In the latest incident, nearly three dozen flags were found broken or stolen around 8 a.m. Sunday morning, according to police.

It comes after other recent and troubling acts of vandalism during Pride Month. The first incident occurred on June 10, in which neighbors in the area discovered about 60 Pride flags torn down from the fence, broken apart and thrown on the sidewalk.

LGBTQ Jun 7

Pride flag burned outside a City Hall in Arizona

Pride Month Jun 2

NJ School Orders Pride Sign Removed from Grounds, Sparking Heated Controversy

Pride Month Jun 3

Boycotts Hit Stocks Hard. Here's What Might Be Next for Bud, Target and Others Caught in the Anti-Pride Backlash

Police released images of alleged suspects in that incident. The group of men was seen in the area after the flags had been vandalized around 3 a.m. Saturday. They were last seen heading east on Waverly Place.

Then on 1 p.m. on June 15, officers responded to another call reporting vandalism, when again several Pride flags that had been displayed were broken and torn down across the street from the Stonewall Inn — a place many consider to be the birthplace of the gay rights movement.

The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force was said to be looking into the incidents, but investigators are not considering the three incidents at the LGBTQ+ memorial to be connected.

There is also an investigation into two teenage suspects that were seen on camera ripping down and stealing a Pride flag in Queens, damaging the fixture attached to the front of the Fresh Meadows home where it had been hung. Police said the incident occurred Tuesday near 190th Street and 75th Avenue.

Richard Marzullo, the homeowner, said he can’t believe the flag is gone, saying it’s the first time vandals have actually taken the whole thing. He shared video from 2022 in which someone wearing all black took down the flag and threw it to the ground, as well as a group in 2021 running away after vandalism.

“A lesson needs to be learned, this is likely to keep happening if nothing else happens,” said Marzullo.

The search for the suspects in that incident is ongoing, and police said both are facing potential hate crime charges.

Each of the incidents come as the Human Rights Campaign, the largest advocacy organization of its kind across the nation, declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. It’s the first time in its more than 40-year history that the group has made such a declaration, pointing out the rise of legislation in statehouses around the country directed at regulating the lives of queer people.

Special mention was given to the piano bar circuit of Duplex, Marie’s Crisis and the Monster in the West Village, as well as Hell’s Kitchen bars like Rise and Industry, and Brooklyn hot spots Good Room, Elsewhere and 3 Dollar Bill.

The cities were listed based on their vibrant queer community, as well as the support and protections available for LGBTQ+-identifying individuals.

While not exhaustive, the list includes cities from Puerto Vallarta in Mexico to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Interestingly, the only other city in the U.S. to make the list is San Francisco.

The list of the top 10 most queer friendly cities can be found below:

• #1 New York City, USA
• #2 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
• #3 London, England
• #4 Melbourne, Australia
• #5 Sao Paulo, Brazil
• #6 Glasgow, Scotland
• #7 Vienna Austria
• #8 Johannesburg, South Africa
• #9 Bristol, England
• #10 Auckland, New Zealand

The Pride Night event began about two hours before the first in a three-game series against the rival San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers have held Pride Nights for 10 years, but Friday’s event came as debate continued over the team’s plan to recognize the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with a Community Hero Award during the Pride Night celebration.

As representatives of the group, known for about three decades of community and charity work, were recognized on the field before the game, protesters gathered in a Dodger Stadium parking lot.

The award recognizes the group’s efforts to promote human rights, diversity and spiritual enlightenment, but the Dodgers’ announcement about plans to honor the Sisters was met with backlash from some Catholic groups and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida. He called the Sisters a lewd mockery of Christianity.

Emotions over the high-profile controversy remain high.

A protest organized by the Catholics for Catholics religious organization was planned for the hours ahead of Friday’s game at Dodger Stadium. The ‘prayerful procession was organized. “in reparations for offenses committed against Jesus Christ and all Christians,” the group said on its website.

The Sisters said they are devoted to community service, ministry and outreach for marginalized communities.

“After 27 years of activism and protests ourselves including the ones fighting Proposition 8 for our right to marry the ones we love, we certainly cannot complain about our fellow Angelenos expressing their 1st Amendment rights,” the Sisters told The Los Angeles Times in an email.

Another protest against the Sisters’ involvement was organized in a Dodger Stadium parking lot.

LA Archbishop dedicates Mass for ‘healing’

Hours ahead of first pitch, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez dedicated a Mass “for healing due to the harm caused by the Dodgers decision to honor a group that intentionally denigrates and profanes the Christian faith.”

“Friday, we celebrate the feast of Jesus’ Sacred Heart,” Gomez said in a statement. “… We will be praying in a special way for our city and country, for an end to prejudice, and for renewed respect for the religious beliefs of all Angelenos and all Americans.

“In a message to the faithful, the Archdiocese emphasized the ‘disappointment, dismay and pain’ caused by the actions of the group against the Christian faith and the Dodgers decision to honor the group even after acknowledging the concerns of the community.”

The Dodgers declined to comment on Gomez’s remarks.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Conference of Bishops issued a statement that said, in part, “This year, on June 16 — the day of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — a professional baseball team has shockingly chosen to honor a group whose lewdness and vulgarity in mocking our Lord, His Mother, and consecrated women cannot be overstated. This is not just offensive and painful to Christians everywhere; it is blasphemy.”

Timeline of Events

On May 5, the Dodgers withdrew the invite in a move that drew criticism from local elected officials and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups who said the entire message of the Pride movement is one of inclusion, and that banning the Sisters was deemed an affront to that mission.

The Dodgers pulled the Sisters from their Pride Night the day after Bill Donohue, president and CEO of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, had emailed Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to urge the team to yank the group.

Some of Southern California’s most prominent LGBTQ+ organizations threatened to skip the stadium Pride night. The Sisters issued a statement expressing deep offense at being uninvited and calling the decision a capitulation to hateful and misleading information from people outside their community.

On May 22, the Dodgers reversed course and re-invited the Sisters to be part of Friday night’s event.

“After much thoughtful feedback from our diverse communities, honest conversations within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and generous discussions with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Los Angeles Dodgers would like to offer our sincerest apologies to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their friends and families,” the team said in a statement. “In the weeks ahead, we will continue to work with our LGBTQ+ partners to better educate ourselves, find ways to strengthen the ties that bind and use our platform to support all of our fans who make up the diversity of the Dodgers family.”

About a week later, the team announced plans for a “Christian Faith and Family Day” at Dodger Stadium on July 30.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Around 1 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to a call reporting a second act of vandalism in the span of a week at the park where the Stonewall National Monument is located in the West Village. Police said that several Pride flags that had been displayed were broken and torn down across the street from the Stonewall Inn — a place many consider to be the birthplace of the gay rights movement.

It came after neighbors in the area discovered about 60 Pride flags torn down from the fence, broken apart and thrown on the sidewalk Saturday morning.

