STONEWALL 50/ WORLDPRIDE
Rally Commemorates Half Century Since Stonewall
Thousands jammed blocks surrounding historic bar in June 28 gathering
The crowd that fi lled Christopher Street and Waverly Place outside the Stonewall Inn on Friday, June 28
for the WorldPride rally commemorating the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.
PHOTO ESSAY BY MICHAEL LUONGO
In the early evening and well
past the setting of the sun
on June 28 — exactly 50
years after the Stonewall
Uprising began following a police
raid on the West Village bar —
WorldPride hosted a commemorative
rally at Christopher Street and
Waverly Place outside the historic
Stonewall Inn.
Among several dozen speakers
were grand marshals of the June
30 WorldPride March — Monica
Helms , the creator of the Transgender
Flag; Lady Phyll , a co-founder
of UK Black Pride; and Amit Paley,
representing the group he heads,
the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ
youth suicide prevention and crisis
intervention group.
Elected offi cials who spoke included
out gay City Council Speaker
Corey Johnson, Mayor Bill de
Blasio, West Side Congressmember
Jerrold Nadler, who chairs the
House Judiciary Committee, and
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
Darragh Dandurand, the rally
director for NYC Pride, which produced
the WorldPride activities in
June, including Sunday’s march,
explained that the rally aimed to
“honor the diverse voices and diverse
issues that have marked the
remarkable progress of the LGBTQIA
community over the past
half century,” while recognizing
“the critical importance of the need
to continue our unrelenting fi ght
for progress on so many fronts as
we work toward full equality.”
MICHAEL LUONGO
Martha Shelley, an early activist fi rst with
the Daughters of Bilitis and later with the Gay
Liberation Front, who witnessed the Stonewall
Uprising.
MICHAEL LUONGO
Amit Paley, executive director of the Trevor
Project, which is among the grand marshals on
June 30.
MICHAEL LUONGO
Monica Helms, the creator of the Transgender
Flag and a grand marshal at the WorldPride
March on June 30.
MICHAEL LUONGO
MICHAEL LUONGO
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
Río Sofi a, a trans woman speaking on behalf of Planned Parenthood, where
she is a client.
MICHAEL LUONGO
MICHAEL LUONGO
Cathy Marino-Thomas, speaking on behalf of Gays Against Guns.
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