities relating to diversity, equity and inclusion, while issuing executive orders narrowing the definition of gender to exclude trans and nonbinary people.
While in previous years, big-name corporate sponsors lined up to show solidarity with their customers by supporting Pride events, the exodus of sponsors who are worried about being targeted for those views is growing by the day.
The New York Times reported that 25% of New York’s corporate Pride donors had “canceled or scaled back their support, citing economic uncertainty and fear of retribution from the Trump administration”. And tech company Booz Allen Hamilton withdraw from Washington, D.C.’s biannual, global-themed WorldPride celebrations.
With all of this in the backdrop, NOW is proud to reassert our commitment to world pride, and with the message being amplified by The Human Rights Campaign: These Colors Don’t Run:
“Our visibility has never mattered more–and neither has our strength. When they try to erase our stories, we rewrite them. When they try to silence us, we get louder. We’re raising our flag high and making it clear, we’re not going anywhere.”
This Pride Month 2025, NOW members are just as steadfast and determined. We’re not going anywhere either—count on it!