LGBTQ Jun 7

Pride flag burned outside a City Hall in Arizona

Pride Month Jun 2

NJ School Orders Pride Sign Removed from Grounds, Sparking Heated Controversy

Pride Month Jun 3

Boycotts Hit Stocks Hard. Here's What Might Be Next for Bud, Target and Others Caught in the Anti-Pride Backlash

Police released images of alleged suspects in the prior incident earlier in the week. The group of men was seen in the area after the flags had been vandalized around 3 a.m. Saturday. They were last seen heading east on Waverly Place.

Investigators are not considering the two incidents at the LGBTQ+ memorial to be connected.

There is an investigation into two teenage suspects that were seen on camera ripping down and stealing a Pride flag in Queens, damaging the fixture attached to the front of the Fresh Meadows home where it had been hung. Police said the incident occurred Tuesday near 190th Street and 75th Avenue.

Richard Marzullo, the homeowner, said he can’t believe the flag is gone, saying it’s the first time vandals have actually taken the whole thing. He shared video from 2022 in which someone wearing all black took down the flag and threw it to the ground, as well as a group in 2021 running away after vandalism.

“A lesson needs to be learned, this is likely to keep happening if nothing else happens,” said Marzullo.

The search for the suspects in that incident is ongoing, and police said both are facing hate crime charges.

The NYPD said that the Hate Crime Task Force is now investigating each of the incidents. it also comes as the Human Rights Campaign, the largest advocacy organization of its kind across the nation, declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. It’s the first time in its more than 40-year history that the group has made such a declaration, pointing out the rise of legislation in statehouses around the country directed at regulating the lives of queer people.

Neighbors in Manhattan’s West Village discovered about 60 Pride flags torn down from the fence, broken apart and thrown on the sidewalk Saturday morning.

“I come almost daily to replace any missing flags on the fence. And then I witnessed the act of vandalism,” said Steven Love-Menendez, who volunteers his time replacing the occasional lost flag since the area around Christopher Park and the famous bar became a national monument in 2016.

LGBTQ Jun 7

Pride flag burned outside a City Hall in Arizona

Pride Month Jun 2

NJ School Orders Pride Sign Removed from Grounds, Sparking Heated Controversy

Pride Month Jun 3

Boycotts Hit Stocks Hard. Here's What Might Be Next for Bud, Target and Others Caught in the Anti-Pride Backlash

But Love-Menendez said he’s never seen damage at this level, though.

“This is the heart and soul of the LGBTQ movement. And this flag display is meant to show hope for the future and honor those who fought for our rights before us,” he said.

On Monday, the NYPD released images of alleged suspects in the case. The group of men was seen in the area after the flags had been vandalized around 3 a.m. Saturday. They were last seen heading east on Waverly Place.

“It’s just the latest attack on our community. The latest piece of aggression against our community. Right by The Stonewall. It hurts, it hurts badly,” said NYC Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who added that the community will not be intimidated. “We are not going to be afraid. We are not going to be cowed. We are not going to let them do this to us during Pride month. And they will be held accountable for it.”

While there were still some pieces of broken flags on the ground on Monday, each damaged flag had already been replaced with a new one.

The NYPD said that the Hate Crime Task Force is now investigating.

The event, which the administration described as the largest Pride event hosted at the White House, was initially scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed because of poor air quality from hazardous air flowing in from Canadian wildfires. But the haze that blanketed a huge swath of the East Coast this past week had lifted over the nation’s capital, allowing the president and first lady Jill Biden to hold their South Lawn party.

“So today, I want to send a message to the entire community — especially to transgender children: You are loved. You are heard. You’re understood. And you belong,” Biden said.

Pride Month is being celebrated this year as state lawmakers have introduced at least 525 bills and enacted 78 bills that whittle away at LGBTQ+ rights, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights.

That tally includes a recent flurry of bills that affect transgender people, including legislation recently passed by Republican governors vying for the 2024 presidential nomination.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill into that bans gender-affirming medical care such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy for transgender youths. Earlier in the week, a federal judge temporarily blocked portions of a law that DeSantis signed shortly before announcing that he was running for president.

In North Dakota, Gov. Doug Burgum last month signed a bill that prohibits public schools and government entities from requiring teachers and employees to refer to transgender people by the pronouns they use. Burgum, who like DeSantis has made culture issues a central part of his tenure as governor, joined the White House primary field.

Josh Helfgott, an LGBTQ+ activist and social media influencer from New York City, said marking Pride Month at the White House felt like one of the most important moments of his life. But he said the tide of legislation added another layer to this year’s celebrations.

“Pride this year is so important because we cannot be silent when faced with hate and bigotry,” Helfgott said “The other side is so loud, incredibly loud. ”

Anjali Rimi of San Francisco attended the White House event with her mother, who recently immigrated from India.

Rimi came to the United States more than 20 years ago because, she said, she was shunned by family and society as a transgender person.

Times were tough in the United States, too, she said. She was pushed out of a job after she came out, was homeless for a time, and took asylum in Canada for about a decade before returning to the United States.

“It’s a moment that we are going to cherish for a lifetime,” said Rimi, an activist in San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ community. “This is a joyful moment, but it’s also one that reminds us that we have so much work to do.”

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

“These are our kids. These are our neighbors. It’s cruel and it’s callous,” Biden said at a White House news conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “It matters a great deal how we treat everyone in this country.”

Biden commented hours after the White House postponed a large Pride Month celebration with thousands of guests Thursday night on the South Lawn because of poor air quality from hazardous air flowing in from Canadian wildfires.

The president noted steps he has taken to help protect the rights of non-heterosexual people, but said “our fight is far, far from over because we have some hysterical and, I would argue, prejudiced people who are engaged in all that you see going on around the country.”

He said what is happening in some states is an “unjustified and ugly” appeal to fear and called on lawmakers to pass legislation, which has been stalled in Congress, that would protect the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals.

“Congress must pass, must pass the Equality Act and send it to my desk,” Biden said of a legislative measure he had named a top priority during his 2020 campaign.

The president then spoke directly to LGBTQ+ Americans, especially children. “You’re loved, you’re heard and this administration has your back and I mean it. We are not relenting one single second to make sure that they’re protected.”

Biden also described new initiatives the administration announced earlier Thursday to protect LGBTQ+ communities from attack, help young people in foster care, suffering with mental health or experiencing homelessness, and to counter book bans, though the effects may be limited.

Thousands of guests had been invited from around the country for an evening filled with food, games and other activities on the South Lawn. Queen HD the DJ was handling the music, and singer Betty Who was on tap to perform.

But the nation’s capital by late morning Thursday was under a “code purple” air quality alert, the fifth-highest level on the six-level U.S. air quality index, with authorities recommending that everyone limit their exposure to the hazardous smoke wafting south from Canada. District of Columbia schools canceled all outdoor activities for a second day Thursday, and the National Zoo also closed.

The White House initially resisted altering its plans for the celebration, even as the air quality steadily worsened along the East Coast on Wednesday and into Thursday.

