In NYC, marking 50th anniversary of Pride, no matter what
(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)NEW YORK โ There were protests, rainbow flags and performances โ it was LGBTQ Pride, after all. With the cityโs massive Pride parade canceled, Sunday's performances were virtual, the flags flew in emptier than normal spaces and the protesters were masked. The disruption caused by the virus would be an aggravation in any year, but particularly in this one, the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march in New York City. The organizers are activists who held a protest march last year as an alternative to the main Pride parade, saying it had become too corporate. Other parades canceled this spring included the St. Patrickโs Day parade and Puerto Rican Day parade.
How the Stonewall riots inspired today's Pride celebrations
It's easy to forget its solemn origins as a march that commemorated clashes between police and protesters outside a New York gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. The media coverage of what is now called the Stonewall riots reflected the era's homophobic attitudes. David Carter spent 10 years researching and interviewing witnesses for "Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution." Robert Bryan joined the crowd outside the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969, when a police raid took an unexpected turn. This is what it looked likeStonewall was not the only gay bar in Greenwich Village and it wasn't the nicest.