Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative hosts Pride kickoff fundraiser

The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, which is the charitable arm of the Stonewall Inn, hosted a star-studded Pride kickoff event on June 3 featuring drag artists, comedians, and others to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.

Singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun served as the host of the evening and was joined by folks including indigenous drag artists Lady Shug and Landa Lakes, comedian Sam Jay, and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Robin Fierce.

Moreover, the event also served as a fundraiser for Inclusion Tennessee, which is a non-profit working to bring justice and equity to the LGBTQ community in the south. Inclusion Tennessee’s executive director, Phil Cobucci, delivered remarks about the current climate for LGBTQ rights in Tennessee as well as in other states across the south. Cobucci also recalled getting sent to conversion therapy three times.

Among others in attendance were former “Real Housewives of Orange County” star Braunwyn Windham-Burke and fiancée Jennifer Spinner, as well as Lorna Luft, activist and author Raquel Willis, actor and filmmaker Andrew Keenan-Bolger, and Stacy Lentz, the CEO of SIGBI and co-owner of The Stonewall Inn.

See some photos from the evening: