In 1970, a year after the Stonewall riots, Atlanta activists handed out literature at an arts festival in Piedmont Park. That riot was the beginning of the LGBT rights movements and the opportunity and gateway for Atlanta Pride. The riot lasted for several days and began one of the first equal rights protests for the LGBT community. This riot later became known as the Stonewall riot. The crowd of bystanders began to throw bottles at the police and fight back. Everyone was cooperative until the police began to force three drag queens and a lesbian into the back of a police car.
On June 28, 1969, the police raided a popular gay bar called Stonewall Inn. At the time police raids on gay bars were common because homosexual sex was illegal in all but one state in the United States. The annual pride week began when a group of lesbian, gay men, drag queens, and gender non-conformists joined together. Further information: Lonesome Cowboys police raid
