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Congressman Al Green Attends Pride Houston Balloon Release at Birthplace of Houston’s Stonewall Movement

June 27, 2021

(Houston, TX) – On Sunday, June 27, 2021, Congressman Al Green released the following statement:

“The recognition of June as Pride Month was born from resistance and righteous indignation. While the movement originated in New York City when Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera led days of protests after a police raid of the Stonewall Inn gay bar, many iterations of Stonewall resistance occurred across the globe,” said Congressman Al Green, one of 170 members of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. “On the shoulders of the movement sparked by Johnson and Rivera, Houston’s Pride movement also began with dissent when, in 1977, the LGBTQ community unified to protest a performance at the Hyatt Regency Downtown by infamous anti-gay advocate and singer Anita Bryant.”

Congressman Green continued, “Today, I attended a balloon release in honor of those who protested this performance in Houston more than 40 years ago as well as the progress that has been for the LGBTQIA+ community since. Pride is a celebration of the right for every LGBTQIA+ person to live freely and unapologetically as well as a commemoration of the legacies of those who fought and continue to fight for that right.”

“As an ally, I stand with my LGBTQIA+ friends across our nation and I support their right to be exactly who they are. This is why I serve on the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus; why I raise issues related to invidious discrimination as it impacts LGBTQIA+ Americans on the House Financial Services Committee; and why I annually introduce the Original Pride Month Resolution in Congress. Happy Pride Month!”