This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which took place in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, in New York City. Stonewall was just one of many places in that LGBTQ community of Greenwich that were raided and constantly under harassment from the police, according to History.com.
Since then, June was to be known as LGBTQ Pride month, and the Pride events that take place during this month are to show, recognize, accept, and celebrate the LGBTQ community, their impact, and their rights.
“It’s 2019, people should be chill about people’s identity,” American University student Raymond Diaz said.
“(I’m) happy to see the progress in their community, and remembering those individuals that came before, and the struggles they went through so that the people now don’t have to go through that as much,” American University alum Ivette said.
(The celebrations are) “places where people can be free like a nice day everyday,” she said.
Stonewall helped spark a new era for the LGBTQ community, and just like Stonewall, Evan Glass, Montgomery County council member said he wanted to do the same for the county. Glass said he wanted to launch a new beginning for Pride month, according to Patch.com.
“With the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots just a few weeks away, it is important to reflect on how far we have come as a community and how far we still have to go,” Glass told Patch.com. “I hope Pride 2019 is a starting point to have these conversations and create spaces for residents to connect with each other. If you are an LGBTQ person living in Montgomery County, know that you have a whole community behind you.”
Glass also said that when he got elected, he “realized there were no coordinated events to celebrate Pride.” He went on to say that he “wanted to make sure that all of our families have a place in Montgomery County where they can come together as families, friends, and allies, and celebrate our wonderful diversity,” according to Metroweekly.com.
There are 2,184 same-sex couples in Montgomery County, according to williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu. This makes it the second-most same-sex couples in all of Maryland, according to a project done by the The Williams Institute.
The Pride events in the county include their first ever LGBTQ Family Day on June 23 at Maryland’s historic Glen Echo Park. This is the first LGBTQ event the park has ever hosted. There was also a drag performance at a LGBTQ-owned business, Denizens Brewery, a screening of Before Stonewall at the AFI Silver Theatre, a Pride flag-raising ceremony, and many others with the MoCo Pride Party in Rockville Town Center being the final event to conclude the Montgomery County Pride celebrations, according to Metroweekly.com.
MoCo Pride Center’s goal is to “organize, support, educate, and provide outreach to the LGBTQ community and its allies,” Mocopridecenter.com wrote.
June 29 marks the first-ever MoCo Pride Party 2019 run by the non-profit organization MoCo Pride Center in Montgomery County. “This pride celebration will feature all night entertainment, an unforgettable community atmosphere, food and drink vendors, and local queer organizations. Featuring performances by RuPaul’s Drag Race Superstar, Peppermint,” the website wrote.
“We want to spread a message of hope and compassion. We believe that a single action can make a difference in a community, and that collective actions can greatly impact the world,” MoCo Pride Center stated.