Under the stewardship of community members, Stephen Fortunato and the ACLU, we sued and won. This was not an easy task, as they were denied the permits to create their events and had to sue the City and the 1976 Bicentennial Committee to be able to march. Forty-five years ago, the first Pride march took place in Providence in June of 1976. In 1988, in commemoration of the March on Washington (for LGBTQ+ rights) the year before, activists Robert Eichberg and Jean O’Leary established National Coming Out Day to raise awareness and visibility to our community in the areas of civil rights just as the tidal wave called the AIDS pandemic took aim at our community.Ģ021 is significant for us in Rhode Island.
October 11th likewise has special significance. Today not only the United States, but many other countries including Australia, Brazil, Hungary, Ireland, and the United Kingdom have established a month-long dedication to our important history.
In 1994, Rodney Wilson, a high school teacher from Missouri wanted to use the entire month to teach about our community’s history and to celebrate individuals who have made an impact in our world. 45th Anniversary of the very first Pride March and 20th Anniversary of the first Illuminated Night Pride Parade among a few of these momentsįor decades the month of October has been recognized here in the United States as LGBTQIA+ History Month.
