New York City’s 54th annual Pride March steps off today, Sunday, June 29, at 11 a.m., flooding Manhattan streets with thousands celebrating LGBTQ+ resilience. This year’s theme, “Rise Up: Pride in Protest,” responds to increased political hostility and scaled-back corporate support, with 39% of companies reducing Pride initiatives.
Historic march kicks off today with defiant theme amid political challenges
The 1.8-mile route begins at 26th Street and 5th Avenue, passing the Stonewall National Monument before dispersing at 15th Street and 7th Avenue.
Kazz Alexander, NYC Pride co-chair was quoted as saying, “We must support one another, because when the most marginalized among us are granted their rights, all of us benefit.”
“Pride is not merely a celebration of identity—it is a powerful statement of resistance, affirming that justice and equity will ultimately prevail for those who live and love on the margins,” Alexander continued.
Free live streaming available as grand marshals lead 54th annual demonstration
For those unable to attend, ABC-7 (WABC-TV) will broadcast the march live starting at noon ET, with free streaming available on abc7NY.com. Grand Marshals Karine Jean-Pierre, activist Marti Gould Cummings, DJ Lina, Elisa Crespo, and advocacy group Trans formative Schools will lead the procession. Concurrently, PrideFest – the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ street fair – runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. along 4th Avenue. Despite heightened security with 10,000 barriers and police patrols, officials confirm no credible threats exist.
The march commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, where patrons of the Greenwich Village gay bar resisted police harassment, igniting the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. When same-sex intimacy was criminalized, bars like Stonewall provided rare safe havens.
The first anniversary march in 1970 launched this tradition of protest and visibility, leading to President Clinton declaring June Pride Month in 1999 and President Obama designating Stonewall a national monument in 2016.
Today’s event embodies that legacy, challenging ongoing discrimination while celebrating hard-won freedoms as millions rally worldwide.