Queer Liberation March

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Queer Liberation March
Queer Liberation March logo.png
Event logo used in 2019
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s) New York City
InauguratedJune 30, 2019 (2019-06-30)
Next eventJune 30, 2025
Organized by Reclaim Pride Coalition

The Queer Liberation March is an annual LGBT protest march in Manhattan, organized by the Reclaim Pride Coalition as an anti-corporate alternative to the NYC Pride March.

Contents

A grassroots collective [1] of queer rights activists and supporters held the first Queer Liberation March to coincide with WorldPride NYC, which marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] A year later the coalition marched in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, [8] [9] and against police brutality, only to see the non-violent demonstration met with NYPD using pepper spray on protesters. [10] [11]

Background

There has been a large annual march and parade in New York City since 1970, first organized by the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee, [12] to mark the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots. [13] Since 1984, the growing event was produced by the nonprofit Heritage of Pride. Criticism of the increasingly corporate and rules-heavy event reached a tipping point in 1994 (the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots), resulting in the first Drag March (1994).

The Queer Liberation March was organized in protest of the corporate-focused sponsorship and participation requirements of the larger march, resulting in dueling Manhattan LGBT marches on the same day in 2019. [14] [15] The Queer Liberation March proceeded uptown on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, following the path of the original 1970 demonstration.

Protestors with banner on 6th Avenue, 2019; a pacifist sign reads "Queers Against U.S. Global Military Empire". 68.QueerMarch.CP.6Ave.NYC.30June2019 (48364666191).jpg
Protestors with banner on 6th Avenue, 2019; a pacifist sign reads "Queers Against U.S. Global Military Empire".

As a result of following the 1970 route, the first Queer Liberation March proceeded in the opposite direction of the New York City Pride March, which travels downtown on Fifth Avenue through most of its route.

Organization

The Queer Liberation March was organized by the Reclaim Pride Coalition and was endorsed by activist and grassroots organizations including ACT UP NY, God's Love We Deliver, Housing Works, NYC Democratic Socialists of America, and SAGE. [16] Civil rights attorney Norman Siegel worked with the City of New York for an agreement to hold the march on the same day as the larger NYC Pride March. [17]

The march sought to embrace the activist intentions some believe have been lost in the larger, celebratory event. [18] [19] [20]

Participation

The 2019 march began with 8,000 participants at the Stonewall National Monument and grew to 45,000 people as others joined along the way. [21] [22] [23]

Activist Qween Jean joined the organizational leadership in 2023. [24] [25]

Themes

We Resist at the Queer Liberation March.jpg

See also

Related Research Articles

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gay Liberation Front</span> Gay liberation groups in major US, UK, and Canadian cities during the 1960s-70s

Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK, Australia and Canada. The GLF provided a voice for the newly-out and newly radicalized gay community, and a meeting place for a number of activists who would go on to form other groups, such as the Gay Activists Alliance, Gay Youth New York, and Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) in the US. In the UK and Canada, activists also developed a platform for gay liberation and demonstrated for gay rights. Activists from both the US and UK groups would later go on to found or be active in groups including ACT UP, the Lesbian Avengers, Queer Nation, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and Stonewall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsha P. Johnson</span> Black American gay liberation activist (1945–1992)

Marsha P. Johnson was an American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen. Known as an outspoken advocate for gay rights, Johnson was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heritage of Pride</span>

Heritage of Pride (HOP), doing business as NYC Pride, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that plans and produces the official New York City LGBTQIA+ Pride Week events each June. HOP began working on the events in 1984, taking on the work previously done by the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee organizers of the first NYC Pride March in 1970. HOP also took over responsibility for the operations of NYC's Pride Festival and Pride Rally. It was that first march that brought national attention to 1969's Stonewall Riots. The late sixties saw numerous protests and riots across the United States on many social injustices and from general political unrest including the war in Vietnam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NYC Pride March</span> Event celebrating the LGBTQ community

The NYC Pride March is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQ community in New York City. The largest pride parade and the largest pride event in the world, the NYC Pride March attracts tens of thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each June, and carries spiritual and historical significance for the worldwide LGBTQIA+ community and its advocates. Entertainer Madonna stated in 2024, "Aside from my birthday, New York Pride is the most important day of the year." The route through Lower Manhattan traverses south on Fifth Avenue, through Greenwich Village, passing the Stonewall National Monument, site of the June 1969 riots that launched the modern movement for LGBTQ+ rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT pride</span> Positive stance toward LGBTQ people

LGBTQ pride is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements. Pride has lent its name to LGBT-themed organizations, institutes, foundations, book titles, periodicals, a cable TV channel, and the Pride Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in New York</span>