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer individuals, marked June’s Pride Month by declaring a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ individuals in the United States and releasing a guidebook outlining laws it deems discriminatory in each state.

The campaign said it acted in response to an “unprecedented and dangerous” spike in discriminatory laws sweeping statehouses this year, with more than 525 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced and more than 70 signed into law so far — more than double last year’s number.

LGBTQ Jun 7

Pride flag burned outside a City Hall in Arizona

LGBTQ Jun 7

As conservatives target schools, LGBTQ+ kids and students of color feel less safe

Kelley Robinson, the campaign’s president, called for a “swift and powerful” response by people in power, including in government, business and education.

“This is a full-out crisis for our communities that demands a concerted response,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I think this is kind of a national call to action and a call to arms to stand up and fight back.”

Biden, a Democrat, announced that the Department of Homeland Security, working with the Justice and Health and Human Services departments, will partner with LGBTQ+ community organizations to provide safety resources and training to help thwart violent attacks.

Separately, HHS and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide resources to help LGBTQ+ young people with mental health needs, support in foster care and homelessness.

To confront a spike in book bans, the Department of Education’s civil rights office will appoint a new coordinator to work with schools to address that threat. The White House said banning books erodes democracy, deprives students of material needed for learning and can contribute to the stigma and isolation that LGBTQ+ youth feel because books about them are often the ones that are prohibited.

Biden has many LGBTQ+ people serving in prominent positions throughout government, such as Karine Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay White House press secretary. He signed legislation to protect marriage equality and lifted a ban on transgender people serving in the military.

Polls show public support for the rights of people who are gay and lesbian has expanded dramatically over the last two decades, with about 7 in 10 U.S. adults in polling by Gallup saying that same-sex marriages should be legally valid and that gay and lesbian relationships are morally acceptable.

But attitudes toward transgender people are complex: In polls conducted in 2022 by KFF and the Washington Post and by the Pew Research Center, majorities said they support laws prohibiting discrimination against transgender people in areas such as housing, jobs and schools.

At the same time, both polls found that a majority of Americans think that whether someone is a man or a woman is determined by sex assigned at birth. Many also support restrictive policies aimed at people who are transgender, for example preventing transgender women and girls from participating in sports teams matching their gender identity, along with restrictions on access to certain medical treatments.

The flag — which flew alongside the American, Arizona state and Juneteenth flags — was raised this month to commemorate LGBTQ Pride Month.

City officials confirmed that the act of vandalism is under investigation by police.

“This act of aggression does not represent our community. Hate has no place in Tempe,” City Manager Andrew Ching said in a statement. “We are committed to championing diversity, inclusion and equity and ensuring that our community is safe and welcoming for everyone.”

The flag-burning comes months after a bomb threat was made to an LGBTQ-owned coffee shop in Tempe, a city of 186,000 people that’s about 10 miles east of Phoenix.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

One by one, companies have come under an expanding attack. Anheuser-Busch, Target, Kohl’s and VF Corp.’s North Face brand have all felt the vitriol of this latest push from the right. And the list keeps growing. These companies have been branded as “woke capitalists” — and worse — as critics urged boycotts of these companies’ products. Bud Light came into the crosshairs after it struck a partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, while North Face received backlash for an ad featuring drag queen Pattie Gonia. Target and Kohl’s have been criticized for Pride-themed clothing.

While it’s too early to say how successful these efforts will be in lowering sales at the companies recently drawn into this attack, damage has been done to the stocks already. And some on Wall Street expect that to continue with analysts recently downgrading Target’s and Anheuser-Bush’s ratings, citing in part the ongoing controversy.

“The main reason boycotts generally are effective is because they threaten the reputation of the company by putting the company in a negative media spotlight, and companies don’t want to have negative attention of any kind drawn to them,” said Brayden King, a professor of management and organizations, who has studied how boycotts impact company stock prices, in an interview.

King’s research focused on 133 separate boycotts launched between 1990 and 2005, in a study that was published in 2011. About a quarter of the 177 companies targeted by these actions offered a concession to protestors.

“They often concede to boycotter’s demands, not because they feel that there’s sales pressure on them, but rather because they don’t want to continue to be a target of negative media attention,” he said.

King’s research found that the stock of a company will fall about 1% each day of national print media coverage. But once the issue falls out of the daily news cycle, the stock generally recovers.

Why Bud Light is an outlier

King sees Anheuser-Busch’s situation as an outlier because the controversy has harmed its sales. The company has been under fire for more than two months. Over that time, its stock is down more than 18%.

“With 7 weeks of data, the consumer backlash at Bud Light seems quite durable,” said Cowen analyst Vivien Azer, in a research note Friday. “This is not a surprise to us, given how violent the responses were to Bud Light on social media. Indeed, in each of the last five weeks, we have seen Miller Lite and Coors Light gain over 200 bps of market share from Bud Light (where market share fell 390 bps most recently).”

Cowen’s consumer research suggests Molson Coors will be able to maintain the market share it’s gaining.

“Relative to Miller Lite and Coors Light, the Bud Light brand seems to skew to white consumers, men, younger consumers and lower-income consumers. The income bias toward Bud Light, we believe, is a key factor in driving the durable market share gains to TAP,” Azer explained.

Molson Coors shares are up 24% over the past two months, as analysts have spotlighted the market share gains it’s making.

Bud Light has tried to win back customers with a $15 off rebate program on Budweiser, Bud Light, Bud Select and Bud Select 55. While shoppers will need to put out money for the purchases on the front end, once the rebate is processed, the product is essentially free, according to Azer.

Will this be enough to soothe angry consumers? She’s unconvinced.

“Recall there were consumers that were happy to destroy beer they had already purchased,” she said.

There are several factors contributing to the impact the Bud Light boycott is having on sales that are specific to the beer category, according to King. He said, the first is that a bar, restaurant or music venue could remove the product, which takes the decision away from consumer. Then, there is the social nature of drinking.

“When you’re purchasing something in private, there’s nobody looking over your shoulder to hold you accountable,” King said. However, beer may be purchased to drink with friends so there could be more social pressure, he said.

Companies on edge

The situation with Bud Light may have put companies more on edge. Target has carried Pride month apparel for years, but when confronted with pushback this year, the retailer moved product in some stores to other areas or removed it all together, citing concerns for worker safety. But this decision also carries a risk. Target could wind up offending both sides of the issue.

“The fact that a small group of extremists are threatening disgusting and harsh violence in response to Target continuing its long-standing tradition of offering products for everyone should be a wake-up call for consumers and is a reminder that LGBTQ people, venues, and events are being attacked with threats and violence like never before,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, a LGBTQ media advocacy group, in a written statement.

The group has pushed for Target to put the Pride merchandise back on the sales floor and online, and do what it can to protect workers in the stores. Target has also received bomb threats from those claiming to support the LGBT community, who wanted the merchandise retured to the store, according to media reports. Those threats were later found to be hoaxes, reports said.

