Pride parades draw crowds in multiple cities on Stonewall anniversary

Pride parades reached their peak Sunday in New York City, San Francisco and other cities on the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising. The marches concluded a month of events that combined public festivities with statements on LGBTQ+ rights.

Stonewall origins and parade history Both the New York and San Francisco parades trace their origins to 1970 commemorations of the June 28, 1969, clash at the Stonewall Inn in New York, when patrons resisted a police raid. The Stonewall National Monument centers on a small park across the street from the bar, roughly half a mile from the main New York parade route.

Political context and administration actions This year’s events occurred as President Donald Trump has worked to roll back transgender rights and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The Republican administration earlier removed a rainbow Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument before restoring it after a lawsuit.

Multiple Republican governors have designated June as “Nuclear Family Month,” describing the move as an alternative to Pride observances.

Statements from organizers and participants “As LGBTQIA+ events and symbols are being erased, it’s vital that our community have safe spaces to show up and march to make clear: We are here,” a spokesperson for New York parade organizers Heritage of Pride said in a statement Friday. “We will not be erased.”

“It’s very important for us to be here … all together for love, peace and to show the world who we are.”

Some transgender rights activists pressed New York organizers to exclude contingents from hospitals that recently stopped providing certain youth medical treatments after federal funding threats and Justice Department subpoenas. A judge has temporarily blocked the subpoenas.