Gay Pride parade on Peachtree Street, 2011.
As one of the most welcoming American cities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, Atlanta is recognized as a city where equality is promoted and celebrated. The Atlanta History Center holds an important collection of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals, film, and artifacts documenting LGBTQ history in Atlanta.
In 1971, the Georgia Gay Liberation Front led the first organized march from Peachtree Street to Piedmont Park with about one-hundred participants. The annual event occurred until recently in late June to mark the anniversary of the June 28, 1969, police raid and uprising outside the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. The Stonewall Riot served as a catalyst for the gay liberation movement in the United States.
Today, Atlanta’s Pride Parade occurs in the cooler month of October to coincide with National Coming Out Day. The event typically attracts as many as 200,000 participants. According the LGBTQ media outlet Georgia Voice, “Atlanta is epicenter of the LGBT South. Home to a vibrant gay community … it’s easy to see why The Advocate dubbed Atlanta as America’s ‘gayest city’ of 2010.