Target’s stock has fallen about 10% since news broke on May 24. But shares were already trending lower after the retailer’s earnings report showed weakness in parts of its business.

Meanwhile, both VF Corp. and Kohl’s shares seemed to be bouncing back on Friday. After recovering some lost ground, the North Face parent is down about 9% since it launched its “Summer of Pride” ad on May 23. Kohl’s shares rose nearly 12% on Friday, recouping nearly all of the ground it lost. But the stock sank as low as $17.89 on Thursday, its lowest level since May 22, 2020.

Target’s stock sank to a 52-week low of $126.75 on Thursday, following a downgrade by JPMorgan to neutral. While analyst Christopher Horvers cited a weakening consumer as the primary reason that he expects tougher times ahead for the discount retailer, the recent controversies were mentioned as a factor in the decision. Horvers slashed his price target to $144 from $182.

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo analyst Edward Kelly said the recent pullback in the stock’s price might have been seen as a buying opportunity prior to this issue.

“The current stock price could have been a good entry point, but it’s hard to step in front of the current uncertainty,” Kelly wrote in a research note Thursday.

Kelly said that he has seen “early evidence of some near-term financial impact.” Among the factors he cited was Placer.ai data that showed foot traffic at Target stores was soft in the week ended May 28.

“Traffic has been a key bright spot for TGT as it struggled with margin issues, and a slowdown would be negative. It remains to be seen how long any impact would last,” Kelly said.

Issues give brands ‘powerful gravitational pull’

Even with the risk, companies will continue to tie brands to social issues because it fosters a deeper relationship with customers.

“If you build your argument to consumers only on the stuff, only on the features, only the functional utility of what it is that you do, then competitors can come in and offer that, just a copy of that, and claim that  they have a better mousetrap,” said Americus Reed, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania, in an interview Wednesday on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.”

“So a bit of … why it is so attractive to align with purpose and these sorts of issues is that … it gives you an opportunity to link more deeply with consumers,” Reed said. Even though it can go awry, the upside can be powerful because the connection “has powerful gravitational pull,” he said.

In fact, those strong relationships are usually why boycotts fail to hurt a company’s sales longer term, according to King. He said research has shown that for every consumer that stops buying a product another shopper will begin a “buycott” by purchasing items to show their support for the opposite side of the issue.

Still, with threats coming from both sides of the issue, and stocks suffering sharp selloffs, companies may proceed a bit more cautiously.

“They may internally continue to embrace those values as important to their culture and identity, but externally they may be more risk adverse in terms of how they communicate those values,” King said.

—CNBC’s Christopher Hayes contributed to this report.

The controversy centers on Westwood Regional Middle School in Westwood, a town where the LGBTQ signs depicting the Pride flag are displayed outside of homes. But around the corner at the school, the same signs were ordered to be taken down just a day after it was placed on the lawn.

“This is something that’s real, it’s something that’s OK,” said high school senior MacKenzie Fox. “Just to have a sign out there tells us this is a safe space. That we do belong and our sexuality and our gender, whatever it is, is valid.”

Pride Month Jun 1

LGBTQ+ Pride Month Kicks Off With Protests, Parades, Parties

Target May 24

Why Is Target Pulling Some of Its Pride Merch? The Retailer's Response to Backlash, Explained

Pride Month Jun 17, 2022

NYC Parade and More — Your Ultimate Guide to Pride Month Events in the Tri-State

Fox is a student representative to the school board. She started an online petition asking the superintendent to bring back the sign and allow it on school grounds.

“I know I have the support of my teachers, students and classmates, I just wish the administration would do the same,” said Fox.

So far, more than 1,000 people have signed the petition. Fox says the lawn sign was placed outside the middle school last week in preparation for Pride Month.

“He had told them the signs violated the flag policy and he has been the one to tell the principal to take them down,” Fox said.

Last month, Westwood’s Board of Education passed a policy only allowing the American and New Jersey state flag to be displayed outside of schools. The policy does not prevent Pride flags from being displayed inside — as evidenced by multiple Pride flags being seen hanging on school windows on Friday.

Michael Pontillo, Westwood School Board President commented on the decision limiting what flags can be displayed last month during a board meeting.

“Nobody is up here saying to a principal ‘No, that flag will not fly in the school.’ Last year, there were flags all over the school and there’s nobody that’s going to prevent that from happening again this year,” said Pontillo.

When reached, Interim Superintendent Kenneth Rota did not comment. The new policy doesn’t address banners or signs outside, but Fox told NBC New York that the superintendent told her a sign which depicts a flag falls in the same category.

“Lawn signs are not flags and it should not apply at all,” Fox said.

The school board president told NBC New York over the phone that he deferred all questions to the superintendent for comment.

This year’s Pride takes place in a contentious political climate in which some state legislators have sought to ban drag shows, prohibit gender-affirming care and limit how teachers can talk about sexuality and gender in the classroom.

Events have been disrupted. Performers have been harassed. And in Colorado in November, five people were killed and several injured when a gunman shot them inside a gay nightclub.

“What we’re seeing right now is probably the worst that it’s been since the early days, in terms of the demonization of our communities,” said Jay W. Walker, one of the co-founders of the Reclaim Pride Coalition, a New York City-based group.

But that won’t stop people from coming out to mark Pride this month, he said.

“You can’t keep our communities down. No one can. It’s basic human rights,” Walker said.

WHY IS PRIDE MONTH IN JUNE?

June has been an important month for the LGBTQ+ rights movement since New York City’s first Pride march — then dubbed the “Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day” march — on June 28, 1970.

That event marked an act of defiance from the year before, a 1969 uprising at New York City’s Stonewall Inn. After a police raid at the gay bar, a crowd partly led by trans women of color channeled their anger to confront authorities. It was a catalyst to what became a global movement for LGBTQ+ rights.

For more than a half-century, the annual marches have been an opportunity to demand action on specific issues such as the AIDS epidemic and same-sex marriage while also serving as a public celebration.

HOW ARE PRIDE CELEBRATIONS COMMEMORATED?

These days, Pride celebrations and events can be found all over the country.

Many of the nation’s largest cities — including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Denver and Minneapolis — hold their main marches on the last weekend of June, while some cities host their events throughout the month or even at other times of the year.

Along with the marches, Pride organizers fill the month of June with events ranging from readings and performances to parties and street festivals.

In Florida this weekend, Orlando-area theme parks and hotels will play host to annual Gay Days events, which are going ahead even after Gov. Ron DeSantis and state legislators passed a series of anti-LGBTQ+ laws, some of which barred classroom discussion of sexual orientation.

Pride events are happening globally as well, drawing major crowds in places including Sao Paulo, Tel Aviv, Madrid and Toronto.

At some past events, there have been concerns about commercialism and corporate presence that overshadow real issues that are still unresolved. In New York City for the past few years, there has been a second event on the same day of the larger Pride march. The Reclaim Pride Coalition says their event hearkens back to the spirit of protest that animated Stonewall.

