Fergie, Hillary, and A Million-Plus Crowd Rally for Equality at New York City Pride

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©Mark Thompson for MRNY

As the headliner for NYC Pride‘s 30th annual Dance on the Pier at Hudson River Park’s Pier 26 in Manhattan, the award-winning Fergie rallied a crowd of thousands in the name of equality and pride, while honoring the victims of the recent massacre in Orlando.

Earlier in the day, on the heels of President Obama’s declaration of the Stonewall Inn as the first LGBT national monument, a crowd of 1.6 million convened for the 2-mile long March down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue in celebration of NYC Pride.

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©Mark Thompson for MRNY

Marching before a rainbow archway of 1,872 balloons, the Boy Scouts of America provided the color guard for the third consecutive year. United together behind the theme “Equality Needs You,” this year’s NYC Pride Grand Marshals included 15-year-old activist Jazz Jennings, one of the nation’s best known voices for the experiences of young trans people, alongside Syrian refugee Subhi Nahas and HIV/AIDS activist Cecilia Chung, a founding producer of the San Francisco Trans March.

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©Mark Thompson for MRNY

Following the National Anthem sung by Minnie Dee, the March stepped off with its traditional roar from the Sirens Women’s Motorcycle Club. The annual Moment of Silence, which is rooted in tribute to those lives lost to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, honored those who have marched before, as well as the victims in Orlando.

Marked by a profusion of rainbow flags and cheering crowds that were packed a dozen-deep along the sidewalks of New York, the March down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and into the West Village featured nearly 25,000 marchers and approximately 350 marching contingents on more than 75 floats.

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©Mark Thompson for MRNY

Accompanied by long-time LGBT supporters Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Hillary Clinton joined the March as she has done in previous years—albeit this year as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

This year’s rainbow-wide spectrum of nonprofits, corporate partners, politicos, and community organizations also included the National Basketball Association, the very first professional sports league to march with NYC Pride.

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©Mark Thompson for MRNY

Hosted by Broadway and YouTube sensation Todrick Hall on the Friday evening of NYC Pride weekend, the 47th NYC LGBT Rally included performances by Bob the Drag QueenPrincess Lockerooo & the Wacktion Heroes, Tonewall, and Sandra Valls. Tony Award-winner Lisa Kron recalled her first NYC Pride marching the lavender line with her parents. Pulse nightclub owner Barbara Poma addressed the crowd about the impact of the massacre at the Orlando LGBT club she had established in honor of her brother who had died from AIDS and spoke about the ongoing import of LGBT community in the face of global persecution and intolerance.

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©Mark Thompson for MRNY

Produced by NYC Pride (historically known as Heritage of Pride, Inc.) and always celebrated on the last Sunday in June, the annual NYC Pride March commemorates the first Pride March, which took place on the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1970.

Originally known as Christopher Street Liberation Day, the first LGBT Pride was an unpermitted, explicitly political protest of anti-LGBT policies and attitudes—and, therefore, the event remains a march (rather than a parade) until complete and full equality has been achieved for all LGBT people.

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©Mark Thompson for MRNY

Each year, the March is followed by Dance on the Pier, now celebrating its 30th anniversary. NYC Pride’s largest annual fundraiser for Pride events and LGBT non-profit grant winners, this year’s Dance on the Pier featured music from a variety of deejays including Ben Baker, Honey Soundsystem, Hoxton Whores, and Alain Jackinsky.

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©Mark Thompson for MRNY

Following Fergie’s ferocious performance, a resplendent fireworks display illuminated the night sky over the Hudson River. The brilliance of a myriad spots of lights underscored the words of NYC Pride Managing Director Chris Frederick who stated, “LGBT Americans are not fully protected from discrimination in 33 states. Each of us has the ability to affect the world. Each of us has the spark of change burning in our blood. Our predecessors penned the prologue and we must finish the novel.”

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©Mark Thompson for MRNY

Click here for slideshow of NYC Pride Rally 2016.

Click here for slideshow of NYC Pride March 2016.

Click here for slideshow of NYC Pride Pier Dance 2016.

Mark Thompson

About Mark Thompson

A member of Authors Guild, Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), and New York Travel Writers (NYTW), Mark Thompson is an editor, journalist, and photographer whose work appears in various periodicals, including Travel Weekly, Metrosource, Huffington Post, Global Traveler, Out There, and OutTraveler. The author of the novels Wolfchild (2000) and My Hawaiian Penthouse (2007), Mark completed a Ph.D. in American Studies. He has been a Fellow and a resident at various artists' communities, including MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center.

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