LIVE from NYPL: 50 Years of Marching for Pride

A half century after New York City's first Pride march, historians and activists look back at the roots of a grand tradition.

Throughout the 1970s marches were organized across the country toward a revolution in gay rights; at one end of the decade New York City's inaugural Pride march was held in 1970. At the other end, Washington D.C.'s first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights took place in 1979. As one of the marchers in New York put it in 1970, the marches were “an affirmation and declaration of our new pride.” Ellen Broidy helped to organize New York’s first Pride, and Joyce Hunter D.C.’s first march. They will speak with Eric Marcus, host of the podcast Making Gay History. What did it take to bring them together? What do they feel are the legacies of their work these decades later? How do we consider Pride 2020 in light of the ongoing movement for Black Lives around the country? In addition to their recollections, we'll turn to the Library’s collection of photographs by Diana Davies, a pioneering photojournalist who captured the pivotal events of this era and changed the ways LGBTQ people perceived themselves.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Ellen Broidy was an early member of the Gay Liberation Front, “president” of the NYU Student Homophile League, a founder of Radicalesbians, and, in fall 1969, presented the resolution creating the Christopher Street Liberation Day March at the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations. A Californian since 1971, she completed her doctorate in U.S. History at UC Irvine. She has worked as a librarian, faculty member, and Writing Specialist at UCI, UCLA, and UCSB. Ellen and her partner of 41 years live in Santa Barbara, where she remains active in progressive causes, with a particular focus on racial and immigration justice.

Joyce Hunter D.S.W., is a Research Scientist at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University and a member of the Global Community Core. She is also Principal Investigator of the Working It Out Project, a community-based HIV prevention research project for gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents that utilizes an award-winning video and an intervention curriculum. This program, which Dr. Hunter co-developed with community members, addresses coming out, stigma, development of coping strategies to address stressful life events, and personal identity development.

Eric Marcus is the founder and host of the Making Gay History podcast, which mines his decades-old audio archive of rare interviews conducted for his oral history book of the same name, to create intimate portraits of LGBTQ trailblazers. He is also the author of Breaking the Surface, co-producer of Those Who Were There, a podcast drawn from Yale University’s Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, and founder of the Stonewall 50 Consortium, which brings together 240 nonprofits committed to producing programming, exhibitions, and educational materials related to LGBTQ history and culture.

ADDITIONAL READING
If you have a NYPL library card—or live in New York state and want to apply for one now—you can borrow The Stonewall Reader and Love and Resistance: Out of the Closet into the Stonewall Era  for free with our e-reader app SimplyE, available for iOS and Android devices.

Readers everywhere who wish to purchase copies of The Stonewall Reader and Love and Resistance: Out of the Closet into the Stonewall Era can do so at The New York Public Library Shop. All proceeds benefit The New York Public Library. Plus, receive a free commemorative 125th anniversary tote bag with your purchase!


This program will be streamed on Zoom and simulcast to YouTube. You must register with your email address in order to receive the link to participate. Please check your email shortly before the discussion to receive the link. Captions for this event will be provided.

Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc.) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Sara Beth Joren at sarabethjoren@nypl.org.

For all other questions and inquiries, please contact publicprograms@nypl.org.

PUBLIC NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER
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