The New York City Dyke March channels the idea that Pride is about protest, not just parades.

More LGBTQ+ Rights Coverage:

Target May 24

Why Is Target Pulling Some of Its Pride Merch? The Retailer's Response to Backlash, Explained

LGBTQ May 16

She Offered an LGBTQ-Themed Book to Her Middle Schoolers. Parents Filed a Police Report

WHAT ARE THE FLASHPOINTS?

Pride parades had plenty to celebrate in recent years, such as in 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court recognized same-sex marriage in the Obergefell v. Hodges decision.

But the last several years have been more difficult; Pride events were restricted during the pandemic, and when they returned to in-person last year, it was with a sense of urgency, given the rise of hateful rhetoric and anti-LGBTQ legislative action.

Around the country, at least 17 states have put restrictions or bans on gender-affirming medical care for minors, and transgender athletes are facing restrictions at schools in at least 20 states.

“This is a year where sentiment is going to be revolving around resistance and about finding strength and community and centering our joy and our right to exist and our right to be here,” said Cathryn Oakley, state legislative director and senior counsel for the Human Rights Campaign organization.

LGBTQ+ communities, Oakley said, need to “commit ourselves to continued resistance against the forces that are trying to prevent us from being our full, joyful, happy, thriving selves. … And band together and fight back against the very oppressive forces that are coming for us.”

In confirming the changes to this year’s Pride collection, which has been on sale since early May, the Minneapolis retailer cited safety concerns for employees that have been Targeted by hostile customers.

“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and wellbeing while at work,” Target said Tuesday in a written statement. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans.”

The confrontations in Target stores are taking place as state legislatures introduce a record number of bills targeting LGBTQ+ individuals across the country. Some advocacy groups have criticized Target’s response — calling on the retailer to not back down to hate-filled backlash and reaffirm its support with the LGBTQ+ community.

Here are some things to know about the controversy surrounding the Target Pride collection and the company’s response.

Did Target pull its Pride collection?

Target did not pull its entire Pride collection, but it has removed certain items ahead of Pride month.

The chain also made other changes to the selling of its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide, with Target confirming that it moved its Pride merchandise from the front of the stores to the back in some Southern locations after confrontations from shoppers in the region.

Target May 23

Target Pulls Some LGBTQ Merchandise From Pride Month Collection After Threats to Staff

Los Angeles Dodgers May 22

Dodgers Backtrack, Re-Invite Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to Pride Night

Why is Target pulling Pride products? And which ones?

Target said it’s pulling certain items from the Pride collection due to intense and threatening backlash from some customers — which has impacted employees’ sense of safety, the company said. Target said that customers knocked down Pride displays at some stores, angrily approached workers and posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores.

The retailer added that it would be “removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.” Target declined to further specify which products would be impacted.

“Tuck friendly” women’s swimsuits, which allow trans women who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal their private parts, were among Target’s Pride items that garnered the most attention. There are bogus claims on social media platforms that the swimsuits were being sold in the children’s department. Designs by Abprallen, a London-based company that designs and sells occult- and satanic-themed LGBTQ+ clothing and accessories, have also created backlash.

What started the controversy around Target’s Pride collection?

The controversy gained traction online last week as conservative media attacked Target’s Pride month collection — which has also been the subject of several misleading videos in recent weeks that falsely claimed the retailer is selling “tuck-friendly” bathing suits designed for kids. The backlash also spilled over into physical stores.

Target and other retailers have been expanding their LGBTQ+ displays to celebrate Pride month in June for roughly a decade. Today’s confrontations in Target stores arrive amid a surge of legislation targeting LGBTQ+ people across the nation.

There are close to 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have gone before state legislatures since the start of this year, an unprecedented number, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Those efforts focus on health, particularly gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, and education. State legislatures are also pushing to prevent discussions in school regarding sexuality and gender identity.

What has been Target’s response?

In addition to deciding to remove some of its items amid other adjustments to the selling of its Pride collection, Target said that the company’s focus is now “on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year.”

Some activists and advocacy groups, however, have criticized Target’s response — calling on the retailer to reaffirm its support with the LGBTQ+ community.

“Target should put the products back on the shelves and ensure their Pride displays are visible on the floors, not pushed into the proverbial closet. That’s what the bullies want. Target must be better,” stated Kelley Robinson, president of The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights group in the U.S.

“Extremist groups and individuals work to divide us and ultimately don’t just want rainbow products to disappear, they want us to disappear,” Robinson added. “For the past decade, the LGBTQ+ community has celebrated Pride with Target — it’s time that Target stands with us and doubles-down on their commitment to us.”

“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement Tuesday. ”Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”

Target declined to say which items it was removing but among the ones that garnered the most attention were “tucker friendly” women’s swimsuits that allow trans women who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal their private parts. Designs by Abprallen, a London-based company that designs and sells occult- and satanic-themed LGBTQ clothing and accessories, have also created backlash.

The Pride merchandise has been on sale since early May. Pride month is held in June.

news May 23

‘Nobody Imagined It Would Go on This Long': Bud Light Sales Continue to Plummet Over Mulvaney Backlash

Ron DeSantis May 23

Restaurant Files Lawsuit Against Florida, DeSantis Over Kid Drag Shows Law

Target confirmed that it has moved its Pride merchandise from the front of the stores to the back in some Southern stores after confrontations and backlash from shoppers in those areas.

Target’s Pride month collection has also been the subject of several misleading videos in recent weeks, with social media users falsely claiming the retailer is selling “tuck-friendly” bathing suits designed for kids or in kids’ sizes.

The moves come as beer brand Bud Light is still grappling with a backlash from customers angered by its attempt to broaden its customer base by partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light’s parent company said it will triple its marketing spending in the U.S. this summer as it tries to restore sales it lost after the brand partnered with the transgender influencer.

Target and other retailers including Walmart and H&M have been expanding their LGBTQ displays to celebrate Pride month for roughly a decade. This year transgender issues — including gender-affirming health care and participation in sports — have been a divisive topic in state legislatures and the backlash has turned hostile.

PrideFest is going into its 28th year with their annual LGBTQIA+ street fair. It will start at 11 a.m. and go until 6 p.m. in Greenwich Village with entertainers, food and activities for a day of fun.

The NYC Pride March will begin at noon from 25th Street and 5th Avenue. The march plans to pass the Stonewall National Monument as well as the NYC Aids Memorial.

Both events are free to the public.

