Photographs Capture Two Very Different NYC Pride Celebrations 

Tens of thousands of queer activists and allies flocked to Manhattan on Sunday, June 29, to attend two prominent marches uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community: the 55th annual NYC Pride March and the seventh annual Queer Liberation March. Pride Sunday is the culmination of weeks of queer celebrations and advocacy across New York City and beyond, and one of the city’s most cherished holidays. Although they take place at the same time and run parallel to one another, a stone’s throw apart, these two marches are a study in contrasts. 

The NYC Pride March, which begins at 26th Street and Fifth Avenue and ends at 16th Street and Seventh Avenue, is the largest pride event in the United States, with thousands of participants, millions of spectators, and lucrative brand partnerships. Despite the sweltering heat, the massive turnout across Manhattan this weekend was defiantly joyful. Still, the parade saw significantly fewer corporate investments this year, with a number of brands ostensibly attempting to avoid the ire of the Trump administration as the president continues to harass and target trans people and gut Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. 

Police participation in Pride remains a contentious subject. Since 2021, NYC Pride has banned the New York City Police Department (NYPD) from marching in uniform. Its officers have a pronounced presence throughout the event, patrolling all the entrances and exits to the parade. On Seventh Avenue at 13th street, I witnessed four cops forcibly escorting a queer photographer off the parade route. “I’ve been photographing this event for five years,” they countered, outraged. “This is my community!” 

Two avenues away, the Queer Liberation March took a more inclusive and grassroots approach. Founded in 2019 by the Reclaim Pride Coalition, the Queer March is framed as an alternative to NYC Pride’s embrace of corporate sponsors and perceived shift in values. The Queer Liberation March is explicitly pro-Palestinian and does not partner with corporations or with the police. Activists and allies gathered at the NYC AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s Triangle and proceeded up Eighth Avenue to Columbus Circle. “No Pride in genocide!” yelled trans activist Qween Jean, who led the crowd in a series of anti-imperialist chants condemning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and championing a free Palestine. 

At one point, she abruptly pivoted to chanting: “Zohran Mamdani!” It took the crowd a few minutes to register that the beaming Democratic mayoral nominee had actually materialized in the fray. 

Volunteer marshals were on hand to distribute water, offer wheelchair assistance, pick up trash, and point out treacherous potholes. A group of friends carried jugs of a home-made brew labeled with this year’s theme, “Resist! Reclaim! Rejoice!” The highly recommended hydrating elixir contained electrolytes, water, and “matcha for extra energy.” 

At the back of the procession was Reverend Pat Bumgardner, who has participated in nearly every Pride event since 1979, when “we were literally marching for our lives,” she told me. Bumgardner is currently the senior pastor at the Metropolitan Community Church in Hell’s Kitchen. 

In the decades since Stonewall, she has witnessed a marked shift in NYC Pride’s priorities. “Over the years, Pride became successful in appealing to corporate sponsors, which there’s nothing wrong with if you’re also holding their feet to the fire,” she said. “But if you’re giving them pride of place in the march and making all the community groups come last … One night we didn’t get to step off until midnight!”

She was encouraged by Reclaim Pride Coalition’s commitment to restoring Pride to its political, countercultural context. “The message of pride has been somewhat lost in the shuffle, but this group is trying to bring it back.” 

Young people appeared to attend the marches interchangeably, generally drawn to joyful queer community. One woman told me she would have attended both events, but ultimately chose NYC Pride because she knew her ex would be at the Queer Liberation March. 

I can most often be found photographing underground for my Subway Hands project. I’m drawn to documenting personhood and stray details in visually chaotic environments. Every year, I look forward to ascending at 14th Street to photograph Pride Sunday, which might be the single most photogenic event in New York City’s calendar year. What could be more vivacious than an extroverted celebration of intimacy and community, when millions of people joyfully take to the streets to advocate for each other and connect?

Still, I’m left thinking about the photographer who was physically removed from the Pride parade by police, their visual perspective erased from the archive. There is an untold loss when authorities dictate who makes the definitive photo record of a community event like Pride.