Stonewall Columbus

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 (originally known as 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.

Stonewall Columbus is the organizer of the annual Columbus Pride.

The organization operates the Stonewall Columbus Community Center, a 15000 sqft 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.

History
Stonewall Columbus was founded as Stonewall Union in 1981. It held its first pride parade in 1982, following a small parade in 1981. 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 a 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, 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. 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.