Commuters should plan ahead for Sunday. The following streets will be closed for the parade:

PrideFest

• 4^th Avenue between East 14^th Street and Astor Place
• East 13^th Street between Broadway and 3^rd Avenue
• East 12^th Street between Broadway and 3^rd Avenue 
• East 11^th Street between 4^th Avenue and 3^rd Avenue
• East 10^th Street between Broadway and 3^rd Avenue
• East 9^th Street between Broadway and 3^rd Avenue
• East 8^th Street between Broadway and 3^rd Avenue
• Astor Place between Lafayette Street and 3^rd Avenue
• Lafayette Street between East 9^th Street /Wanamaker Place and Astor Place

*The festival can be accessed from all side-streets within the event area.*

NYC Pride March

Formation:

• 5^th Avenue between 33^rd Street and 25^th Street
• West/East 33^rd Street between 6^th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West/East 32^nd Street between 6^th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West/East 31^st Street between 6^th Avenue and Madison Avenue 
• West/East 30^th Street between 6^th Avenue and Madison Avenue 
• West/East 29^th Street between 6^th Avenue and Madison Avenue 
• West/East 28^th Street between 6^th Avenue and Madison Avenue 
• West /East 27^th Street between 6^th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West/East 26^th Street between 6^th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West 25^th Street between 6^th Avenue and 5^th Avenue  

Route: 

• 5^th Avenue between 25^th Street and 8^th Street
• West 8^th Street between 5^th Avenue and 6^th Avenue
• Greenwich Avenue between 6^th Avenue and Christopher Street
• Christopher Street between Greenwich Avenue and 7^th Avenue South
• 7^th Avenue South between Christopher Street and Greenwich Avenue
• 7^th Avenue between Christopher Street and 16^th Street

Dispersal: 

• 7^th Avenue between 15^th Street and 19^th Street
• 16^th Street between 8^th Avenue and 6^th Avenue
• 17^th Street between 9^th Avenue and 6^th Avenue
• 18^th Street between 8^th Avenue and 6^th Avenue
• 19^th Street between 9^th Avenue and 7^thAvenue
• Christopher Street between West Street and 7^th Avenue South 
• Greenwich Avenue between 6^th Avenue and 8^th Avenue

More information for the events can be found on the NYC Pride site.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

The Smithtown Library board of trustees had been under fire since voting Tuesday to remove the displays, which included picture books like “Pink is for Boys” and “Pride Puppy.” Any LGBTQ+ book was also banned from the children’s rooms and was to be placed elsewhere.

The board voted 4-2 at an emergency meeting Thursday night to rescind the removal order for children’s sections. Trustees also adopted a statement, read by president Brianna Baker-Stines, saying the board “recognizes that our earlier decision was made without the time, care and due diligence that a decision of this type deserves and that it was the wrong decision.”

New York City Jun 18, 2022

Drag Story Hour Hosts, Under Attack, Dig in Their Heels

Pride Month Jun 17, 2022

NYC Parade and More — Your Ultimate Guide to Pride Month Events in the Tri-State

Joe Biden Jun 15, 2022

Biden Seeks to Counter State Actions He Sees as Anti-LGBTQ

The board went on to say that they will commit “collective energies toward ensuring that we get the advice and guidance needed” before making similar kinds of decisions regarding the library.

“We recognize that we have our differences but we believe that what we have in common outweighs those differences,” the board’s statement read. “We know that a good library will contain things that may trouble each of us, but understand that our primary role involves representing may different viewpoints and opposing ideas. We do this by giving voice — and space — to each.”

Hochul earlier Thursday directed the state Division of Human Rights to launch an immediate investigation into the initial action.

“Public places are prohibited by law from engaging in discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” Hochul said in a prepared statement. “Everyone — and particularly our state’s young people — deserves to feel welcome at the library.”

The vote Tuesday (which also was 4-2) was condemned by LGBTQ advocates, as well as the New York Library Association. In a prepared statement, the library group called it “a direct violation of NYLA’s commitment to intellectual freedom and the freedom to read that libraries are entrusted to uphold.”

On Tuesday, the Smithtown Library Board voted to take down all pride displays and ban any books about gay pride from their children’s sections — a controversial move that has lots of people weighing in, from Gov. Kathy Hochul to a New York Times best-selling author.

The library’s board of trustees voted 4-2 to remove all LGBTQ+ Pride displays from their four libraries.

New York City Jun 18, 2022

Drag Story Hour Hosts, Under Attack, Dig in Their Heels

Pride Month Jun 17, 2022

NYC Parade and More — Your Ultimate Guide to Pride Month Events in the Tri-State

Joe Biden Jun 15, 2022

Biden Seeks to Counter State Actions He Sees as Anti-LGBTQ

But it doesn’t end there, as any LGBTQ+ book is now banned from the children’s rooms and must be placed elsewhere.

“Our LGBTQ youth are under attack,” said Dr. David Kilmnick, the president and CEO of the New York LGBTQ Network. “This isn’t Alabama or Florida or the bible belt — this is Long Island!”

Brianna Baker-Stines, the president of the library board, was similarly shocked and disappointed by the actions taken. She told NBC New York, “I was horrified by the display of ignorance at last night’s Board meeting. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I recognize the importance of access to diverse materials.”

Nassau County Legislator Arnold Drucker said “I feel like I’m living in the Twilight Zone.”

“Earlier this year, when Florida was ramming destructive ‘Don’t Say Gay’ laws through its State Legislature, I lamented the fact that this coordinated, nationwide assault on the LGBTQ+ community could soon arrive on our doorstep. Well, it’s here,” he said in a statement. “What transpired yesterday in Smithtown shows us that we cannot pull the wool over our own eyes for a moment longer by saying, ‘it won’t happen here.'”

The push to block gay pride books targeted for kids from libraries is happening nationwide. Conservative group Catholic Vote is calling on parents to “hide the pride” by checking out all LGBTQ books — essentially emptying all Pride displays from libraries.

“You come after our kids, we’re going after you. We’re gonna replace you on the school boards, we’re gonna replace you on the library boards,” said Dr. Kilmnick.

Before she was a New York Times best-selling author, Jodi Picoult said she used to work at the Smithtown Library. She posted on Facebook that the memo “disgusts me and makes me reevaluate an institution that I have praised for being formative in my life as an author.”

The outrage goes up to the governor’s office as well, with Hochul saying in part in a tweet “Our public spaces should be accepting our young people – not rejecting them.”

The president of the library board says she’s going to do everything to make sure children and families have access to these books.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

The groundbreaking for the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center in New York City’s Greenwich Village neighborhood will take place Friday, with the center expected to open in summer 2024, said Ann Marie Gothard, board president of Pride Live, an LGBTQ advocacy organization.

“The opening of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center is a remarkable moment in the history of Stonewall,” Gothard said. “We honor all those who came before us, most especially the queer people fighting for equality at the Stonewall riots.”

Pride Month Jun 17, 2022

NYC Parade and More — Your Ultimate Guide to Pride Month Events in the Tri-State

Pride Month May 23, 2022

What Is Pride Month? Everything to Know About the LGBTQ Observance

Business Jun 17, 2022

‘Be in Learning Mode': How Employees — and Employers — Can Navigate Coming Out as LGBTQ at Work

The Stonewall National Monument became the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ history when it was dedicated in 2016 across the street from the Stonewall Inn, where patrons fought back against a police raid on June 28, 1969, and helped spark the contemporary LGBTQ rights movement.

