New York City Drag March
NYC Drag March | |
---|---|
Frequency | annual; Friday prior to last Sunday in June |
Location(s) | New York City |
Inaugurated | June 24, 1994 |
Organized by | Grassroots collective |
June 28, 2024 |
The New York City Drag March, or NYC Drag March, is an annual
The Drag March takes place on Friday night as a kick-off to NYC Pride weekend.[8] The event starts in Tompkins Square Park and ends in front of the Stonewall Inn; it is purposefully non-corporate, punk, inclusive, and largely leaderless.[1]
Background
In 1994, during preparations for Stonewall 25, organizers of NYC Pride announced neither
Busily creating a
Starting location
Participants were directed to
First march
The first drag march had an estimated 10,000 participants spread over ten blocks.
1995 to present
Harmonie continued to organize the event for the next few years before moving out of state, New York City Radical Faeries stepped in with Hucklefaery, a Radical Faerie and Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, becoming involved in 1998.[1] The Faeries added rituals and centeredness. Hucklefaery stated, “we are unifying our intentions: to honor our ancestors; to celebrate those of us present at the March; and by being present, we are catalysts for a future yet unrealized.”[1]
Baker died in March 2017, and that year's march was dedicated to him.[12]
The 25th anniversary of the first Drag March was let loose June 28, 2019,[15] coinciding with Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC, the largest international LGBTQ event in history.[16][17] The following year the Drag March had a notably smaller scale due to the coronavirus pandemic.[18] The protest march resumed its usual "loud music, lots of dancing, cheeky chants... and hundreds of amazing outfits" in 2021.[19] The 2022 Drag March coincided with the news that Roe v. Wade had been overturned.[20] Satirical chants during the 2023 march drew criticism from conservatives.[21]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Dommu, Rose (2018-06-25). "Hundreds Of Drag Queens Fill The NYC Streets Every Year For This 'Drag March'". HuffPost. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
- ^ Julia Goicichea (August 16, 2017). "Why New York City Is a Major Destination for LGBT Travelers". The Culture Trip. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ "Brief History of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement in the U.S." University of Kentucky. Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
- ^ Nell Frizzell (June 28, 2013). "Feature: How the Stonewall riots started the LGBT rights movement". Pink News UK. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
- ^ "Stonewall riots". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
- Department of the Interior. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- ^ "Obama inaugural speech references Stonewall gay-rights riots". Archived from the original on 2013-05-30. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
- ^ "See The Resplendent And Racy Queens And Kings Of NYC Drag March: Gothamist". amp.gothamist.com. Archived from the original on 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
- ^ Bravo, Tony (2018-06-21). "The untold story of rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker, the 'gay Betsy Ross'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
- ^ "Rainbow Flag Creator and Activist Gilbert Baker Has Died at 65". www.advocate.com. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
- ^ a b c Lynch, Scott. "See The Resplendent And Racy Queens And Kings Of NYC Drag March". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
- ^ Lynch, Scott. "Photos: Drag March Kicks Off Pride Weekend In Style". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
- ISBN 978-0-8153-1880-4.
- ^ Barrett, Jon (May 21, 2019). "What to see and do in NYC for World Pride". Newsday. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ Leonhardt, Andrea (2019-04-30). "Whoopi Goldberg, Cyndi Lauper, Chaka Khan to Kick off WorldPride..." BK Reader. Archived from the original on 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ "25th Annual Drag March Kicks Off Pride Weekend In Style". Gothamist. 2019-06-29. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
- ^ "Drag March Kicks Off A Toned-Down 2020 Pride Weekend". Gothamist. 2020-06-27. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
- ^ "Drag March Kicks Off Pride Weekend In Spectacular Style". Gothamist. 2021-06-26. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ Lynch, Scott (2022-06-25). "Drag March kicks off Pride Weekend 2022 with rage and defiance". Gothamist. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ^ "'We're Coming For Your Children' chant at NYC Drag March elicits outrage, but activists say it's taken out of context". NBC News. 2023-06-27. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
Notes
- ^ In the years since the riots occurred, the death of Judy Garland earlier in the week on June 22, 1969 has been attributed as a significant factor in the riots, but no participants in Saturday morning's demonstrations recall Garland's name being discussed. No print accounts of the riots by reliable sources cite Garland as a reason for the riot, although one sarcastic account by a heterosexual publication suggested the riot was linked to the gay icon. (Carter, p. 260.) Although Sylvia Rivera recalls she was saddened and amazed by the turnout at Garland's funeral on Friday, June 27, she said that she did not feel like going out much but changed her mind later. (Duberman, pp. 190–191.) Bob Kohler used to talk to the homeless youth in Sheridan Square, and said, "When people talk about Judy Garland's death having anything much to do with the riot, that makes me crazy. The street kids faced death every day. They had nothing to lose. And they couldn't have cared less about Judy. We're talking about kids who were fourteen, fifteen, sixteen. Judy Garland was the middle-aged darling of the middle-class gays. I get upset about this because it trivializes the whole thing." (Deitcher, p. 72.)
Sources
- Carter, David (2004). Stonewall : the riots that sparked the gay revolution (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. OCLC 54079526.
- The question of equality: lesbian and gay politics in America since Stonewall. Deitcher, David. New York: Scribner. 1995. )
- Duberman, Martin B. (1993). Stonewall (First ed.). New York. )