I felt like, you know, here I am in grade school, saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. It was the first time she had publicly declared her identity like that, but she says she wasn't scared. The relaxed happiness in archival footage has some of the feel of Pride today.Īctivist Victoria Cruz has pictures from Central Park that day. Men rested their heads on their lovers' stomachs, and women leaned on their partners' shoulders. They had a "gay-in" instead, similar to the "be-ins" of the time. There were no speakers, because the organizers hadn't thought they would even make it as far as the park. When the marchers got to Central Park, there were thousands of them. They chanted things like, "Say it loud, gay is proud" and "Out of the closets and into the streets." YouTubeīut soon, the marchers started to relax and enjoy themselves. The documentary Gay and Proud tells the story of the 1970 Gay Pride Parade in New York City. He called it "disgraceful and disgusting." One man told the filmmakers the march was a communist plot to divide America. There was a sign referencing Sodom and Gomorrah. The documentary shows some shaking their heads and smirking a little, as if to say "Isn't this ridiculous?"īut there were darker notes from counter-protesters. People watched from the sidewalks, standing two or three deep, arms crossed. In it, you can see that observers mostly watched in silence. Gay activists Lilli Vincenz and Cliff Witt produced a documentary of that day, interviewing people anonymously. The New York Public Library has an extensive collection of photographs from the parade. Gays were joining us every three blocks." "There were people on my left, people on my right. "All of a sudden, I realized I was no longer alone," Boyce said. When marchers reached Sixth Avenue, others started to join them.
And they had signs on long wooden sticks that said "Gay Pride" and "I am a lesbian and I am beautiful." The iconic rainbow flag had yet to be created.
They carried red, purple and yellow banners. Many wore long-sleeved, button-down shirts. In archival film, the marchers look determined.
In response, the protesters slashed police car tires and broke the windows of businesses. In 1969, the NYPD used billy clubs against protesters outside The Stonewall In, a gay bar. The Stonewall Uprising, which some refer to as riots, was several days of demonstrations against police violence and systemic discrimination that could have been ripped from today's headlines. And if we hadn't done that, nobody would remember the Stonewall today," said Karla Jay, the first woman chair of the Gay Liberation Front and a retired women's and gender studies professor at Pace University. "We set out to create a march on the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. It wasn't a parade at all, but a protest march. "It's about helping individuals in the LGBTQ community know and understand that they're not alone," said Cathy Renna, a co-organizer.īut the first Pride parade didn't have celebrities or floats. Instead, there's Global Pride, a 24-hour line up of performances and inspiring messages involving 500 organizations from all over the world. Because of COVID-19, there won't actually be a parade on Sunday. This weekend, the world is observing the 50th anniversary of the first New York City Pride Parade, that celebration of LGBTQ identity known for its floats, feathers and corporate sponsors. Roger Gaess/Getty Images/Lonely Planet Image And we have so much work to do in the battle to stop HIV/AIDS from continuing to kill our community 40 years after the epidemic.The 1970 New York City Pride Parade commemorated an uprising at the The Stonewall Inn the year before. We have so much work to do to defend trans kids around the country who are facing an onslaught of legislation squarely focused on telling them they do not matter. The Equality Act is tied up with no signs of passing even after President Joe Biden said it would be his priority in the first 100 days. And, of course, the police brutalized many people who marched, leaving them bloody and pepper-sprayed in the streets where just the year before we saw police showing solidarity for the 2019 WorldPride parade. In June 2020, as the pandemic forced New York City to a lockdown, local organizers took to the streets for the Queer Liberation March, a procession that retraced the original Pride March in 1970 against police brutality. Our history in America, even beyond Stonewall, is defined by how our bodies have been brutalized by police officers and the state at large.