The Stonewall rebellion is commemorated every year with Pride marches in cities across the U.S. and the world.

This year’s Pride Month in New York kicked off June 1 with the dedication of a rainbow flag at the Stonewall monument, the first rainbow flag to fly daily on federal land. The ceremony followed a yearslong battle by activists to ensure that a rainbow flag would fly on federal land at the Stonewall monument.

The 7.7-acre monument includes the park known Christopher Park, across from the Stonewall, but does not include the Stonewall itself, which is still a bar. The visitor center will be housed in the storefront adjoining the Stonewall, which was part of the bar in 1969.

Gothard said that when the national monument was created in 2016 “it became clear that a visitor center was needed.”

The Stonewall visitor center will offer in-person and virtual tours, lectures and visual arts displays dedicated to the history of the LGBTQ rights movement, Gothard said.

Although it will be managed by Pride Live, the center will also serve as home base for National Park Service staff members.

“The visitor center and its exhibits will celebrate and acknowledge LGBTQ+ accomplishments and serve as a place where people can learn about and connect with the LGBTQ+ community’s ongoing struggle for civil liberties,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said in a prepared statement.

Corporations including Google and JPMorgan Chase are providing funding for the center.

“It’s vital to create safe and inclusive spaces for the LGBTQ community, and we are proud to support the opening of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, a space that will memorialize the legacy of Stonewall,” said William Floyd, Google’s senior director of public policy.

Pride Month takes place in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, a touchstone event in LGBTQ history that laid the foundation for Pride. The month aims to inspire, educate, commemorate, celebrate and recognize the impact that LGBTQIA+ has had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.

While many are familiar with the annual NYC Pride March — this year’s march will take place on June 26 starting from 25th Street and 5th Avenue at 12 p.m. — there are many other events lined up to add to the celebration.

Following years of virtual celebrations due to the pandemic, the long-awaited fully in-person Pride Island experience is scheduled to take place this year — at a new location.

The three-day music festival, part of NYC Pride, will fill Governors Island from June 24 to 26. 

NYC Pride Events

Here are some events scheduled to take place on June 24:

1. The DiscOasis in Central Park at 10 a.m.
2. Frisky-Wonderful World at 12 p.m.
3. The Rally at 4 p.m.
4. 2022 Love Above All Ball at 9 p.m.
5. HustlaBall at 10 p.m.

Additional events are scheduled for June 25:

1. Hester Street Fair at 11 a.m
2. Rainbows on the Hudson at 11 a.m.
3. Youth Pride at 1 p.m.
4. Teaze at 2 p.m.
5. Pride Island at 2 p.m.
6. Fantasy Days at 2 p.m.
7. Posh Day Party at 4 p.m.
8. Planet Pride at 4:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, on June 26, the day of the annual NYC Pride March, the following events will also take place:

1. Pride Fest at 11 a.m.
2. Bliss days at 2 p.m.
3. ALEGRIA PRIDE at 6 p.m.

The last day of events will be on June 27 where there will be an event called Broadway Sings which partnered with NYC Pride to present the concert event of the year, honoring pop icon and LGBTQIA+ ally, Taylor Swift.

Additionally, at 5 a.m. there will also be Tribal Fever Afterhours event.

NYC PRIDE

New York City Jun 15, 2022

NYC Pride: Celebrating in the Boogie Down Bronx

New York City Jun 14, 2022

NYC Pride 2022: New Leader Preps for Annual Greenwich Village Celebration

New Jersey

For those in New Jersey here are some Pride parades and events to check out:

Princeton Pride Parade on June 18, the parade begins at the Princeton Municipal Building located at 400 Witherspoon Street.

Official Pride Bar Crawl on June 18, in Hoboken.

Cabaret of Pride on June 18, in West Orange.

MENAGE: PRIDE at The Golden Cicada on June 18 in Jersey City

Dating in Jersey City | Singles Event | Pride Celebration on June 21 on the rooftop at Six26

Concert with New Jersey Gay Men’s Chorus on June 25 at The Ocean County Library

Morris County Pride 2022 on June 25 which will include onstage performances, along with food, craft, merchandise vendors, and community groups.

Pride in the Park on June 26, at Riverside Gardens Park in Red Bank

Connecticut

For those in Connecticut here are some events in the area:

Hamden Pride Festival on June 18

Let’s Go Birding Together! A Pride Month Birding Celebration on June 18 in Greenwich

Pride Paint Night on June 21 at Niantic Public House and Brewery in East Lyme

Mental Health in the LGBTQ+ Community on June 23 at Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford

West Hartford Pride Fest on June 25

Ellington Pride Parade & Celebration on June 25

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

LGBTQ groups, still raw over legislation barring instruction about sexual orientation to grade schoolers that DeSantis championed in his home state, are vowing to protest the Republican’s appearance at the Jewish Leadership Conference.

Critics have derisively called it the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

New York State Sen. Brad Hoylman said it was “outrageous” that the governor was speaking during Pride Month and in an area not far from the birthplace of the gay rights movement in Manhattan’s West Village.

He called DeSantis an “outspoken opponent of LGBTQ equality who is trying to foist his agenda on LGBTQ families, and it’s extremely hurtful and distressing.”

DeSantis campaign spokesman Dave Abrams did not respond directly to that criticism, but said the governor “will always stand up for what is right and will not be deterred by the radical Left.”

DeSantis, who is widely believed to be weighing a bid for the White House in 2024, inflamed ire among LGBTQ groups when in March he signed into law a bill that forbids Florida schools from teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity to public school students from kindergarten through the third grade.

At the time of the bill signing, DeSantis said schools were a place for “an education, not an indoctrination.”

The Jewish Leadership Conference has already lost one venue in New York City after adding DeSantis to its list of speakers.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage had been set to host the annual gathering of conservative thinkers, but backed out earlier this spring.

The museum cited security issues among its key concerns, plus a desire not to host political speakers, but in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, the leaders of the Tikvah Fund, the group organizing the conference, accused the museum of having a political litmus test.

“We know things are bad when a Jewish institution — in this case, a museum whose purpose is to keep Jewish heritage alive by remembering the Holocaust — turns on its own and tries to make a virtue of its own intolerance,” wrote Tikvah CEO Eric Cohen and its chairman, Elliott Abrams.

The op-ed asserted that protecting free speech was more important than concerns over protests or a potential backlash from donors.

“The new czars of cancel culture seem to have little such moral imagination or civic tolerance,” they wrote.

The Coalition for Jewish Values, which says it represents more than 2,000 Orthodox rabbis, scolded the museum for denying DeSantis a platform.

The museum penned an op-ed of its own, saying its charter forbids it from renting space for purely political or religious reasons.

“When we declined to host the event, Tikvah resorted to threats, saying we had created an enemy. Tikvah knew that this was not about banning anyone from speaking but decided to make the false claim anyway. We will not respond to such political bullying,” Jack Kliger, the president and CEO of the museum, wrote.

