SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Cameron Gonzales
Happy Pride Santa Fe! As Pride month commences, so do celebratory events in both Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Pride on the Pitch took place yesterday at Isotope Stadium cheering on New Mexico United. All the action started with a 4pm tailgate, moving onto the game which started at 7pm. The fun will continue Saturday with the fabulous Albuquerque Pride Parade beginning at 10am. Santa Fe will kick off its own Pride celebrations beginning with a pride train to Lamy June 8th from 5-9pm. All the information regarding these amazing events can be found at the links below!
June is nationally celebrated as Pride month. The history of Pride began in 1969 with riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York. The Stonewall Inn is a gay club that, at the time, was run by the Mafia. Gay clubs were some of the few places in which the LGBTQ+ community felt safe from harassment and violence, but that wasn’t always the case. The Mafia would regularly bribe police to look the other way, but that didn’t prevent the police from harassing and arresting patrons for things such as not wearing at least three articles of “gender-appropriate clothing”.
In the early morning of June 28th, police officers raided the Stonewall Inn. As police searched patrons to “confirm their gender,” tensions rose. Those given the OK to leave lingered outside of the club. Fed up with rampant discrimination, patrons gathered in the hundreds and eventually thousands to protest the violation of their rights. The riot at the Stonewall Inn became known as the origin of the gay liberation movement, and would be annually celebrated as one of the first civil rights movements for the LGBTQ+ community. One year had passed since the Stonewall riots, and organizers took it upon themselves to lead the first original Pride parades in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.
The parades are now global, with Pride celebrations happening from Asia to Africa. Celebrating Pride is a celebration of our diversity in our state so be sure to celebrate with your family and friends! Also, make sure to tag us in your pride pictures and greet us with a “happy pride!” if you happen to catch us at one of these events!
