Spirit of “Stonewall” marks start of Gay Pride celebration

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The unveiling of the rainbow flag ushers in a weekend of gay pride activities.

On Friday night, hundreds of people are gathering in Balboa Park for the first big event of the weekend, a pride rally.

This is the 41st gay pride celebration in San Diego and this rally is the traditional kickoff.

It's called the, "Spirit of Stonewall" rally, named for the 1969 uprising in New York that launched the Gay Pride movement. 

The scene: Greenwich village on June 26th when New York City police officers raided a gay club, not unusual in that era but this time some of the gay men and woman who were being arrested decided to resist and fought back.

The uprising lasted six days and became known as the Stonewall riots and it became a rallying cry for Gay Rights Activists who have been fighting for the end to harassment and discrimination.

Over the last four decades, San Diegans have honors those early activists with a rally held at the start of pride weekend, a rally that draws on the same spirits of protest and dissent.

This year, the rally has a special significance, falling less than a month after the landmark Supreme Court Decision that now extends gay marriage rights across all 50 states.

For more information about the Gay Pride Parade, visit www.sdpride.org.