The spirit of
Stonewall lives on.
Heritage of Pride is a nonprofit organization that plans and produces New York City’s official LGBTQIA+ Pride events each year to commemorate the Stonewall Riots of 1969 — the beginning of the modern Gay Rights movement.
Our Mission
Heritage of Pride works toward a future without discrimination where all people have equal rights under the law. We do this by producing LGBTQIA+ Pride events that inspire, educate, commemorate and celebrate our diverse community.
Stonewall
June 28, 1969
Early in the morning of June 28, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village bar that had become a staple of New York City's underground gay community. But this time, tired of the ongoing raids, community members fought back, striking what would become known as The Stonewall Riots.
Christopher
Street Unites!
June 28, 1970
A year after Stonewall, the first Gay Pride March was held by the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee to commemorate the riots. The New York Times reported that the marchers took up the entire street for about 15 city blocks.
The struggle
gains speed.
June 24, 1973
One of the first major successes of the movement came when the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the DSM-II, where it had been listed alongside pedophilia and zoophilia. Pride organizations began forming in major cities throughout the U.S. to continue the fight.
1973
The country is
listening.
October 14, 1979
Following the ten-year anniversary of Stonewall and the assassination of Harvey Milk, thousands took to the streets for the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The struggle had been a collection of local ones, but for the first time, it garnered major national attention.
The darkest hour.
June 5, 1982
June 5 saw the first official documentation of AIDS, the disease that became known as GRID (gay-related immune deficiency) and “gay cancer.” In September, the CDC reported an average of one to two AIDS diagnoses in America daily. AIDS would continue to decimate pioneers into the future.
1982
The March
continues.
June 24, 1984
Pride celebrations had been established in many major cities in the U.S., as well as around the world. Heritage of Pride was founded in 1984 to take over the planning of New York City Pride events from the disbanded Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee, former organizers of The March and Rally.
1984
Photo by Steve Zabel
A bittersweet
policy.
June 28, 1993
The U.S. Government had just passed Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but the good news was that gay rights remained front and center at Capitol Hill and on the streets of New York. Heritage of Pride took over the Christopher Street Festival, renaming it PrideFest.
1993
Voices around
the world.
October 16, 1997
Obstacles, like the Defense of Marriage Act, continued to get in the way, but the community marched on. Heritage of Pride hosted the 16th annual International Association of Lesbian & Gay Pride Coordinators conference, the first to have substantial participation from international committees.
Small changes
make way for
big ones.
March 15, 2000
Vermont passed the first laws allowing for Civil Unions and Registered Partnerships among LGBTQIA+ couples. It was one small step that will help pave the way for future policies.
A first win for
gay marriage.
May 17, 2004
For the first time, same-sex marriage laws were passed in Massachusetts. Laws continued to ban gay marriage in Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oregon and Utah. Civil Unions were banned in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The marriage
plot thickens.
November 4, 2008
In California, another victory for same-sex marriage was swiftly struck down several months later when voters pass ballot initiative Proposition 8.
Marching towards
marriage equality.
August 4, 2010
A federal court declared California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional, while Washington, New Hampshire, Maryland and Washington, D.C. all recognized same-sex marriage. Though the struggle for gay marriage rights continued, progress was being made quicker than ever.
2010
Equality
comes home.
June 15, 2011
On the eve of Pride weekend, state lawmakers voted to make New York the sixth state in the nation, and the most populous thus far, to legally recognize same-sex marriages. The Empire State joined Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia.
2011
Supreme Court
ruling.
June 26, 2013
One of NYC Pride's 2013 Grand Marshals, Edie Windsor brought her fight against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to the U.S. Supreme Court and won! The Federal Government now recognized same-sex marriages in states where they are legal, but the list of states still banning same-sex marriages was long.
2013
One nation
under love.
June 28, 2015
46 years after a riot at the Stonewall Inn ushered in the modern gay rights movement, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples can marry nationwide. The fight continued across the nation, as full protections (including housing, employment, and public accommodations) proved illusive in many states.
2015
use your keyboard arrows
Our Team
Heritage of Pride is a founding member of the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Pride Coordinators known as InterPride, a nonprofit organization that provides support to over 180 groups that plan Pride events around the world.
HOP is also a member of the following organizations: Northeast Regional Pride, NERP, an association of Pride committees in the Northeast United States; the International Lesbian and Gay Association, ILGA; the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, NGLTF; and the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, IGLTA.
