Why We March
overview
Since the late 1960s, LGBT New Yorkers have organized marches of various kinds to promote pride and visibility, protest against exclusion and discrimination. and unite as a community in public space.
Reflecting the importance of such events, scholars have agreed that the first-ever New York City Pride March (held in June 1970) and subsequent annual marches around the country helped solidify the significance of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in LGBT history.
This curated collection features LGBT-specific marches and protests that have taken place around the city.
Historic Sites in Why We March
In June 1969, a week before the Stonewall uprising, a group of local Queens residents formed a “vigilante committee” to harass gay men cruising in a nearby Flushing Meadows-Corona Park... Learn More
A peaceful Times Square protest over recent increased police harassment against the LGBT community in the Greenwich Village and Times Square neighborhoods, on Saturday night, August 29, 1970, was followed... Learn More
A large “Community Demonstration to Protest Syndicate Domination and Police Harassment of Gays” on Saturday night July 24, 1971, was led by the Gay Activists Alliance and included some 2,000... Learn More
First organized by the Lesbian Avengers in 1993, the NYC Dyke March is an annual march from Bryant Park to Washington Square for self-identified dykes who advocate for increased lesbian... Learn More
New York City’s first ever Pride March was held on Sunday, June 28, 1970 (the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprising), and, much to the organizers’ surprise, attracted thousands of... Learn More
In 1993, the inaugural Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival took place in the historically gay neighborhood of Jackson Heights and was the first such event to be organized in... Learn More
For several years in the 1990s, the South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association (SALGA) led “Desi Dhamaka” protests in Madison Square Park in response to being banned from participating in... Learn More
On March 13, 1993, the March for Truth was organized by the Anti-Violence Project and Queens Gays and Lesbians United, along Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens (District 24), to counter... Learn More
The first Brooklyn Pride Parade took place on Saturday, June 14, 1997, becoming the third such march to be organized in New York City after those in Manhattan and Queens.... Learn More
In 2000, the inaugural St. Pat’s for All Parade took place in the historically Irish neighborhoods of Sunnyside and Woodside, Queens. The event, which still runs, was founded by LGBT... Learn More
Artist and activist Gilbert Baker, best known for the iconic and internationally recognized Rainbow Flag (1978), used the basement commercial space of this Chelsea high-rise apartment building as his “Raise... Learn More
In 1982, as policing of Times Square intensified and plans to redevelop the area began to make headway, the police twice raided Blue’s, a predominantly working-class Black and Latino gay... Learn More
The first annual Bronx Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival was held on July 11, 1998, in the Concourse neighborhood of the Bronx. Chaired by Gloria Diaz, Matt Hinojosa, and later... Learn More
