Lost amid a pandemic and recent incidents that brought another civil rights issue back to the forefront is the fact that the month of June, historically, is Pride Month, a time of celebration among the members of the LGBTQ community. Pride Month is normally marked with many activities throughout the region, including the annual parade through the streets of New Paltz. That’s not happening this year.

As with other groups that fought for civil rights and equality, this movement had a very dark beginning more than half a century ago.

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police launched a raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay nightclub in Greenwich Village. Although it was not the first time the club was raided (management was often tipped off when police were on their way) this one did not go as planned. A crowd outside swelled to the size of a mob and began to resist. By 4 a.m., a full-scale riot had ensued. The events that took place at the Stonewall Inn led to the first gay pride parades in the United States and in many other countries. One year later, a march was led from Greenwich Village to the Sheep Meadow in Central Park.

The New York City Gay Pride Parade became an annual event, and the building that housed the Stonewall Inn – though it would change hands several times over the next 50 years – was designated a National Landmark in 2000. On June 24, 2016, the Stonewall National Monument was named the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the LGBTQ-rights movement.

The movement has spread north along the river. The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center was founded in 2005 in Kingston, as the community center for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer residents of the mid-Hudson Valley. It offers counseling and other services for the community. In 2018, the Newburgh LGBTQ center officially opened its doors on South William Street.

This year’s celebration is tempered by a pandemic that has largely kept us all indoors for the past three months and overshadowed by the death of George Floyd and other events that have brought the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront. There is some overlap among all civil rights movements: good people who support equality and justice can find more than one cause to embrace. While this year’s pride event may be taking place on your laptop or smart phone, they remain as important as the cause they represent.

The region’s LGBTQ community is vibrant, creative and productive. In addition to one member of Congress, its members are business owners, parents, community activists and many others who make a positive contribution to the quality of life here. They understand that the struggle to end all forms of discrimination, hate and bigotry has not ended, but can mark the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising as a sign of progress.

We can, and must continue to move forward in the struggle against hate.