Queer Liberation March Explained

Queer Liberation March
Organized:Reclaim Pride Coalition
Frequency:Annual
Location:New York City
Next:June 30, 2025

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.

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.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

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: June 5, 2023 . Reclaim Pride To Hold 5th Annual March June 25 . June 26, 2023 . West Village, NY Patch . en.
  2. Web site: LGBTQ Group Plans Alternative 'Queer Liberation March' On Pride Day . Silvers . Mara . WNYC . Gothamist . May 15, 2019 . May 17, 2019.
  3. Web site: 'Queer Liberation March' sets stage for dueling NYC gay pride events . NBC News . May 15, 2019 . May 17, 2019.
  4. Web site: Why New York City Is a Major Destination for LGBT Travelers . Julia . Goicichea . The Culture Trip . August 16, 2017 . February 2, 2019.
  5. News: Stonewall Inn Named National Monument, a First for the Gay Rights Movement . Eli . Rosenberg . The New York Times . June 24, 2016 . June 25, 2016.
  6. Web site: Workforce Diversity The Stonewall Inn, National Historic Landmark National Register Number: 99000562 . National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior . April 21, 2016.
  7. Web site: Gaffney . Emma . No Cops, No Sponsors: 50 Years After Stonewall, Pride Goes Back to its Roots .
  8. Web site: Manzella . Sam . How the March Gets Made: Reclaim Pride Organizers Share Their Wisdom . LOGO News . June 26, 2020 . June 27, 2020.
  9. Schulman . Michael . A Radical Challenger to New York City's Pride March . The New Yorker . June 27, 2020.
  10. Web site: Osborne . Duncan . Peaceful Queer Liberation March Ends With Pepper Spray at Washington Square . Gay City News . June 28, 2020 . June 28, 2020.
  11. Web site: Kornhaber . Spencer . Pride Can't Go Back to What It Was Before . The Atlantic . June 30, 2020 . July 1, 2020.
  12. Web site: archives.nypl.org -- Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee records . archives.nypl.org . May 17, 2019.
  13. Web site: Christopher Street Liberation Day 1970 . The New York Public Library . 1969: The Year of Gay Liberation . May 17, 2019.
  14. News: NYC Activists Plan Alternative Gay Pride March for Same Day . The Associated Press . May 14, 2019 . The New York Times . May 17, 2019 . 0362-4331.
  15. Web site: 'Queer Liberation March' sets stage for dueling NYC gay pride events . NBC News . May 15, 2019 . May 30, 2019.
  16. Web site: Endorsements . Reclaim Pride Coalition . June 6, 2019.
  17. Web site: LGBTQ activists plan an alternative march to celebrate 50 years of Stonewall . Assunção . Muri . nydailynews.com . May 14, 2019 . May 17, 2019.
  18. Web site: There's a Corporation-Free Queer Liberation March Happening in NYC . May 1, 2019 . www.out.com . May 30, 2019.
  19. Web site: Cops and Corporations Aren't Welcome at This Radical Alternative to NYC's Pride Parade . Santus . Rex . May 14, 2019 . Vice News . May 30, 2019.
  20. Web site: The Queer Liberation March: 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising . Incandescere . July 8, 2019 . July 11, 2019.
  21. Web site: The 2019 Queer Liberation March Reclaimed the Resistance of Pride . Factora . James . July 10, 2019 . them. . July 11, 2019.
  22. Web site: 45,000 Reclaim Stonewall at NYC's Queer Liberation March . Wood . Olivia . Left Voice . July 2019 . July 11, 2019.
  23. News: Stonewall 50: 50 Faces, 50 Stories, From New York City's LGBT World Pride . Teeman . Tim . July 1, 2019 . Daily Beast. July 11, 2019 . Rogers . Sarah . Miller . Justin.
  24. Web site: Tracy . Matt . June 26, 2023 . Trans and queer rights take center stage at intersectional Queer Liberation March . June 26, 2023 . gaycitynews.com . en-US.
  25. Web site: Tracy . Matt . June 23, 2023 . Reclaim Pride Coalition looks ahead to Queer Liberation March . June 26, 2023 . gaycitynews.com . en-US.
  26. Web site: Russell . John . June 20, 2023 . NYC's Queer Liberation March may be the most important protest & celebration this year . June 26, 2023 . LGBTQ Nation.
  27. Web site: Tracy . Matt . April 24, 2023 . Reclaim Pride unveils theme for fifth annual Queer Liberation March . June 26, 2023 . gaycitynews.com . en-US.
  28. Web site: 13 May 2024 . Queer Liberation March for Black, Brown, Queer, Trans, Gender Nonconforming, and Nonbinary Youth & Against War and Genocide . 2024-06-30 . www.instagram.com.
  29. Web site: Assunção . Muri . 2024-06-29 . 6th Queer Liberation March to highlight LGBTQ youth, stand against Gaza war . 2024-06-30 . New York Daily News . en-US.

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