Rainbow flags at New York Pride, United States

The riot that lit the rainbow. Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising

In the early hours of June 28, 1969, a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village, met unexpected resistance. Fed up with years of harassment, LGBTQIA+ patrons fought back. What followed was six days of unrest—and the start of a movement. Led in part by American trans activists like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, the uprising challenged not only police brutality but society's silence. Stonewall wasn't the beginning of queer existence, but it was the moment people said 'no more' loud enough to be heard worldwide.

The first Pride marches came the next year, not as parties, but as protests. Thousands marched in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago to mark the anniversary of Stonewall. In Canada, similar calls for justice followed. The 'We Demand' protest in 1971 on Parliament Hill sparked several small-scale gatherings across the country, which became Canada's first large-scale public LGBTQ demonstrations. This was followed by the first Pride Week in Toronto in 1972, which included a march to Queen's Park.

Today, Stonewall stands as a symbol of resilience. It reminds us that Pride began with bricks, not branding. So, as rainbow flags wave each June, remember the power of resistance—and that the first Pride was a riot with a cause.