Queer Liberation March


The Queer Liberation March was an LGBT protest march in Manhattan held June 30, 2019, coinciding with WorldPride NYC, which marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
The following year, in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, the same coalition organized the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives & Against Police Brutality on Sunday June 28, 2020, where the peaceful demonstration was marred by police action.

Background

There has been a large annual march and parade in New York City since 1970, produced by the nonprofit Heritage of Pride organization since 1984. The Queer Liberation March was created in protest of the corporate-focused sponsorship and participation requirements of that larger march, resulting in dueling Manhattan LGBTQ marches on the same day. In 2019, the Queer Liberation March proceeded uptown on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, following the path of the original 1970 demonstration, which itself marked the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and was organized by the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee. The Queer Liberation March proceeded in the opposite direction of the New York City Pride March, which travels downtown on Fifth Avenue through most of its route.

Organization

The Queer Liberation March was organized by the Reclaim Pride Coalition and was endorsed by activist and grassroots organizations including ACT UP NY, God's Love We Deliver, Housing Works, NYC Democratic Socialists of America, and SAGE. Civil rights attorney Norman Siegel worked with the City of New York for an agreement to hold the march on the same day as the larger NYC Pride March.
The march sought to embrace the activist intentions some believe have been lost in the larger, celebratory event.

Participation

The 2019 march began with 8,000 participants at the Stonewall National Monument and grew to 45,000 people as others joined along the way.