In response to Stonewall, other big cities in the country began to hold gay pride events. Some young members of the Twin Cities gay community wanted to hold a protest to mark the third anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots, a spontaneous rebellion against police oppression in New York City that’s widely regarded as the beginning of the modern gay rights movement. It was the last Saturday in June 1972, Tretter recalled. We were sure we’d be arrested by the police,” said Jean-Nickolaus Tretter, an activist and historian from St. The rest waited in Loring Park in Minneapolis ready to bail out the marchers when they got arrested. MINNEAPOLIS - This year's Twin Cities Pride Festival parade on Sunday may be a celebration for the GLBT community, but the first gay pride parade in Minnesota was really a protest march - with only about half of the 50 people who showed up hitting the pavement.
