Remembering Stonewall in 2025

56 years ago this month, history was written outside a small bar in Lower Manhattan known as the Stonewall Inn. At the time, discriminatory raids at Stonewall and other LGBTQ-friendly establishments were routine. But on June 28, 1969, patrons had enough. Over 500 demonstrators gathered in the streets that night to stand up to the systematic oppression of marginalized communities—and the following night, that number nearly doubled.

The Stonewall uprising marked a turning point in the gay rights movement in the United States, and around the world. It brought the LGBTQ community’s longtime oppression into the spotlight, and opened the door for a more organized, public-facing movement for equal rights and treatment. Now, the uprising is commemorated by millions every year as Pride Month.

As we celebrate Pride this year, I’m drawing inspiration from the courage and determination of the leaders who made the movement possible in the first place. The act of standing up to oppression all those years ago was an act of pure bravery—and as federal forces seek to continue to silence and shut down marginalized communities, that same type of bravery is sadly still needed today.

Stonewall was a microcosm of the fact that small-scale action leads large-scale change. That’s why we’ve been working tirelessly through the entire 2025 Oregon legislative session—by holding lobby days and legislative meetings, hosting rallies, providing testimony, joining marches, and helping folks speak up—to enact policies that protect Oregon’s most vulnerable communities and our environment. Every bit of progress we make at home—no matter how small—can ripple out and lead to even greater progress beyond, and ensure a bright future for generations to come.

Related Posts

Filter by

Post type

Post Page

Category

Featured People Toxics-Free Environments OEC History OEC Membership Climate Protection Our Impact Policy Environmental Health Transportation Solutions Water News Air Quality Water Action OEC News/Updates/Events Media/PR/Statements Toxic Free Priorities Eco-Healthy Homes Earth Day

Sort by

Title Relevance

Remembering an environmental champion: Walt Mintkeski

This past month, Oregon lost a true environmental champion. Walt Mintkeski spent his career and his retirement making Oregon’s water cleaner, its land more protected, and its future brighter – showing up, year after year, for the places and people he loved. His legacy lives on in the policies he helped shape and in all of us who carry this work forward. Thank you, Walt. You will be deeply m

February 23, 2026, 8:50 pm

mcadmin

9

Remembering Elizabeth Grossman

In July 2017, Oregon lost a fierce advocate, Oregonian, and one of the most important environmental health writers in the nation.

August 9, 2017, 11:03 pm

jenc

9

Remembering Don Waggoner

By Kevin Kasowski  Here at OEC, we’re raising a bottle in memory of Don Waggoner, an early OEC activist, board member and OEC President who passed away suddenly this week at his home in Portland. Long before sustainability became one of Oregon’s hallmarks, back in 1971, Don was OEC’s point person for one of OEC’s first major victories – the adoption of the nickel deposit Bottle Bill – that was spread to other states nationally as well. Don, along with Rich Chambers, led

June 28, 2016, 8:56 pm

mcadmin

9

Remembering Gary Braasch

March 10, 2016, 2:28 am

devond

9

2025 Winter Newsletter: People, Place, & Planet

Download OEC’s 2025 Winter Newsletter here, or scroll through the pages below!

January 15, 2026, 5:03 pm

mcadmin

0

Mixed Results on Climate in 2025: Energy Affordability Advances While Climate Action Stalls

The 2025 Oregon Legislative session delivered a tale of two climate stories. While lawmakers made meaningful progress on energy affordability and grid modernization, they failed to advance policies that would actually cut climate pollution—and worse, abandoned funding for p

July 30, 2025, 1:11 pm

ben230983240923480923

0

Cuts to PFAS, Plastic Bags and Pesticides: 2025 Session Wins

The 2025 legislative session led to some major wins for environmental health in Oregon. While there’s still much work to be done to phase out toxic chemicals from our products and environments in full, the progress we made this year sets us in the right direction, and helps push for future p

July 25, 2025, 4:06 pm

crystal2530

0

A 2025 Stalled Transportation Package Sets Power In Motion

It was a shock to many. The 2025 legislative session came and went without a transportation package. Across the state, Oregonians are frustrated by the outcome knowing that many of our state’s transportation needs will go unmet or be scaled back. In response, Governor Kotek just

July 23, 2025, 3:57 pm

mcadmin

0

2025 OEC Legislative Debrief

This session, OEC staff worked on more than 77 bills to advance environmental protections, ensure statewide access to clean water, cut toxic chemicals out of our communities, and elevate safe and healthy transportation options. We delivered real wins for Oregonians, but not every policy took root. Here’s what we passed, where the Legislature fell short, and how we’ll keep pressing forward to serve Oregon’s people, place

July 10, 2025, 11:13 am

mcadmin

0

Make Earth Month Count in 2025

Earth Day and OEC were formed just a year apart (1970 and 1969, respectively), and our collective missions have always been parallel. OEC’s work has proven that strong, lasting environmental protections are possible when we work together. From the nation’s first Bottle Bill to the Clean Fuels Program (which has cut 10M tons of carbon emissions – and counting – from our atmosphere). Just as our movement has progressed, so has Earth Day. It evolved into Earth Month, and

April 1, 2025, 9:56 am

robinr

0