In honor of Pride Month, we took a stroll to the Stonewall Inn Historic Site. The Stonewall Inn (“the Stonewall”) is a historically LGBTQ+ bar located on Christopher Street in the West Village. In the 1960s, it was illegal for bars to serve anyone suspected of being gay, so the Stonewall operated illegally as a gay bar. On June 28th, 1969, the police raided the Stonewall, as they had numerous times in the past. However, this time the patrons resisted, crowding outside to chant and throw objects at the police. This led to days of rioting and inspired decades of social change and activism for LGBTQ+ rights. Now, over fifty years later, pride month is celebrated every year in June in honor of the June 1969 Stonewall uprising.

Named a National Historic Landmark in 2000, the Stonewall welcomes visitors year-round. The Stonewall and neighboring Christopher Street Park are ideal to learn more of the history of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement.

As summer starts, Lincoln Center, the world-famous performing arts complex, is bringing music, dancing, and celebration to New Yorkers with a slate of over 300 events lined up through August, including social dances on “New York City’s largest outdoor dance floor” under an enormous disco ball, a group wedding celebration for “folks whose weddings were canceled or diminished because of the pandemic,” and performances of live music, poetry, theatre, and dance. Throughout June, Lincoln Center is also celebrating Pride month, coloring the iconic plaza steps and fountain the rainbow colors of the Pride flag. They are also hosting series of free events celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community. Pride is a time for celebration, and this year is especially celebratory, as communities begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The “symbolic Pride colors flying high up in the sky and boldly sprawling across the main stairs” make a beautiful image of solidarity and support at one of New York City’s most iconic landmarks.