A Visual History of the NYC Pride Parade
The 1969 police raid of Stonewall Inn, in New York’s Greenwich Village, was far from law enforcement’s first attack on a gay bar. And yet, thanks to the LBGTQ community’s overwhelming response, the Stonewall riots have long stood apart—not to mention paved the way for Pride Month as we know it today. This year, the NYC Pride Parade will once again celebrate Stonewall’s legacy. But to say that it’ll also be over-the-top is no doubt an understatement; its date, June 30, coincides with Stonewall’s 50th anniversary. (The 25th, after all, prominently featured a pride flag that stretched an entire mile long—and enough attendees to hold it up an even further distance.) But as much as Pride has become associated with celebration—and commercialization, stretching back even to the early ’70s—its ties to activism and protest stretch just as far back. From ACT UP sit-ins to its now signature pageantry, take a look at NYC Pride Parades past, here.
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Hundreds of marchers carrying a rainbow flag at the NYC Pride Parade, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall police raid in Greenwich Village, 1994. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Dykes on Bikes in the NYC Pride Parade ride down Fifth Avenue in New York City, June 30, 1991. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Two women embrace during the NYC Pride Parade in New York City, June 1982. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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A woman marching in the NYC Pride Parade in New York City on June 28, 1981. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Newlyweds Jon and Michael Galluccio with their newly adopted son Adam march at the NYC Pride Parade, 1998. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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A participant carries a flag during the NYC Pride Parade in New York City on June 27, 1999. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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A message left by a marcher during the NYC Pride Parade in New York City, 1998. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Cherry Jones, Grand Marshall of the 2003 NYC Pride Parade, holding a copy of the New York Times reporting the Supreme Court’s ruling to legalize gay sexual conduct. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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A participant applies make-up during the NYC Pride Parade June 27, 1999 in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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A participant stands in the street during the NYC Pride Parade in New York City on June 27, 1999. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Participants in the NYC Pride Parade walk down Fifth Avenue in New York City on June 25, 2006. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Woody Woodward of the Sirens Motorcycle Club rides down Fifth Avenue during the NYC Pride Parade in New York City, 2007. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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A Majorette from the Gay Men’s Marching band during the NYC Pride Parade in New York City, 1998. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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The Big Gay Bus on the street during the NYC Pride Parade in New York City on June 24, 2007. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Two men kiss during the NYC Pride Parade in front of the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in New York City, 2011. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Participants march in the street during the NYC Pride Parade in New York City, June 1986. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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A couple sit on one of the lions outside the New York Public Library while watching the NYC Pride Parade on June 24, 2001. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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A member of the Lesbian Avengers marches during the third annual Lesbian Pride Parade in New York City on June 24, 1995. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Hundreds of people marching and driving on towards Central Park on Sixth Avenue during the NYC Pride Parade on June 26, 1975. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Justin Delong and Jared Reichert at the intersection of Christopher St. and Gay St. in the West Village during the NYC Pride Parade, 2007. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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ACT UP stages a sit-down on Fifth Avenue during the 1991 NYC Pride Parade, in demand of greater AIDS research funding, and changes in the CDC approach to AIDS research and the Catholic Church’s position on AIDS and homosexuality. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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A man marching in the NYC Pride Parade in New York City, 1991. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Members of the Buffalo Radical Lesbians marching on Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day in New York City, 1971. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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A couple and their children march in the NYC Pride Parade in New York City, 1995. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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A couple marching down Fifth Avenue during the NYC Pride Parade in New York City, 2005. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
