The first Pride march in the U.S. was held 50 years ago in New York City to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. We talked to organizers, activists and gay rights leaders about how it spread across the globe. nyti.ms/2YBIw1b
“The Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day March was as revolutionary and chaotic as everything we did that first year after the Stonewall riots,” said Mark Segal, the marshal of the first parade. “The march was a reflection of us: out, loud and proud.” nyti.ms/2YBIw1b 
“The march, and era, felt new and exciting and helped us learn about ourselves at a time before cell phones and the internet — when LGBTs were mostly met with hatred and disgust,” recalled Leslie Scott Seale, whose first Pride parade was in 1971. nyti.ms/2YBIw1b
“It was a gamble,” said Peter Tatchell, a British LGBT activist and an organizer of Britain’s first Pride Parade in 1972. “The fear of arrest and violent attacks deterred many, and made us nervous.” nyti.ms/2YBIw1b
“We had discussed a number of things to make a statement about AIDS during the Pride March in 1987,” said Avram Finkelstein, a founding member of Act Up. “We ultimately embraced the idea of a float designed like a concentration camp." nyti.ms/2YBIw1b
“We spend so much of our year fighting for our rights, and Pride events give a chance to reflect on all that we’ve already accomplished,” said Rebekah Bruesehoff, 13-year-old transgender activist and speaker at Youth Pride 2019. nyti.ms/2YBIw1b
Read how organizers, activists and participants recall their first Pride marches and the evolution of LGBTQ events around the world 50 years after the first march. nyti.ms/2YBIw1b
