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A pride parade is part of a festival or ceremony held by the LGBT community of a city to commemorate the struggle for gay rights and gay pride. Yes it was a glorious day for gays everywhere...from the streets of Sanfrancisco to the villages of Mongolia. For one day gay people were free to go about with PRIDE. But the next day they would have to go back to being ashamed.
The gay community of a city will typically present an annual parade, sometimes in the context of a longer celebration including performances, dances, street parties, and the like. Most gay pride parades take place in the summer, particularly in June, to commemorate the Stonewall riots.
History
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In June 1969, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and queer persons rioted following a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. The Stonewall riots are generally considered to be the beginning of the modern gay rights movement, as it was the first time in modern history that a significant body of LGBT people resisted arrest.
On June 28, 1970, around the one-year anniversary of the riots, the Gay Liberation Front organized a march from Greenwich Village to Central Park in New York City in commemoration of the Stonewall Riots. The march was coordinated by Brenda Howard. A march was also held in San Francisco in 1970.
The marches were repeated in the following years, and over the years similar marches began to be held in other cities throughout the world. The marches became known as Gay Pride marches.
Many parades still have this political or activist character, especially in less gay-positive settings. However, in more gay-positive cities, the parades take on a festive or even Mardi Gras-like character. Large parades often involve floats, dancers, drag queens, and amplified music; but, even such celebratory parades usually include political and educational contingents, such as local politicians and marching groups from gay and queer institutions of various kinds. Other typical parade participants include local gay-friendly churches such as Metropolitan Community Churches and Unitarian Universalist Churches, PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), and the gay employee associations from large businesses.
Even the most festive parades often offer some aspect dedicated to remembering victims of AIDS. Some particularly important pride parades are funded by governments and corporate sponsors, and promoted as major tourist attractions for the cities that host them. In some countries, some pride parades are now also called Pride Festivals. Some of these festivals provide a carnival-like atmosphere in a nearby park or city-provided closed-off street, with information booths, music concerts, barbecues, beer stands, contests, sports, and games.
Historically these events were named Gay but have evolved over the years. First to Lesbian and Gay then to today's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT). Some of these changes met with initial resistance in their own communities.
The rainbow flag, sometimes called 'the freedom flag', was first used to symbolize gay pride and diversity by artist Gilbert Baker in 1978, at a gay pride parade in San Francisco in 1978, and is now commonly displayed in gay pride parades throughout the world. As of 2003, it consists of six colored stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The different colors symbolize diversity in the gay community.