New York City’s Pride March drew tens of thousands of revelers to Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Sunday as lawmakers in other states continue to push anti-LGBTQ legislation.
Marking the culmination of Pride Month celebrations in New York City, the weekend was a busy one, full of events all around New York City. The celebration arrived as a record-high 520 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced this year in state legislatures across the country, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
“We were making so much good progress before and now it feels like we’re reaching almost a standstill,” said Jae Gurley, 23.
Gurley posed on the stoop of a Greenwich Village brownstone, channeling a timeless Carrie Bradshaw scene from “Sex and the City.” Their mom brought a two-piece set made of pink tulle from their hometown of Houston, Texas.
“The space that we’ve earned, don’t let them make that space smaller … It’s about remembering that pride is still a protest,” Gurley said.
The NYC Drag March is an annual event commemorating the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn, when the NYPD’s now-defunct Public Morals Squad raided the Stonewall Inn just after midnight and forced some people to submit anatomical inspections. While it’s rooted in protest, the march is also known for wild and sexy costuming. This year marks the 54th anniversary of the uprising.
Charm Steezy, 23, said anti-LGBTQ hatred propaganda making rounds in conservative news outlets has brought the city’s local queer community closer together.
“We’ve gained a lot more negative attention in the news and propaganda just to spew hate,” but as a result, “it’s strengthening the community,” the Greenpoint native said.
The NYC Pride March makes its way down Fifth Avenue.
J Mayer/Shutterstock
Alexis Harris, 13, cheered with her mom and siblings after meeting her favorite “Stranger Things” actor, Noah Schnapp, who came out as gay earlier this year on TikTok.
“This means a lot especially for young kids like me who don’t know how to come out to their parents,” the Harlem resident said.
Notable guests at the parade included Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams and actor Billy Porter.
Porter spoke out about being HIV-positive for 14 years after starring as an HIV-positive character in the TV show “Pose” about New York’s underground ball culture.
Colored balloons float above Fifth Avenue at the 54th annual NYC Pride March.
Peter Foley/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Sunday’s event comes as more recent safety fears have shaken the local LGBTQ community. Last fall, police arrested a man for repeatedly throwing bricks through the window of a gay bar in Hell’s Kitchen.
Tahtianna Fermin is the founder of a group called Bridges4Life in Hackensack, N.J. that helps Black trans sex workers and sex trafficking survivors living on the street and in foster care find housing.
The Yonkers native has been doing sex work since she was 13, she said, leaving the streets in 2011 to work by phone.
Fermin said that some of New York’s decriminalization efforts have pushed sex workers to operate in secret, unsafe locations because “now our Johns aren’t coming to us.”
“While there is a group of people that love their work, there’s also a group of people who are trying to get out of that hell hole,” she said. “We can’t reform a group of girls while arresting them, because once they’re arrested, they can’t get jobs, they can’t get housing.”
Contributed reporting by Precious Fondren.
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