Judy, Judy, Judy
It’s Gay Pride month. Many of you probably already know that. A few less of you know why June is the official Gay Pride month, and for you I’ll give the short and quick explanation.
It’s quite simply to celebrate the contribution of a bunch of drag queens and other homosexuals who in late June of 1969, were subjected to another in a continuing series of harassing raids by the New York police. At the time they were mourning the death of Judy Garland, who was a good friend to the Gay community, such as it was in those beleaguered times. To the patrons of the Stonewall Inn, it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, and they finally fought back, taking on their oppressors in a riot that lasted into the wee hours and then began again the next night.
A year after the riots, and the start of the gay rights movement they spawned, they were commemorated in the first Gay Pride parades, a tribute that has continued ever since. I don’t make it to one of the parades every year, but I go as often as I can manage. This year I went to the Portland parade and watched from under a tree that sheltered me from the intermittent rain. I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve gone to a Pride Parade and not come away with some amount of sunburn. Oregon is definitely my new love.
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