Ep 34: PRIDE AS PROTEST

Welcome to this special episode of Queer Onda El Paso:  From the Stonewall Riots of 1969 to the front lines of the LGBTQIA+ rights struggle of 2026, Pride continues to be one of our community's most visible assemblies.

This is an account of the very first Pride protest.

In 1969, homosexuality was classified as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association, and laws in most states criminalized same-sex activity. Police raids were routine. New York City police regularly raided gay bars. The Stonewall Inn, located at 51 and 53 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, was one of the few places queer people—particularly drag queens, transgender women of color, gay men, and lesbians—could gather. On Friday, June 27, 1969, at 1:20 a.m., New York City Police Department officers raided the Stonewall Inn under the authority of the State Liquor Authority. Approximately 200 patrons were present. Police began arresting employees and patrons who did not conform to gender-appropriate clothing laws.
      A crowd outside began to gather and grow. In previous raids, the crowd quickly dispersed. This time, they resisted. Patrons and bystanders began throwing coins, bottles, and debris at police. A lesbian woman in handcuffs was struck by officers and shouted to the crowd to fight back. This is widely credited as igniting the full-scale riot.
"We are proud. We are sisters. We are proud. We are—" Police barricaded themselves inside the Stonewall Inn. The crowd swelled to hundreds. Riot police were called in and clashed with protesters throughout Greenwich Village. Key figures present included Marsha P. Johnson, a Black transgender woman and activist, and Sylvia Rivera, a Latina transgender activist, both of whom participated in the resistance.

"See the gay revolution get started." "If a transvestite doesn't say, 'I'm gay and I'm proud and I'm a transvestite,' then nobody else is going to hop up there and say, 'I'm gay and I'm proud and I'm a transvestite' for them." "History isn't something you look back at and say was inevitable. It happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities." —Marsha P. Johnson

Protests and clashes continued for a second night. Crowds chanted and confronted police. The Village Voice published coverage using derogatory language, sparking further outrage from the community. Within 24 hours, headlines brought attention to the riots: "Gays Hit New York Cops." Thousands of homosexuals held a protest rally in Central Park. Other headlines read: "Support Gay Power." "Sunday night had fewer chants but more fag follies," as the Voice called them. "Defend the Fairies." In the wake of this first uprising, community members began organizing. Flyers circulated calling for a unified LGBTQ+ response to police brutality. Smaller protests and vigils were held throughout Greenwich Village.

On July 2, 1969, a third and fourth wave of protests erupted, drawing larger and more politically organized crowds. "Lock him up. I told you, lock him up. Lock him up. I told you. I told you." By late July, only a few weeks later, the Gay Liberation Front was founded, one of the first gay rights organizations to use the word liberation and adopt an explicitly political framework. The Gay Activists Alliance was also formed, focused on direct political action and civil rights. On June 28, 1970, the first Gay Pride marches were held simultaneously in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago, commemorating the one-year anniversary of Stonewall. These marches are the direct forerunners of modern Pride celebrations worldwide.

  Historians cite the Stonewall riots as the catalyst that began the transformation of Pride into an open, confrontational civil rights movement. Words and phrases like liberation, pride, and coming out became part of a national discussion. But more than protest and discussion, real change was imminent.

"Well, that interruption of our broadcast a moment ago was by a member of something called Gay Raiders, an organization protesting, he said, CBS's alleged defamation of homosexuals on entertainment programs."

•  By 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
•  Legislative and political changes occurred quickly after that decision. In 1974, Elaine Noble became the first openly gay person elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature. •  The gay rights movement continued to affect change in the coming decades.
•   Restrictions on civil service were lifted. Gay men and lesbians were no longer banned from federal employment. The Briggs Initiative—which would have banned gay and lesbian individuals from working as teachers in public schools—was defeated.
•   Same-sex relationships were decriminalized in California and Wisconsin.
•   Federal employment protections against discrimination were enacted by President Bill Clinton.
•   Civil unions were legalized in Vermont.
•   Thirty-five states and Washington, D.C., repealed their sodomy laws, either through legislative action or state court rulings, culminating in Lawrence v. Texas in 2003.
•   In 2004, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. From 2008 to 2014, a growing number of states—including California, New York, and Washington—began legalizing same-sex marriage through state court rulings, legislation, or ballot measures.
•   In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor, allowing the federal government to recognize legally performed same-sex marriages. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives significantly expanded LGBTQ+ visibility and inclusion.
•  While there is no comprehensive federal anti-discrimination law for sexual orientation or gender identity, more than 22 states and major municipalities enacted local laws protecting LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. But despite all this progress, the future of our rights would soon become uncertain.

This report from CBS News in 2026: "When President Trump took office one year ago, he distanced himself from Project 2025, that 900-page plan that lays out how the government should run according to conservative principles. But his administration has rolled out policies that closely align with many pillars of the blueprint..." In the current political climate of 2026, Stonewall is increasingly evoked as a reminder that LGBTQ+ rights were never given—they were fought for. That fight continues today, particularly in the face of anti-transgender legislation.
"Texas lawmakers have filed a record number of bills this year aimed at the LGBTQ community. According to civil rights groups, more than half of the 200-plus bills target transgender Texans. Families tell us they're feeling forced to choose between their state and their children." —Anchor Zach Lashway, KPRC Houston Many activists in 2026 are explicitly invoking Stonewall to argue that Pride must return to its protest roots, pointing out that the first Pride was a march, not a party, and that the current moment demands that same energy. "I mean, we're at a crossroads right now with true fascism in this country. They're rolling back rights for everybody, and so, yeah, we've got to get out and get our voices heard." In 2026, it seems our work has just begun again.