A rainbow sea of thousands lined Manhattan streets for the annual NYC Pride March on Sunday, with attendees showing their festive support of the LGBTQ community while standing in solidarity with those being targeted by laws being passed across the country.
Pride provides a safe space to explore and showcase their identities, LGBTQ attendees said, which they don’t take for granted as states across the nation target drag performances, gender-affirming health care, diversity education and more.
Many organizations and nonprofits marched in the parade, to the backdrop of jubilant cheers, upbeat music, dazzling glitter and confetti. The annual Pride march commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Riots that launched the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
Groups from Stony Brook University, Hofstra University and Northwell Health represented Long Island on Sunday, along with everyday Long Islanders. There were five grand marshals, including singer and actor Billy Porter; asexual activist Yasmin Benoit; nonprofit leader AC Dumlao; national organizer Hope Giselle and civil rights trailblazer Randolfe “Randy” Wicker. Wicker has been a leader in LGBTQ activism for over sixty years.
Sasha Koulakova, 19, of Huntington, attended Sunday’s Pride with friends. Koulakova, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, said attending Pride with other attendees who were LGBTQ, as well as allies, made them feel safe and part of a community.
“I know so many people who have struggled with finding themselves and finding their place in the world,” they said, adding that Pride gives people a safe space to do so.
The worry of being singled out or being the victim of a hate crime weighs heavily on Koulakova, who likened Sunday to “testing the waters to feel more safe. I’m getting a little more exposure therapy in the real world.”
The streets are filled with confetti at the start of the march on Fifth Avenue.
Credit: Linda Rosier
Maxine Moylan, 30, is a coordinator…
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