Stonewall Inn: Where Pride Began
What happened at the Stonewall Inn in 1969?
The Stonewall Inn, located in New York City’s Greenwich Village, was one of the few places where LGBTQIA+ people could exist openly in the 1960s. Still, it wasn’t safe.
Bars like Stonewall were often targets of police raids, and queer folks lived under constant threat.
But on June 28, 1969, when police raided the bar again, something shifted: people fought back.
That moment sparked what we now call the Stonewall riots, a pivotal event in LGBTQ+ pride history and the beginning of Pride Month as we know it.
It wasn’t just a riot. It was the start of a movement
The Stonewall uprising lasted several nights. It wasn’t led by corporations or city permits. It was fueled by queer streetwear, bricks, heels, and fury.
Activists like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, both trans women of color, became powerful symbols of the resistance. Their fight paved the way for today's LGBTQ+ fashion, queer pride outfits, and visibility in public spaces.
Hand-painted message on a boarded-up Stonewall Inn window, placed by the Mattachine Society after the June 1969 uprising: “We homosexuals plead with our people to please help maintain peaceful and quiet conduct on the streets of the Village — Mattachine.”
Photo by Diana Davies. Courtesy of The New York Public Library Digital Collections.
📎 Want to know how fashion became part of this fight?
Read: The History of LGBTQ+ Fashion and Its Influence
From protest to Pride
Exactly one year later, on June 28, 1970, thousands marched in the first Pride parade, known as the Christopher Street Liberation Day March.
It marked the beginning of global Pride celebrations, where pride clothing and gender-neutral outfits became more than statements. They became declarations of survival.
📎 Explore how Pride parades became powerful symbols of visibility:
Read: How Pride Parades Became Symbols of Freedom
Pride started as protest. And still is!
The LGBTQ+ visibility we have today didn’t happen by accident. It was built by people who wore their truth when it was dangerous.
From genderless clothing to queer fashion, every piece we wear in June (and all year) connects back to those nights outside the Stonewall Inn.
Pride isn’t about perfection. The Stonewall Inn was mafia-owned and exclusionary. But what happened there proved that even imperfect spaces can spark lasting change.
📎 Read how visibility became a daily act of self-care:
Read: Wearing Pride: How Visibility Became Self-Care
We wear what they fought for
At Miltti, we turn protest into purpose. Our pride t-shirts, gender-neutral clothing, and queer streetwear are made to honor those who stood up at Stonewall and for everyone still fighting today.
Explore how fashion becomes activism in our Pride Nation Collection.
Written by the Miltti Team | June 2025