The parade began as a 2000-person march in 1970 – on the one-year anniversary of the June 27th, 1969 Stonewall riots on Christopher Street – with chants of “Say it loud, gay is proud” while moving up 6th Avenue from Christopher Street to Central Park for a rally. Today, with the Supreme Court declaring gay marriage is a right, the one-million strong parade is a symbol of freedom, civil rights and joy for LGBT New Yorkers – and visitors from every part of the world. In 1973, the parade was called a “better-organized event” in The New York Times it proceeded from Central Park with 20,000 marchers down Seventh Avenue to Washington Square Park ending in a large rally ( video).įor the next forty years, the parade has grown and shifted routes through politics and tragedy into the event it is today. The parade was launched as a 2,000-person march in 1970 to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, with chants of “Say it loud, gay is proud.” Initially, it flowed north from Christopher Street to Central Park, but has shifted routes over the decades as it grown and responded to new trends and regulations.
New York’s annual Heritage of Pride Parade, scheduled for Sunday, June 28, has been a central part of New York’s cultural life for the past 45 years.