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The National LGBTQ Task Force is an American social justice advocacy non-profit organizing the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Also known as The Task Force, the organization supports action and activism on behalf of LGBTQ people and advances a progressive vision of liberation. The past executive director was Rea Carey from 2008-2021 and the current executive director is Kierra Johnson, who took over the position in 2021 to become the first Black woman to head the organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ culture in New York City</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queens Liberation Front</span> Transvestite rights advocacy group

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reclaim Pride Coalition</span> Coalition of LGBT groups and individuals protesting the commercialization of LGBT Pride events

Reclaim Pride Coalition is a coalition of LGBT groups and individuals that initially gathered in New York City in 2019 to create the Queer Liberation March in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots and to protest the commercialization of LGBT Pride events. The following year, in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, the coalition organized the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives & Against Police Brutality.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qween Jean</span> Activist and costume designer

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References

  1. ↑ "Reclaim Pride To Hold 5th Annual March June 25". West Village, NY Patch. June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  2. ↑ Silvers, Mara; WNYC (May 15, 2019). "LGBTQ Group Plans Alternative 'Queer Liberation March' On Pride Day". Gothamist. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  3. ↑ "'Queer Liberation March' sets stage for dueling NYC gay pride events". NBC News. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  4. ↑ Goicichea, Julia (August 16, 2017). "Why New York City Is a Major Destination for LGBT Travelers". The Culture Trip. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  5. ↑ Rosenberg, Eli (June 24, 2016). "Stonewall Inn Named National Monument, a First for the Gay Rights Movement". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Workforce Diversity The Stonewall Inn, National Historic Landmark National Register Number: 99000562". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  7. ↑ Gaffney, Emma. "No Cops, No Sponsors: 50 Years After Stonewall, Pride Goes Back to its Roots".
  8. ↑ Manzella, Sam (June 26, 2020). "How the March Gets Made: Reclaim Pride Organizers Share Their Wisdom". LOGO News. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  9. ↑ Schulman, Michael. "A Radical Challenger to New York City's Pride March". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  10. ↑ Osborne, Duncan (June 28, 2020). "Peaceful Queer Liberation March Ends With Pepper Spray at Washington Square". Gay City News. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  11. ↑ Kornhaber, Spencer (June 30, 2020). "Pride Can't Go Back to What It Was Before". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  12. ↑ "archives.nypl.org -- Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee records". archives.nypl.org. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  13. ↑ The New York Public Library. "Christopher Street Liberation Day 1970". 1969: The Year of Gay Liberation. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  14. ↑ The Associated Press (May 14, 2019). "NYC Activists Plan Alternative Gay Pride March for Same Day". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  15. ↑ "'Queer Liberation March' sets stage for dueling NYC gay pride events". NBC News. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Endorsements". Reclaim Pride Coalition. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  17. ↑ Assunção, Muri (May 14, 2019). "LGBTQ activists plan an alternative march to celebrate 50 years of Stonewall". nydailynews.com. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  18. ↑ "There's a Corporation-Free Queer Liberation March Happening in NYC". www.out.com. May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  19. ↑ Santus, Rex (May 14, 2019). "Cops and Corporations Aren't Welcome at This Radical Alternative to NYC's Pride Parade". Vice News. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  20. ↑ "The Queer Liberation March: 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising". Incandescere. July 8, 2019. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  21. ↑ Factora, James (July 10, 2019). "The 2019 Queer Liberation March Reclaimed the Resistance of Pride". them. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  22. ↑ Wood, Olivia (July 2019). "45,000 Reclaim Stonewall at NYC's Queer Liberation March". Left Voice. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  23. ↑ Teeman, Tim; Rogers, Sarah; Miller, Justin (July 1, 2019). "Stonewall 50: 50 Faces, 50 Stories, From New York City's LGBT World Pride". Daily Beast. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  24. ↑ Tracy, Matt (June 26, 2023). "Trans and queer rights take center stage at intersectional Queer Liberation March". gaycitynews.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  25. ↑ Tracy, Matt (June 23, 2023). "Reclaim Pride Coalition looks ahead to Queer Liberation March". gaycitynews.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  26. ↑ Russell, John (June 20, 2023). "NYC's Queer Liberation March may be the most important protest & celebration this year". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  27. ↑ Tracy, Matt (April 24, 2023). "Reclaim Pride unveils theme for fifth annual Queer Liberation March". gaycitynews.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Queer Liberation March for Black, Brown, Queer, Trans, Gender Nonconforming, and Nonbinary Youth & Against War and Genocide". www.instagram.com. May 13, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  29. ↑ Assunção, Muri (June 29, 2024). "6th Queer Liberation March to highlight LGBTQ youth, stand against Gaza war". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
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