Event commemorates start of LGBT civil rights movement
On June 28, 1969, a police raid of a gay bar at the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village led to riots.
The riots garnered national attention, leading to marches and protests. Today the event is significant as a defining moment that kick-started the LGBT civil rights movement.
The Center’s QVolution youth group and other local LGBT organizations, such as GetEQUAL NV and the Stonewall Democratic Club of Southern Nevada, will meet with local politicians, guest speakers and performers “to promote health and well-being for the current LGBT population,” the rally’s Facebook page says.
President Barack Obama recently designated June as national LGBT Pride Month in honor of the Stonewall Riots’ anniversary.
“This month, as we mark 45 years since the patrons of the Stonewall Inn defied an unjust policy and awakened a nascent movement, let us honor every brave leader who stood up, sat in, and came out, as well as the allies who supported them along the way,” Obama said in his May 30 proclamation. “Following their example, let each of us speak for tolerance, justice, and dignity — because if hearts and minds continue to change over time, laws will too.”
LGBT pride celebrations are traditionally held in June in honor of the Stonewall Riots. In Vegas, pride week was moved to September to bolster Southern Nevada’s LGBT tourism.
LGBT community members and allies from across the Las Vegas Valley are gathering at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, 401 S. Maryland Parkway, for “We Are the Community: A Rally to Celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.”
In preparation for the event, youth group members and photographer Daniel Trujillo recreated iconic photographs from the Stonewall Riots.
Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @WesJuhl.
