Speaking of the rainbow flag, it was actually gay politician Harvey Milk who asked a talented designer friend, Gilbert Baker, to design an all-encompassing symbol to take to San Francisco’s Pride March in 1978. This eventually morphed into what we now know as the New York City Pride March and was the catalyst for the formation of similar parades and marches across the world. Known as ‘The Mother of Pride,’ Brenda organized Gay Pride Week and the Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade a year after the Stonewall Riots. Pride Month is largely credited as being started by bisexual activist Brenda Howard. The message was clear - protestors demanded the establishment of places where LGBT+ people could go and be open about their sexual orientation without fear of arrest. Johnson, leading the movement to continue over six days with protests and clashes.
Among the many leaders of the riots was a black, trans, bisexual woman, Marsha P. On a hot summer’s night in New York on June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village, which resulted in bar patrons, staff, and neighborhood residents rioting onto Christopher Street outside.
