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 Maryanne Roberto Fine, NYC pride co-chair said the spread of coronavirus has caused the organisers of the event to reimagine other ways in which it can happen in future to avoid huge crowds.The 1970 New York City Pride Parade commemorated an uprising at the The Stonewall Inn the year before. The gay parade, according to ABC News is commemorative of the 1970 resistance by the gay, lesbian and transgender community during a police raid at the Stonewall Inn bar which was known as a “gay bar”. “While this pandemic prevents us from getting together to march, it will in no way stop us from celebrating the incredible contributions that the LGBTQIA+ community has made to New York City.”
Patch New York reported that the mayor did not rule out the possibility of the event taking place later in the year, and made it clear that the postponement of the parade does not erase the contribution made by the LGBTQIA+ community. “That joy and that pride that all of these events bring, that celebration will be back,” reported CNBC. Addressing a press conference, De Blasio made it clear that all will be back to normal in no time.