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Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Democrats, were among those attending the march.īefore it started, Cuomo officially unveiled a New York state memorial to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people that honors victims of intolerance. I think it's really cool that people come and they are exactly who they want to be."Įlected officials, including New York Gov. That's why I love coming to these things. "I'm getting emotional about it because I think it's so beautiful when people are who they are. "It's okay to be who you are and love who you love and dress how you want to dress and do what you want to do because I think it's so important to be who you are and who you love," she said. Participants march in the 2018 Gay Pride Parade in New York City, June 24, 2018. Ohemaa Dixon, 20, from Brooklyn, teared up as she spoke about what the parade meant to her and the joy she felt in seeing everyone come out to attend. Olivia Nadler, a Connecticut resident attending her third parade, said, "People that are oppressed are not going to go away, they're not going to be quiet, they're not going to be ignored."Īmong the signs people were carrying in the parade were phrases like, "Black and brown and trans lives matter" and "No more guns." Whether it's immigrants, whether it's queer people or people of color, we're not going to put up with what this administration is doing," said Diego Molano, of Queens, at his second pride parade. "We're making a statement that we're here, everybody. They also spoke out against policies aimed at other communities, like immigrants and minorities. Onlookers and participants in New York noted those origins at Sunday's event, which was both a celebration of the diversity of LGBT culture and a statement against anti-LGBT policies promoted by President Donald Trump, such as the Republican president's attempt to ban all transgender people from serving in the military. The event, and others like it around the country, commemorated the riots that erupted in response to a police raid at a New York gay bar called the Stonewall Inn in June 1969. Tennis legend Billie Jean King was one of the grand marshals, along with transgender advocate Tyler Ford and civil rights organization Lambda Legal. Celebration and pride mixed with defiance in New York City on Sunday as throngs of people crowded the streets, rainbow flags waving, for the annual gay pride march.