Levine added that he felt grateful that both the city of Albany and the state overall have been supportive of Pride Month and the LGBTQ community.Įxamples of the city’s support include the creation of a rainbow-painted crosswalk on Central Avenue since late May - stretching between ROCKS and Waterworks Pub which are two local significant gay bars - and the raising of the rainbow LGBTQ flag over the state Capitol for the first time in history on Wednesday, June 5. It’s a very diverse community and we want to celebrate and stand up together.” Scott Levine, vice president of the Pride Center of the Capital Region, said, “We’ve come so far in 50 years and to me, Pride is getting everyone together in one voice for at least one day. “How brave were those people all those years ago to stand up to the police and say, ‘We’re done.
I’m tired of being discriminated against and not being equal,’” said Harvey. “When Stonewall happened, many people said, ‘This is enough. The Stonewall riots served as a catalyst for the modern LGBTQ rights movement both in the United States and worldwide.
She said that 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots at the Stonewall Inn, a prominent gay bar in Manhattan, where members of the LGBTQ community rallied against police officers in retaliation of a police raid at the bar on June 28, 1969.Īt the time, discrimination was much more pronounced against LGBTQ people, where such people would often face ostracism from family and friends, risk losing their jobs,or worse. Speaking of Stonewall, it helped explain why the immense celebration and turnout at Albany’s Pride events was expected, said Harvey. “Pride Month is the recognition of Stonewall, LGBTQ and human rights, and protections and freedom of everyone, regardless of their sexuality or expression.” “Pride Month means hope to me,” said Martha Harvey, the executive director and CEO of the Pride Center of the Capital Region. The parade, which wound down Fifth Avenue and then along Eighth Street and Greenwich Avenue to Christopher Street, drew thousands of onlookers during a daylong drizzle.ALBANY - Downtown Albany became much more colorful on Sunday, June 9 as droves of people came together for the annual Capital Pride Parade and Festival, which began at noon and ended officially around 5 p.m.Īs June has been the de facto month for LGBTQ Pride Month, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people were joined by their straight allies many were adorned with rainbow-themed glitter, iridiscent outfits, and positive messages.Ĭapital Pride Parade, sponsored by Hannaford, began at State Street, then went through Lark Street and Madison Avenue, before concluding at Washington Park, which was where the Capital Pride Festival was held. Together they evoked the broad themes of pride, diversity and tolerance.
"We still have a lot to achieve."Īlong the route, Haitians, Taiwanese, Dominicans, South Asians and others joined myriad religious groups, including Presbyterians, Evangelical Lutherans and Episcopalians. The parade is celebratory, he said, then there's the march. The parade's other grand marshal, Florent Morellet, a gay rights advocate and restaurateur, said yesterday's observance had two sides. "What I do know is we have a very active community that's working very hard on this issue, that we will continue to press the issue forward, and we will do that with a multipronged strategy," she said. Quinn, in a separate news conference before the parade, said she could not predict how long a struggle to get Albany to approve same-sex marriages would take. He said, "I do think that will probably be an uphill fight, but it's a fight that I'm committed to fighting.