Pride Month celebrations peaked Sunday with big parades in New York, San Francisco and some other cities on the anniversary of the 1969 , which accelerated and transformed the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
Pride events often mix celebration and calls to action, reflecting the political winds, cultural climate and news around LGBTQ+ rights.
This month’s parades and festivals around the U.S. have unfolded as President Donald Trump works to and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Among other moves, the Republican’s administration earlier this year, then ultimately .
鈥淎s LGBTQIA+ events and symbols are being erased, it鈥檚 vital that our community have safe spaces to show up and march to make clear: We are here,鈥� Chris Piedmont, a spokesperson for New York parade organizers Heritage of Pride, said in a statement Friday. 鈥淲e will not be erased.鈥�
Carlos Duarte came in from Long Island to attend New York’s parade.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very important for us to be here 鈥� to be all together for love, peace and to show the world who we are,鈥� Duarte said.
Meanwhile, multiple Republican governors have promulgated ,鈥� sometimes openly describing them as a counter to Pride. Other , including Vice President JD Vance, criticized ‘s response to some San Francisco Giants players who to the rainbow-themed Pride Night caps they were issued.
Against that backdrop, the NYC Pride March and the San Francisco Pride Parade set out to further their legacies as some of the world’s largest and oldest such celebrations.
Both trace their roots to events held in 1970 to commemorate the Stonewall rebellion on June 28, 1969, when patrons of a New York gay bar called the resisted a police raid and ended up kindling a wave of activism.
The Stonewall Inn still is a bar; the Stonewall monument centers on a small park across the street, about half a mile (about 0.8 km) from the Pride March route at its closest point.
Also set for Sunday in Manhattan was the newer Queer Liberation March, founded by and official.
This year, some transgender rights activists also pressured Pride organizers to bar some New York City hospitals’ contingents from marching because the institutions announced in recent months that they would .
Christen Clifford, a mother of two trans children, said during a news conference before the parade that New York City needs to enforce state laws that protect gender-affirming care.
鈥淗ow can you let institutions that are actively harming queer kids march in Pride?鈥� Clifford said. 鈥淚 hope that New York City Pride will ban these hospitals from any future Pride parades until they restart care and so that families like mine know that you are listening to our concerns.鈥�
The cutoff came amid from the Trump administration, and at least some of the hospitals also got federal Justice Department subpoenas for transgender patients’ medical records. A judge has the document demand.
Heritage of Pride said it has been talking with the hospitals about the issue. The group also noted the parade contingents are organized by LGBTQ+ employee groups, not by the top administrators responsible for decisions about care.
A message was sent to San Francisco Pride organizers about whether they faced similar questions.
Other cities with Pride parades Sunday include Seattle, where a World Cup soccer match Friday after the countries whose teams involved 鈥� Iran and Egypt 鈥� to get the celebrations canceled.
Carlos Duarte came in from Long Island to attend the Pride parade.
鈥淚t’s very important for us to be here 鈥� to be all together for love, peace and to show the world who we are,鈥� Duarte said.
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