| Stonewall Columbus | |
| Named After: | Stonewall riots, Stonewall Inn |
| Founders: | --> |
| Founding Location: | Columbus, Ohio |
| Defunct: | --> |
| Vat Id: | (for European organizations) --> |
| Status: | 501(c)(3)[1] |
| Focus: | --> |
| Headquarters: | 1160 N. High St., Columbus, Ohio |
| Area Served: | or |
| Region: | --> |
| Product: | --> |
| Method: | --> |
| Field: | --> |
| Languages: | --> |
| Owners: | --> |
| Leader Title: | President/Board Chair |
| Leader Name: | K. Terry Smith |
| Leader Title2: | Executive Director |
| Leader Name2: | Densil R. Porteous (2020-current) |
| Publication: | --> |
| Parent Organisation: | --> |
| Formerly: | Stonewall Union |
Stonewall Columbus is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) population of Columbus, Ohio. The organization is located in the Short North district of Columbus.
Stonewall Columbus is the organizer of the annual Columbus Pride.
The organization operates the Stonewall Columbus Community Center, a building in the Short North. The community center was funded with $3.8 million in donations and opened in 2019. It expanded upon their previous center, known as the Center on High.[2]
Stonewall Columbus was founded as Stonewall Union in 1981.[2]
Stonewall Union was incorporated by local Columbus, Ohio gay activists (Craig Covey, Steve Wilson, Rick Rommele, Craig Huffman, Dennis Valot, Val Thogmartin and Keith McKnight) in 1981, in response to Jerry Falwell's attempt to establish a Columbus based Moral Majority headquarters.[3]
It held its first pride parade in 1982, following a small parade in 1981.[4] Since then, the group's annual event, Columbus Pride, has become the second largest pride event in the Midwestern United States.
In 2017, a controversy arose when four protesters were arrested during the Stonewall Columbus pride parade. The protesters were blocking the parade from proceeding, and protesting Stonewall's lack of intersectionality and the large volume of police at the event. The protesters, known as the Black Pride 4,[5] ignored police orders to clear the street and were then arrested. Three of the protesters were sentenced to community service and probation. The controversy prompted a dispute over Stonewall Columbus's view of racial minorities. Amid calls for the organization's director to step down, the pride festival coordinator resigned, admitting the group [wa]s unsympathetic to gay and transgender people of color. Stonewall's director retired the following year.[4] Also in 2018, Black Queer & Intersectional Collective hosted Columbus Community Pride, as an alternative to Stonewall Columbus's event, on the same day. The group hired a black, trans-owned security company to monitor their festival, and refused any corporate sponsors.[6]
Pride Circles
In December 2021, Stonewall Columbus unveiled "Pride Circles," the first permanent public art installation in the public right-of-way in the City of Columbus, OH.[7] Created by local visual artist Lisa McLymont, this installation features representations of various LGBTQ+ pride and identity flags arranged in the form of ripples on a pond. The artwork, made of thermoplastic, symbolizes the impact of individual efforts in creating broader societal change, akin to the queer rights movement. The ripples coalesce around the entrance of the Stonewall Columbus Community Center.[8]