About

The Stonewall Uprising was a series of events in New York City between police and LGBTQ protesters over a six-day period. While not the first time police raided a gay bar and not the first time LGBTQ+ people fought back, the events that unfolded fundamentally changed the discourse around LGBTQ+ activism in the United States Read more here.

The nonprofit organization Christopher Street West (CSW) was formed in 1970 to organize a parade commemorating the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. Annual Pride parades commenced in Hollywood.

Originally called “Gay Pride” in the 1970s, Pride became an annual celebration in Hollywood during most of the 1970s before moving to West Hollywood in 1979, five years before the City of West Hollywood was incorporated as a municipality in 1984.

In the 1980s, Gay Pride was renamed “Christopher Street West” in honor of the New York City street where the Stonewall Uprising occurred. The ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic heavily impacted it, and the parade became a powerful tool for raising awareness and funds for the fight against the disease.

Upon its incorporation in 1984, the City of West Hollywood became the first city with a majority LGBTQ City Council. In the decades since, West Hollywood has become one of the most influential cities in the nation for its outspoken advocacy on LGBTQ issues with an enduring impact on the national public policy discourse on fairness and inclusiveness for LGBTQ people.

Pride evolved into “Gay and Lesbian Pride” and then came to be known as “LGBT Pride” in 2001.

In 2022, the City of West Hollywood inaugurated WeHo Pride with programming that represents diverse LGBTQ community groups as part of visibility, expression, and celebration. West Hollywood is a community of choice for LGBTQ people from throughout the region, the state, the nation, and the globe, and WeHo Pride embraces a source of deep connection for its unique LGBTQ history and culture.