STONEWALL 50/ WORLDPRIDE
WorldPride Kicks Off in Brooklyn
Opening Ceremony at Barclays Center featured dazzling line-up of performers
BY KELSY CHAUVIN
WorldPride NYC
and the Stonewall
50 Anniversary
Weekend offi cially
kicked off Wednesday, June 26,
drawing thousands of revelers to
Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The ticketed fundraising event
brought LGBTQ community leaders
and luminaries to the stage,
led by host and native New Yorker
Whoopi Goldberg, who welcomed
about 8,000 attendees to the fi rstever
WorldPride in the US.
Goldberg launched the evening
by introducing headliner Cyndi
Lauper, who emerged from a
larger-than-life-size globe singing
“True Colors” with a team of dancers.
Lauper was among a dazzling
lineup of LGBTQ and ally singers,
activists, actors, and drag
performers — including headliners
Chaka Khan, Ciara, Daya,
Todrick Hall, Sara Ramirez, and
queens famous from “RuPaul’s
Drag Race.”
All performed in celebration,
with continual reminders of the
vital work ahead to secure international
LGBTQ civil rights.
“Can you think of a better place
for the fi rst US WorldPride than
New York City?,” Goldberg asked.
“Because this is where is Pride
was born. And nobody does Pride
better than we do. And remember:
This isn’t just the fi rst US World-
Pride. This is also the 50th anniversary
of the Stonewall Uprising.
For all you young-uns out there
— that is the beginning of Pride.
It has been 50 years! Think about
how much body glitter that is.
How many times have you heard
‘It’s Raining Men’ in 50 years?”
She continued “But we all know
that Pride isn’t just about the
party. We have Pride because so
many strong and frustrated queer
people got loud enough and brave
enough to say Stop! Stop! Stop!”
Between acts, documentary
videos recapped some of the LGBTQ
community’s achievements,
as well as background about
the three non-profi t groups benefi
KELSY CHAUVIN
Alyssa Edwards performs at the Opening Ceremony
at Barclays Center.
tting from the night’s net proceeds.
They include SAGE ( sagenyc.
org ), the country’s largest organization
dedicated to improving the
lives of LGBTQ older adults; the
Ali Forney Center ( aliforneycenter.
org ), the nation’s largest agency
housing and helping LGBTQ
homeless youths; and Immigration
Equality ( immigrationequality.
org ), America’s leading LGBTQ
immigrant rights organization,
advocating for people from around
the world fl eeing violence, abuse,
and persecution because of their
sexual orientation, gender identity,
or HIV status.
Goldberg’s hosting embodied
much of what New Yorkers and
global citizens are feeling this
month — a balance of unabashed
pride, mixed with deep concerns
about the future.
“The Stonewall Uprising led
to fi ve days of protest,” she said.
“And you know what? We are still
protesting.”
Among many moments of remembrance,
the Opening Ceremony
brought to the stage members
of the Gay Liberation Front, the
group that established the annual
June Pride March in 1970. Also
honored were transgender activist
and Transgender Pride Flag
creator Monica Helms; as well as
Phyll Opoku-Gyimah (aka Lady
Phyll), who leads the UK Black
KELSY CHAUVIN
Whoopi Goldberg was the evening’s host.
Pride celebration and protest.
Each of them were 2019 NYC
Pride grand marshals, along with
the cast of TV show “Pose,” represented
by Billy Porter (Pray Tell),
Dominique Jackson (Elektra), Indya
Moore (Angel), and Mj Rodriguez
(Blanca).
At the opening, performer Sara
Ramirez sang “Somewhere Over
the Rainbow” as the crowd applauded
two dozen LGBTQ community
organizers and activists
from New York and beyond.
Among them was Andrea Jenkins,
the fi rst out transgender African
American woman elected to
public offi ce in the United States,
serving since January 2018 on
the Minneapolis City Council.
Others who helped inaugurate
WorldPride NYC included the fi rst
out gay NBA player Jason Collins;
City Council Speaker Corey
Johnson; SAGE volunteer Lujira
Cooper; Ali Forney founder and
executive director Carl Siciliano;
NYC Pride executive director
Chris Frederick; and representatives
from Interpride, the parent
organizer of WorldPride.
Deep into the evening, the stage
was graced by actor and activist
Laverne Cox, who declared, “As a
proud, black transgender woman
of color I stand before you, and in
humble homage to my mothers
and sisters who came before me.
I stand here because of Sylvia Rivera.
KELSY CHAUVIN
Chaka Khan was among a dazzling line-up of
performers.
I stand here because of Marsha
P. Johnson. And I also stand
here for those who cannot.”
She continued, “I stand here for
those whose lives were cut short
by violence and discrimination.
I stand here so they know their
lives are deeply valued. Can we invite
their spirit to enter this space
tonight? To permeate our beings
and to fortify our souls, here and
now. To continue to fi ght, to continue
to love, and to continue to
answer the very highest calling
of our shared humanity. We are
here to remember 50 years of
Stonewall. We are here — and you
know we ain’t going nowhere!”
The night’s sharpest performances
came from the sequence
of fi ve drag queens, which Goldberg
introduced as “my personal
drag race fantasy.” The “RuPaul’s
Drag Race” showstoppers were
Alaska Thunderfuck, Yvie Oddly,
Shangela, Alyssa Edwards, and
Bob the Drag Queen.
Yet even as she spotlighted the
dazzling entertainment, Goldberg
kept returning to the political signifi
cance behind Pride.
“There have always been forces
fi ghting against the LGBTQ community,”
she said. “But you can’t
stop Pride. The LGBTQ community
has always been stronger
than any hate that’s been thrown
➤ OPENING CEREMONY, continued on p.7
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