Pride Month = Judy Garland Month

Hope you all are having the most wonderful and gayest Pride EVER!

Every June sees all of the LGBTQ+ community coming out (literally and figuratively) for a celebration of their existence, with parades and gatherings. We have so much fun at these events that it may be easy to forget how serious our movement still is. Why is June pride month? Why is the rainbow our pride symbol?

It’s because of our first and greatest hero, the one and only Judy Garland.

Let’s have a look at a few key aspects of Garland and her life that made her one of our greatest heroes and an icon still today.

Judy was born on June 10, 1922 and died on June 22, 1969 and was laid to rest on June 27th.

Beyond her starring turn in 1939's epic The Wizard of Oz, Judy is a gay icon because of the many, many gay men in her life.

Judy’s father, Frank Gumm, was a closeted gay man whose relationship with another young man caused the family to move West from their hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 1926.

At least two of Garland’s five husband were known to have relationships with men.

Some of Judy’s closest artistic collaborators were gay men, including Roger Edens, who did all of Judy’s musical arrangements on film and the stage.

Over the Rainbow, Judy’s signature song, is widely seen as the source of our iconic Pride Flag.

The Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969 changed the course of gay liberation in America. The historic night when the gays fought back against a police raid of the Stonewall Inn Gay Bar in Greenwich Village is widely regarded as the launch of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. The main conversation at the Inn that night was who had been to Judy’s funeral earlier that day. According to one man who was at the riots, many gay men actually cried out “Pray for us Saint Judy!”

At Judy’s Centennial Gala last night, the Mayor of West Hollywood Lauren Meister present Judy’s children with a declaration that June 10th would officially be Judy Garland day. It already was and that is why all of June, Pride Month, is Judy Month.

Thank you Judy and HAPPY PRIDE!

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