50 years of LGBTQ pride showcased in protests, parades

June 30, 2019 in News by RBN Staff

Marchers participate in the Queer Liberation March in New York, Sunday, June 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

source: www.kxan.com
by: Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Five decades of LGBTQ pride was celebrated Sunday as crowds gathered outside New York’s historic Stonewall Inn to mark the 50th anniversary of the police raid that sparked the modern-day gay rights movement, as other cities throughout the country planned massive parades.

More than 2,000 people gathered Sunday morning outside the bar where patrons resisted a police raid in 1969 to kick off the counter-march prior to the larger parade slated to start later in the day.

The organizers of the Queer Liberation March said the larger Pride parade has become too commercialized and heavily policed.

“What’s important to remember is that this is a protest against the monetization of the Pride parade, against the police brutality of our community, against the poor treatment of sections of our community, of black and brown folk, of immigrants,” said Jake Seller, a 24-year-old Indiana native who now lives in Brooklyn and worked as one of the march’s volunteers.

Protesters carried anti-Trump and queer liberation signs, chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets!”

“We march for the liberation of our community so they can live and celebrate their identity. So they can reclaim it. This will always remain a protest, not an advertisement,” Seller said.

Other attendees focused on the progress that’s been made within the LGBTQ community over the last few decades.

“We’ve come so far in the past 20 years,” said 55-year-old Gary Piper, who came from Kansas to celebrate Pride with his partner. “I remember friends who would be snatched off the streets in Texas for dressing in drag. They’d have to worry about being persecuted for their identity.”

“But now we’re so much more accepted. I’m not saying we don’t have ways to go, but let’s celebrate how far we’ve come,” he said, adding that he also planned to attend the parade later in the day.

Police presence was high at the march, with several officers posted at every corner.

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