Every summer, Houston celebrates its Pride Parade in commemoration of the L.G.B.T civil rights movement that took place from 1969 up to the 1970s.

The month of June is the L.G.B.T Pride Month, in which cities across the United States commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riot that took place in Manhattan, and it is also the first major modern civil rights movement for the L.G.B.T community. For that, many large cities and smaller communities host a Pride Parade.

Houston, Texas is one of the many cities that hold a rich history in the L.G.B.T civil rights movement.

Image Description: Audiovisual Archivist Librarian, Emily Vinson, and Coordinator of Digital Projects Librarian, Bethany Scott.

The University of Houston has taken upon themselves to move forward and preserve any documentation, videos, or audio interviews from former L.G.B.T civil rights activists in Houston.

As Emily Vinson and Bethany Scott both librarians for The University of Houston point out that, “It's important and it's great to know where you come from and know the past generations [...] especially the LGBT communities [...] And this history is not documented in a lot of places around town, we are trying to preserve this history for the community and for a lot of researchers.”

Vinson points out that, when people first think about the gay rights movement, the first thought that comes to mind is New York or L.A. but rarely do people think of a southern city such as Houston as being a leader in the gay rights movement.

“Historically Montrose is one of the biggest gay communities in the country. And the Houston Pride Parade started out as a protest when singer, Anita Bryant, came to Houston to campaign against the gay community. Anita Bryant was part of the Traditional Values Movement, and she came to speak in Houston and as a result, an enormous protest erupted, and that’s really what started the Pride Parade in Houston” said Vinson.



Aside from rallying against Anita Bryant, Houston would also be one of the major cities to first take a look at the aid epidemic during the 1980s.

Today, the Montrose area and Houston, in general, continue to have a large and thriving L.G.B.T community.

And Houston, every year, will continue to host a Pride Parade in commemoration of not only its own history but also that of other L.G.B.T civil rights movements tha took place across the United States.