On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City – one of the few establishments that served the LGBTQ+ community.
This raid kicked off a massive series of demonstrations called the Stonewall riots, which served as the catalyst for the gay liberation movement and LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S.
Now, we celebrate the brave people who fought against homophobia during the month of June, or Pride Month.
This Pride Month is especially poignant because we are honoring and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. On June 1, Fresno held their annual Tower Pride Parade and our reporters were able to capture the following beautiful moments from that day.
As you look through the joy and sense of community that the parade produced, we challenge you to remember the contributions and impact LGBTQ+ folx have had in the world. And, though Pride Month is ending, the celebration of LGBTQ+ achievements should not stop. Being proud of your identity, sexuality and history is an everyday celebration.
So carry on and happy Pride.
In 2006, over 25 youth began participating in weekly after-school writing workshops where they congregated in the hallway of a two-story building in West Fresno and learned the essentials of creating media and telling their stories. The group evolved over the next five years and is now proudly recognized as The kNOw Youth Media.
Through our program, we create opportunities for our youth participants, who in turn create long-term positive change in their communities. Our approach weaves youth development and youth media innovation to produce our biannual youth publication, multimedia projects, and community forums.
The kNOw began as a project of New America Media, which was the country’s first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000 ethnic news organizations. In 2018 The kNOw became a project of Youth Leadership Institute.
