Queer Liberation March

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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)
Organized byReclaim Pride Coalition
June 27, 2021

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

A grassroots collective 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.[1][2][3][4][5][6] A year later the coalition, in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, organized the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives & Against Police Brutality on June 28, 2020,[7][8] where the non-violent demonstration was faced with police action that included the use of pepper spray on marchers.[9][10]

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,[11] to mark the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.[12] 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. 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.[13][14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

The march sought to embrace the activist intentions some believe have been lost in the larger, celebratory event.[17][18][19]

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.[20][21][22]


  • Queer Liberation, Not Rainbow Capitalism

  • We Resist at the Queer Liberation March

  • Die-in at the Queer Liberation March at 6th Avenue and 23rd Street in Manhattan.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Silvers, Mara; WNYC. "LGBTQ Group Plans Alternative 'Queer Liberation March' On Pride Day". Gothamist. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  2. ^ "'Queer Liberation March' sets stage for dueling NYC gay pride events". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  3. ^ Goicichea, Julia (August 16, 2017). "Why New York City Is a Major Destination for LGBT Travelers". The Culture Trip. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ Gaffney, Emma. "No Cops, No Sponsors: 50 Years After Stonewall, Pride Goes Back to its Roots".
  7. ^ Manzella, Sam (2020-06-26). "How the March Gets Made: Reclaim Pride Organizers Share Their Wisdom". LOGO News. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  8. ^ Schulman, Michael. "A Radical Challenger to New York City's Pride March". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  9. ^ Osborne, Duncan (2020-06-28). "Peaceful Queer Liberation March Ends With Pepper Spray at Washington Square". Gay City News. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  10. ^ Kornhaber, Spencer (2020-06-30). "Pride Can't Go Back to What It Was Before". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  11. ^ "archives.nypl.org -- Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee records". archives.nypl.org. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  12. ^ The New York Public Library. "Christopher Street Liberation Day 1970". 1969: The Year of Gay Liberation. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  13. ^ The Associated Press (2019-05-14). "NYC Activists Plan Alternative Gay Pride March for Same Day". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  14. ^ "'Queer Liberation March' sets stage for dueling NYC gay pride events". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  15. ^ "Endorsements". Reclaim Pride Coalition. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  16. ^ Assunção, Muri. "LGBTQ activists plan an alternative march to celebrate 50 years of Stonewall". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  17. ^ "There's a Corporation-Free Queer Liberation March Happening in NYC". www.out.com. 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  18. ^ Santus, Rex (2019-05-14). "Cops and Corporations Aren't Welcome at This Radical Alternative to NYC's Pride Parade". Vice News. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  19. ^ "The Queer Liberation March: 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising". Incandescere. 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  20. ^ Factora, James (July 10, 2019). "The 2019 Queer Liberation March Reclaimed the Resistance of Pride". them. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  21. ^ Wood, Olivia. "45,000 Reclaim Stonewall at NYC's Queer Liberation March". Left Voice. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  22. ^ Teeman, Tim; Rogers, Sarah; Miller, Justin (2019-07-01). "Stonewall 50: 50 Faces, 50 Stories, From New York City's LGBT World Pride". Daily Beast. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
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