In case you haven’t seen the celebrity videos, rainbow-styled breakfasts or elaborate drag shows (see: tweet below), Boston is in the midst of Pride Week. As its name alludes, Pride Week is 10-day series of engaging events and programs aimed at commemorating the city’s diversity and goal of equality. But before we can properly and thoroughly enjoy the initiatives courtesy of organizer Boston Pride, let’s take a look back at its history and see how the celebration became the largest public event in New England.

BostInno spoke with Sylvain Bruni, president of Boston Pride, to find out how the organization came into fruition and the impact it’s had on the community over the years. Bruni has been the group’s head honcho since being elected in January, but officially joined back in 2004.

A native of France, he trekked across the world to study at MIT. He was initially looking for a way to assimilate with other students and subsequently became involved with Boston Pride, first chairing the parade for a couple of years before joining the board of directors in 2007.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when Boston Pride became a tangible association because he’s only been at the helm for a short while, he told us. But still, he traces its roots back to one of the most contentious eras in the history of our country: The 1960s.

The Stonewall riots in 1969 were the culmination of intolerant New York police and unaccepted LGBTQs who frequented Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn. The riots were a sequence of protests and demonstrations against police raids on the bar, identifying anyone who appeared to be a woman but was actually a man and arresting them. Mind you, that’s the abridged version.

This incited the gathering of a large crowd that quickly turned violent due to the growing hostilities. It became, as noted by the National Park Service, “the single most important event that led to the modern movement for gay and lesbian civil rights.”

Coupled with the escalating Civil Rights Movement and protests against the Vietnam War, the Stonewall riots occurred during a time when people wanted to express themselves nontraditionally and more liberally.

Following that the riots, “The first pride march was in 1970,” Bruni told BostInno. “Little by little, every year things have been growing. [Pride Week] has always taken place on the second Saturday in June.”

The list of Pride Week events we’ve provided for you is merely a minor aspect of what Boston Pride has planned. Over 30 official events are slated to take place, all of which kickstarted over the weekend with the raising of the flag over City Hall Plaza and will come to a close on Sunday with block parties in Jamaica Plan and the Back Bay, as well as a party at Royale.

One of the highlights is sure to be the second annual Pride Night at Fenway Park. Ticket sales for the event have already surpasses 800, and Bruni tells us this is the first official LGBTQ event hosted by an MLB team.

But for Bruni, witnessing the growth of the organization and the movement has been a tremendous experience.

“We used to have it on Boston Common, but we were told we’ve grown too big,” added Bruni. “Now we’re on City Hall Plaza. We’ve seen more and more families, kids, babies – definitely something I did not see in 2004, ’05 and ’06.”

And this proliferation isn’t just limited to the Greater Boston Area. In fact, they’ve already gone global. Boston Pride is a founding member of InterPride, established in 1982, spreading their cause from our shores to our northern neighbors in Canada, to across the pond in London, to the other side of the world in Australia, and numerous countries in between. They’ve tallied some 180 to 190, Bruni estimates, constituents members worldwide. And that number only stands to grow.

Domestically, Boston Pride works closely with Rhode Island Pride, North Shore Pride in Salem, and Worcester Pride and Springfield Pride out in Western Massachusetts all in support of each other.

For more information about Pride Week in Boston, and all of the great initiatives taking place, take a look at all of our coverage here.

Image via Boston Pride

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