Queer Liberation March
Black circular logo with the words "Queer Liberation March" above a pink triangle
Event logo used in 2019
Frequencyannual
Location(s)New York City
InauguratedJune 30, 2019 (2019-06-30)
Next eventJune 30, 2024
Organized byReclaim 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.

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

Posters for the Queer Liberation March 2021

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".

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]

The theme of the 2023 march was "Trans & Queer: Forever Here!"[24][25] Activist Qween Jean was among the leaders.[26][27]

Gallery

2019 protestors with a variety of signs, the largest being We Resist.

Special themes

See also

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. 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. ^ a b 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.
  25. ^ a b Tracy, Matt (April 24, 2023). "Reclaim Pride unveils theme for fifth annual Queer Liberation March". gaycitynews.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  26. ^ Tracy, Matt (June 26, 2023). "Trans and queer rights take center stage at intersectional Queer Liberation March". gaycitynews.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  27. ^ Tracy, Matt (June 23, 2023). "Reclaim Pride Coalition looks ahead to Queer Liberation March". gaycitynews.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
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