Floats, all-night parties and parades may be out, but the LGBTQ community is returning to its roots by teaming up with black activists for Pride month celebrations in the United States. While the coronavirus epidemic has forced the cancellation of traditional Pride events in June, U.S. gay groups are using virtual gatherings to amplify the voices of people of color, whose demands for social justice are taking the nation by storm. “Pride started as a riot that was led by two women of color at Stonewall 51 years ago,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, chief executive of LGBTQ group GLAAD. “It is part protest, part celebration. I am thrilled that we can really be an ally and can be a presenter of pushing for change and locking arms with the Black Lives Matter movement.” Riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York in 1969 were spearheaded by transgender activists Marsha P. Johnson, who was black, and Latina Sylvia Rivera. This year, GLAAD has turned plans for an online drag celebration into a “more substantive discussion around black queer lives,” Ellis said.