This June marks the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in Greenwich Village, New York.  After  police stormed the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar, in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, bar  patrons were joined outside by neighborhood residents and homeless youth in the ensuing chaos. The police were outnumbered by hundreds. Bottles and rocks were thrown by people who were no longer prepared to tolerate the trampling of their civil rights. A year later, marches would be held to commemorate Stonewall in New York, Chicago, and Washington. By 1972, Detroit was among the many cities in the United States and abroad hosting Gay Pride marches. The event marked a turning point in the struggle for LGBT rights.  

Today, the commemoration of the Stonewall Uprising has been incorporated into Pride Month, celebrated in June and expanded to include the celebration of the much broader LGBTQI (lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-queer/questioning-intersex-asexual or agender) community. Michigan cities celebrate with Pride marches, rallies, and festivals, from Detroit to Traverse City, Grand Rapids to Lansing, Flint, and Ferndale. (Check out the University of Michigan’s online exhibit on Michigan’s LGBT Heritage.) The number of towns celebrating grows as awareness of the contributions of LGBTQIA people and the continued need to protect the civil rights of all people increases.  

Of course, standing up for the rights of and celebrating the local LGBTQIA population isn’t limited to the month of June. Local resources, such as Affirmations and Ruth Ellis Center, offer education, advocacy, support, and social opportunities for local LGBTQIA youth and allies year-round. Between the Lines covers local and regional LGBTQI related news.  

Here on campus, the McNichols Campus Library has a range of relevant books, journals, articles, and databases dedicated to gender and sexuality studies (scroll back on our Library Blog to check out Librarian Pat Higo’s Book of the Week blog post on Gay Culture and the Pride Month book display in the library now!), as well as civil rights and other intersecting topics. For help finding these titles, search our catalog found on the Library website, visit the Library in person, or contact a University of Detroit Mercy Librarian.