Do you know why June is LGBT Pride Month? June was chosen to celebrate the LGBT community to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, which occurred at the end of June 1969. The Stonewall Inn is a gay bar in the Greenwich Village of Manhattan, New York City that was a safe haven for openly gay men, drag queens, and homeless youth and was raided by the police on June 28, 1969. Legally, the police were raiding Stonewall due to serving liquor without a license. Politically, the raid was fueled by a rise in homophobia and the anti-gay legal system in the 1950s and 1960s. There was also a rise in other social movements such as the anti-Vietnam movement and the civil rights movement that further fueled law enforcement and “encouraged” them to take action on groups fighting for their constitutional rights.
Once the police raided the Stonewall Inn, the crowd began throwing bottles at police officers, and the protest continued into the neighboring streets. The riot was followed by several days of protests and demonstrations in New York and catapulted the organization of many gay, lesbian, and bisexual groups and associations.
As of June 6, 2019, NYPD Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill apologized for the riots on behalf of the NYPD, stating, “What happened should not have happened. The actions taken by the NYPD were wrong, plain and simple. The actions and the laws were discriminatory and oppressive, and for that, I apologize.”
50 years later, the LGBT community is still being celebrated all month long. Corporations are no exception, and Nike is getting in on a piece of the Pride with their BETRUE collection. According to Nike, BETRUE aims to “celebrate the passion and pursuit of sport by all athletes with the collection, which supports initiatives to end discrimination in sport.” Even though Pride is only celebrated for one month, the LGBT community needs our support all year round now more than ever. Check out the items from the BETRUE collection below, and head to Nike.com to make a purchase.
