Stonewall Columbus is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

serving the

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

, and

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

(

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

) population of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. The organization is located in the

Short North The Short North is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, United States, centered on the main strip of High Street (Columbus, Ohio), High Street immediately north of the Arena District and extending until just south of the University District (Columb ...

district of Columbus. Stonewall Columbus is the organizer of the annual Columbus Pride. The organization operates the Stonewall Columbus Community Center, a building in the Short North. The community center was funded with $3.8 million in donations and opened in 2019. It expanded upon their previous center, known as the Center on High.

History

Stonewall Columbus was founded as Stonewall Union in 1981. Stonewall Union was incorporated by local Columbus, Ohio gay activists (

Craig Covey Craig Covey (born 1957) is an American politician who served as Mayor of Ferndale, Michigan from 2008 to 2011. He was the second openly gay mayor elected in the state of Michigan. A Democrat, he resigned the office in 2010 to take a seat on the ...

, Steve Wilson, Rick Rommele, Craig Huffman, Dennis Valot, Val Thogmartin and Keith McKnight) in 1981, in response to

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch ...

's attempt to establish a Columbus based

Moral Majority The Moral Majority was an American political organization and movement associated with the Christian right and the Republican Party in the United States. It was founded in 1979 by Baptist minister Jerry Falwell Sr. and associates, and dissolv ...

headquarters. It held its first pride parade in 1982, following a small parade in 1981. Since then, the group's annual event, Columbus Pride, has become the second largest pride event in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

Controversy: 2017 Parade

In 2017, a controversy arose when four

protesters A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

were arrested during the Stonewall Columbus

pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

. The protesters were blocking the parade from proceeding, and protesting Stonewall's lack of

intersectionality Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these intersecting and overlapping factor ...

and the large volume of

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

at the event. The protesters, known as the Black Pride 4, ignored police orders to clear the street and were then arrested. Three of the protesters were sentenced to community service and probation. The controversy prompted a dispute over Stonewall Columbus's view of racial minorities. Amid calls for the organization's director to step down, the pride festival coordinator resigned, admitting the group a unsympathetic to gay and transgender people of color. Stonewall's director retired the following year. Also in 2018, Black Queer & Intersectional Collective hosted Columbus Community Pride, as an alternative to Stonewall Columbus's event, on the same day. The group hired a black, trans-owned security company to monitor their festival, and refused any corporate sponsors.

Public Art Installation

Pride Circles In December 2021, Stonewall Columbus unveiled "Pride Circles," the first permanent

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

installation in the public right-of-way in the City of

Columbus, OH Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. Created by local visual artist Lisa McLymont, this installation features representations of various LGBTQ+ pride and identity flags arranged in the form of ripples on a pond. The artwork, made of thermoplastic, symbolizes the impact of individual efforts in creating broader societal change, akin to the queer rights movement. The ripples coalesce around the entrance of the Stonewall Columbus Community Center.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://stonewallcolumbus.org/
Columbus Pride

Lavender Listings
Organizations based in Columbus, Ohio LGBTQ community centers in the United States LGBTQ in Ohio Non-profit organizations based in Ohio Organizations established in 1981 High Street (Columbus, Ohio)

History

Controversy: 2017 Parade

Public Art Installation

See also

References

External links