Celebrating Pride Across NYC

By: Claudia Buonsante

A woman holding the rainbow flag, a longstanding symbol of queer pride. Photo Credit: huffpost.com

When Marsha P Johnson threw the first brick in the Stonewall Inn, on On June 27 of 1969, she ignited what would become a violent, multi-day riot known as “The Stonewall Riot.” This riot against a routine police raid in a queer bar, would go on to spark a crusade for LGBTQ+ rights.

Queer activists would continue fighting for for queer representation and marriage recognition in decades to come. These Stonewall Riots were so important that even in 2019 we are memorializing the event in an annual celebration and parade.

This event, dubbed “pride,” has spilled over into nearly every major city in the world. In fact, pride has spanned across every single continent of the globe-even Antarctica.

This celebration is done in part to memorialize the Stonewall Riots as well as to celebrate the achievements made since then.

New York City’s pride celebration is an inter-borough commemoration that spans the entire month of June. The 2019 pride will include various different activities, ranging from events like light hearted film screenings, to athletic races to intellectual conferences on the trials and tribulations of queer rights.

Some pride events are even taking place right here on Staten Island. In anticipation of the parade, The Pride Center of Staten Island will be hosting a week dubbed “Pride Fest,” that is jam packed with different LGBTQ+ events.

They will be hosting an LGBTQ+ prom for those who do not feel they can wear the clothing that matches their identity or dance with their partner of choice at their school dances.

This organization will also be hosting a bowling night, an open mic night, an art show and even a pride night at our very own Willowbrook Campus in May.

The culminating event of pride month will be the parade of June 30th, which will be taking place in Manhattan. An official list of performers and a detailed map will be released on nycpride.org during mid-June.

This march routinely includes elaborate floats, dazzling outfits, and spontaneous dance parties, as well as several more serious, political components.

There will be notable speakers discussing the politics of pride, as this year’s pride marks the 50th anniversary since the Stonewall Riots.

June 27th of 1969 marked a turning point for the LGBTQ+ community. It marked the first night of active resistance against queer discrimination by figures of authority, like the cops. Since then there has been many forms of resistance and much progress.

Individual states have sporadically legalized gay marriage, and in 2015, the judicial system nationally confirmed the constitutionality of gay marriage with the landmark Supreme Court Case Obergefell v. Hodges.

While we should celebrate the achievements made by the LGBTQ+ community we must also recognize the long way we have to go, as many places across the globe are still committing human and civil rights offenses against queer citizens.

Let this years pride be both a celebration of past progress and a testament to bettering the future of the LGBTQ+ community.