A huge pride parade, with an expected 40,000 people marching, took place today in New York City. For the first time, ABC partnered with the event to let people watch from their homes, too. Last year, 30,000 people marched and about 2 million people showed up for the event. Scroll through this story to see more photos from the parade too.
This year’s theme is “We Are Proud.” NYC Pride March Director Julian Sanjivan said that people are feeling a lot of uncertainty right now, and the parade is meant to bring people together so they can feel proud about who they are.
This was the NYC Pride March’s 48th annual parade. Some people even brought their pets, decked out in supportive colors, as you can see in the photo below:
The parade started on 36th Street and Fifth Avenue and ended at West Village.
The NYC Pride March began in 1970 as a civil rights demonstration. It started on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Today it’s one of the largest LGBT events in the world.
This year’s march was led by the ACLU, Geng Le, Krishna Stone, and Brooke Guinan. This year’s march is focused on resisting pressure on gay rights.
Many different groups of people representing different causes attended the march. One group wore “Black Lives Matter” shirts, ABC 7 reported, and held up signs showing gay pride. Others wore Make America Gay Again hats, and others wore shirts or carried signs protesting potential health care cuts.
Many participated in the march, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, Chirlane McCray, and Commissioner James O’Neill. The march began at noon.
New York was the first large state to approve same-sex marriage in 2011, paving the way for equality.
Not long after New York’s bill approving same-sex marriage passed, Biden and Obama followed, endorsing the right.
Chelsea Manning took part in this year’s pride march — the first one she has been able to attend since being released from prison. Here’s a picture of her, shared by the ACLU:
Manning said she was honored to represent the ACLU at the pride march.
Chelsea was in the parade next to Gavin Grimm, a transgender teen. He sued his school for not letting him access the boy’s bathroom.