Nyc gay pride parade 2008
The details of the map were pulled primarily from The New York Times archive. And by 1989, it’s a “Traffic Alert.” A further exploration into the language changes over time through Ngram and Google Trends and shows the progress – at least in language – the US has made in understanding LGBT rights. The New York Times covered the 1971 parade with the headline, “Militant Homosexuals Stage March in Central Park,” the 1982 event, “Pride and Joy at Homosexual Parade,” and 1990: “Throngs Cheer at Gay and Lesbian March.” Over time, the word “homosexual” is replaced by “gay,” and “acceptance” evolves into “rights,” showing clearly the trend towards, well, acceptance. In conducting research for this map, a major finding was the change in language used by the media to cover the parade over four decades. Today, with the Supreme Court declaring gay marriage is a right, the one-million strong parade is a symbol of freedom, civil rights and joy for LGBT New Yorkers – and visitors from every part of the world.
For the next forty years, the parade has grown and shifted routes through politics and tragedy into the event it is today. In 1973, the parade was called a “better-organized event” in The New York Times it proceeded from Central Park with 20,000 marchers down Seventh Avenue to Washington Square Park ending in a large rally ( video). The parade was launched as a 2,000-person march in 1970 to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, with chants of “Say it loud, gay is proud.” Initially, it flowed north from Christopher Street to Central Park, but has shifted routes over the decades as it grown and responded to new trends and regulations.
New York’s annual Heritage of Pride Parade, scheduled for Sunday, June 25, has been a central part of New York’s cultural life for the past 45 years. As posted by the NY Observer, we've created a map that details the start and rally points as the parade has evolved in its forty-five years: