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The City of Pasadena will once again raise the Pride Flag at City Hall at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, June 2, in recognition of LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
This year marks the fifth consecutive year the flag has been raised since the City began the tradition in 2021.
The inaugural flag-raising stemmed from a request by the late Councilmember John J. Kennedy, who acted after Pamela Weatherspoon, then newly appointed vice president of Enterprise Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Huntington Hospital, urged the City to join the hospital in flying the rainbow flag in a visible show of support.
The event launches Pasadena’s official participation in Pride Month, which is celebrated nationally in June to honor the legacy of the 1969 Stonewall Riots.
The uprisings began after New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village, under the pretext of a liquor license violation.
Thirteen people were arrested, and tensions escalated after reports surfaced that officers were inspecting patrons’ clothing to enforce gender conformity laws.
The situation turned violent after an officer struck a woman and attempted to force her into a police van, triggering six days of protests and demonstrations. The Stonewall Riots are widely regarded as a turning point in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
On the one-year anniversary of the raid, the first Pride marches were held in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Thousands of LGBTQ+ Americans and their allies marched in solidarity from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park, laying the foundation for what is now an annual national celebration.
In 2016, President Barack Obama designated the Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. national monument to honor LGBTQ+ history.
Pasadena’s Pride Month observance is part of a broader effort to celebrate inclusivity, community, and the continued fight for equal rights.
More information on Pride Month events and resources will be made available through the City’s official channels.
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