Making Gay History Podcast: Celebrating Pride Month With A Historic Re-Release

The concept of Pride Month began with the Stonewall riots, a series of riots for gay liberation that took place over several days beginning on June 28, 1969. The riots began after a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar located within Lower Manhattan in New York City

In June 1999, US President Bill Clinton declared "the anniversary of [the] Stonewall [riots] every June in America as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month". In 2011, President Barack Obama expanded the officially recognized Pride Month to include the whole of the LGBT community. In 2017 Donald Trump declined to continue the federal recognition of Pride Month in the United States, though he later recognized it in 2019 in a Tweet later used as a Presidential Proclamation.

 This year, for Stonewall’s 55th Anniversary, the Making Gay History podcast is re-releasing their fifth season, a look inside the 1969 Stonewall Uprising from the people who were actually there.

This re-release is also coming with some exciting extras: a bonus episode interview with June Thomas, former head of Slate podcasts, co-host of Working, and author of an upcoming book on lesbian spaces. Making Gay History host Eric Marcus, New York Times bestseller and author of a dozen books including two editions of Making Gay History, will also be on a panel for a live recording of Slate’s Slow Burn at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

Making Gay History is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that addresses the absence of substantive, in-depth LGBTQ+-inclusive American history from the public discourse and the classroom. By sharing the stories of those who helped a despised minority take its rightful place in society as full and equal citizens, we aim to encourage connection, pride, and solidarity within the LGBTQ+ community—and to provide an entry point for both allies and the public to its largely hidden history.

Eric Marcus is the author of a dozen books, including two editions of Making Gay History (the original 1992 edition is entitled Making History), Why Suicide?, and Breaking the Surface, the #1 New York Times bestselling autobiography of Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis.

Marcus is also the co-producer of Those Who Were There, a podcast drawn from the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies. He is the founder and chair emeritus of the Stonewall 50 Consortium and is a founding board member of the American LGBTQ+ Museum.

Last month, Marcus acted as the interviewer of Jordan Gonsalves on his new podcast But We Loved. On this newly released iHeart podcast, host Jordan Gonsalves uncovers the untold stories of queer history through intimate interviews with LGBTQ+ elders. Marcus is an inspired choice, and he guides Gonsalves through his own personal journey with the steady hand of a ship's captain in a storm.

Check out the Making Gay History podcast as it re-releases its fifth season, a look inside the 1969 Stonewall Uprising from the people who were actually there.

For those who believe the Stonewall riots in June 1969 is only "gay history," I would re-think that conclusion. Like the Civil Rights movements in the 1960s, Stonewall symbolizes Americans who will not stand to be oppressed any longer.

Human Rights Activist Barbara Gittings said it best:“Equality means more than passing laws. The struggle is really won in the hearts and minds of the community, where it really counts.”