Inside Pride
A history of the Pride movement
by Mark Willis

What we know as Pride began with a small civil disturbance in New York’s Greenwich Village. Bars that attracted gay and lesbian customers were often subjected to police harassment, usually a raid, including the arrest of anyone in the bar deemed "deviant." In late June of 1969, a raid on one of these bars, the Stonewall Inn, resulted in several nights of conflict now called the Stonewall Riots. Although barely noticed at the time (and much smaller than many similar incidents of the era), it is the event that most of us consider the birth of our equal rights movement.

A year later, the events at the Stonewall were commemorated by a march in New York, as well as in several major cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. The tone was one of protest rather than celebration, and most ended with a political rally rather than a festival.

Over the next several years this movement attempted to define its identity, moving from calling itself Gay Liberation and similar names, on to what we now call Pride. Even now, some locations don’t call it Pride, for instance, the Alan Ross Freedom Parade in Dallas or Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. Organizers in France and Germany use "Christopher Street Day" in recognition of the location of the Stonewall Inn. However, Pride is generally accepted as the overall term for the movement.

Over the years we have often been spurred to action by events that affected us negatively. After Stonewall ignited the first wave of Pride activity, the wave continued in response to the homophobic campaigning of singer/orange juice queen Anita Bryant and the murder of gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk. And in Sydney, Australia, police used brutal force to suppress the Aussies’ first march, creating their own Stonewall. In response to these events, cities all over the country and world, including Houston, held their first gay march or rally.

In 1982, members from five of the major groups organizing these events met in Boston, and founded a network of support that is now known as InterPride.

Through the challenges of the ’80s and ’90s, the number of Pride celebrations increased, and spread all around the world. We estimate that there are nearly 400 Pride celebrations internationally. There are parades, marches, rallies, festivals, dances, picnics, proms, and any other type of event you can imagine. The smallest are a hundred people or less in rural communities or places where it’s viewed as dangerous to gather and be identified as gay or lesbian. The mega-Prides of New York, San Francisco, Toronto, and Sydney attract more than 800,000 people. Some communities have a week or more of events, and some are on one day only. Most are in the month of June, but some have moved to the spring or autumn months to beat the heat. Some have even followed Houston’s lead (we were the first!) and gone to a night parade.

We are fortunate to be in Houston, for we have the largest Pride parade in the South Central and Southwestern United States, and have one of the most diverse and inclusive group of participants and spectators anywhere. We have consistently been one of the leading organizations in InterPride and are respected for our stability and experience.

Every group needs a day to celebrate its identity. Whether it’s St. Patrick’s Day or Cinco de Mayo, Juneteenth or Bastille Day, a recognized holiday or season brings a diverse group together, creating unity, if for only a very short time. We have Pride. Having our community on display lets people know there is a whole new world to explore beyond the bars and nightclubs. When people know they are not alone, coming out becomes easier.

I wish everyone a festive Pride season, and hope you will attend some of the many events here in Houston, and even travel to experience Pride elsewhere. Even though it’s my busiest month of the year, it’s still one of my favorite holidays. I hope you will take advantage of all it has to offer, and enjoy it as much as I do.

Mark Willis has been involved with the Pride Committee of Houston since 1997 as both parade coordinator and as secretary. In 2000 he was elected to be one of the regional directors of InterPride, the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Pride Coordinators. (See InterPride’s global Pride calendar at www.InterPride.org.) Originally from New Orleans, Willis has lived in Houston since 1991.