Obama to participate in virtual Stonewall anniversary event

Former President Obama is set to speak Friday at a virtual event commemorating the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

Obama will speak during a star-studded Pride Month event dubbed “Stonewall Day,” which Pride Live, the group organizing the event, called a campaign to “elevate awareness and support for the Stonewall legacy and the continuing fight for full LGBTQ+ equality.”

The third-annual commemoration will be livestreamed from 12:45 p.m. ET to 3:00 p.m. ET. 

Other celebrities expected to appear during the Friday event include Taylor Swift, Ellen DeGeneres, Cynthia Erivo, Demi Lovato, Katy Perry and more. The event is set to focus on racial justice and “the dangerous rise of violence facing transgender women, especially Black trans women,” according to a Tuesday statement from Pride Live.   

The event will also raise funds for four LGBTQ organizations including the Ally Coalition, which supports organizations for LGBTQ youth; the Brave Space Alliance, the first “Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ Center located on the South Side of Chicago;” the TransLatina Coalition, which advocates for transgender Latina individuals, and TransLifeline, which “connects trans people to the community, support, and resources they need to survive and thrive.”

New York police raided the Stonewall Inn gay bar in New York City in June 1969, leading to multiple days of riots that are now considered the foundation for the LGBTQ rights movement in America. 

The event will also fall on the fifth anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage. 

In June 2016, Obama established a national monument at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, the first dedication marking the LGBTQ rights movement in the U.S.