It’s unlikely pressure from outside groups will derail the conference a second time.

A spokesman for the new venue, Pier Sixty, located in the Chelsea Piers complex, said it was not in a position to arbitrate any differences between the groups, saying it has had a long history of being inclusive. This month, its website features support for gay pride month.

“Pier Sixty has never discriminated against any group or organization nor have we ever based our acceptance of a booking contingent on our approval of the speakers our clients choose to present at these private events,” it said through a spokesman.

“Our accepting a booking in no ways implies that we endorse the respective organization or its speakers,” the statement said. “We are also extremely proud of our deep and longstanding connection with the LGBTQ+ community.”

Conference organizers were preparing for a planned Sunday protest outside the venue.

“We are working with law enforcement to make sure that protesters can exercise their constitutional rights and also keep our guests and speakers safe and comfortable,” said Jonathan Silver, who co-chairs the conference for the Tikvah Fund.

DeSantis was listed as giving a speech on “the Florida Model and Why It’s Good for Religious Americans.”

We’re talking about places like Brave Space Alliance.

It’s the first LGBTQ resource center on Chicago’s Southside that’s both Black and transgender-led.

BSA is open every weekday and provides services like a crisis pantry program, support groups, HIV testing, gender-affirming clothing and accessories, as well as free locker storage for community members who may be houseless.

More From NBCLX

gun violence Jun 10, 2022

Pulse Survivor Hasn't Felt So Unsafe Since the Aftermath of the Shooting

LX Jun 10, 2022

This Foundation is Giving Minority-Owned Restaurants the Help They Need

In addition, the center serves as a hub for local and community organizing and advocacy work.

I sat down with Brave Space Alliance Founder LaSaia Wade to learn more.

Jalyn: Brave Space Alliance is the first of its kind on the city’s Southside. How’d it come to be?

LaSaia Wade: Brave Space came out of a thought around a march that happened for Black trans women who were killed on the Southside of Chicago five years ago. There wasn’t a big outcry or a push with other organizations or collectives to really ask why or what’s going to happen or what’s being done for our community. And I was like, “I should create an organization on the same structural level, but in our community, to work in parallel with collectives that are on the ground.” So that’s why we’re here today. BSA is an organization that holds other big organizations accountable to the work that they do, but also hold their connections and liberatory actions to the groundwork that connect us to Chicago as well.

Jalyn: Why is it important for BSA to be both a Black and trans-led organization?

LaSaia Wade: We are a “for us, by us” type of organization and understand that Black and brown bodies can speak for Black and brown bodies. Being Black-led brings in a different aspect of “I see myself in that position. I see myself in that role. That can be me,” instead of the thought process, “I’m going to always still be a survival mode.” It is imperative that when we look at the aspects of who’s in leadership, we are fixing the narrative or connecting to the narrative of the people that they’re serving. That’s why we are different. That’s why it’s important to say that we are actually working for and with Black and brown people, transgender and non-conforming LGBT people on the south and west side of Chicago.

Jalyn: How important is it for transgender and gender non-conforming people to be visible in today’s society?

LaSaia Wade: People are used to trans people being an entertainment piece and they aren’t used to trans people actually just living and being beautiful within themselves. And I think people need to receive that — how beautiful they actually are, just by living. And if you are able to see that they’re just trying to survive just like you are, then why are they a threat? I think society has deemed us as a threat because our bodies, trans and gender non-conforming people, are interconnections to liberation. If trans people are not liberated, no one will be liberated. So therefore, we’re going to shove it down your throat because you can’t get free without us. And if you think that you can, you really, really are mistaken.

Jalyn: What does doing this work mean to you?

LaSaia Wade: This work is scary. I’m 35 years old and years before I turned 30, it was like, we’re not going to make it past 35. Like trans women don’t make it past 35. If you make it to 35, you’re lucky… Doing this work is not only stressful, it’s sad. It’s painful. But it is something that I would not change for the world. And the reason why I wouldn’t is because I am not only helping my community thrive, I’m trying to thrive as well with them. So it’s just not for them. It’s for myself too.

It’s Pride Month, and many organizations, including professional sports teams, take this opportunity to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. However, for the Tampa Bay Rays, not all players participated in their Pride celebration.

During Saturday’s “Pride Night” in Tampa, some Rays players opted not to sport a rainbow-colored logo patch on their sleeve and a rainbow-colored “TB” on their hat after being given the choice, rather than collectively wearing them as a team.

The decision was addressed by Rays manager Kevin Cash, who said constructive conversations over the past few weeks led to the team’s decision. He emphasized how the Rays have different perspectives and inviting that honesty to the field is what they chose to do.

“First and foremost, I think the organization has done a really good thing to have Pride Nights supporting our gay community to come out and have a nice night at the ballpark,” said Cash. “Our players have had those conversations and we want to support our players that choose to wear or choose not to wear to the best of our capabilities.”

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the players who decided to wear the team’s standard hat and remove the jersey patch were pitchers Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson. Adam called it a “faith-based decision” for many of the athletes:

“Because ultimately we all said what we want is them to know that all are welcome and loved here. But when we put it on our bodies, I think a lot of guys decided that it’s just a lifestyle that maybe — not that they look down on anybody or think differently — it’s just that maybe we don’t want to encourage it if we believe in Jesus…

“It’s not judgmental. It’s not looking down. It’s just what we believe the lifestyle he’s encouraged us to live, for our good, not to withhold,” added Adam. “But again, we love these men and women, we care about them, and we want them to feel safe and welcome here.”

That explanation drew criticism from St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty and former big leaguer Preston Wilson.

And though these opinions from some Rays players divided the team’s choice to wear the rainbow-colored logos, this did not deter from the intentions of “Pride Night,” which is and has always been to urge inclusivity between the LGBTQ+ community and major league sports. 

Mini LGBTQ+ flags were distributed to fans and families, and the turnout of “Pride Night” was almost 3,000 fans more than the Rays’ usual turnout. 

“It’s one of those things, my parents taught me to love everyone as they are, go live your life, whatever your preferences are, go be you,” said Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier. “I can’t speak for everyone who’s in here, obviously, but this is a family-friendly environment here at a big league ballfield.”

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

“A transgender person is someone who the doctors made a mistake about when they were born,” the teacher says in the lesson plan targeted at kindergartners. “But some people, when they get a little bit older, realize what the doctors said was not right.”

Republicans later produced an ad accusing Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is running for reelection against GOP former Gov. Paul LePage, of using state money to create “radical school lessons.” Within hours, the lesson disappeared from the website, and Mills’ spokesperson said the governor was on board with its removal.

While most Democrats support the rights, safety and visibility of LGBTQ adults and children, they’re struggling to counter a barrage of GOP attacks on LGBTQ people, particularly transgender people. With measured responses and occasional capitulation, Democrats like Mills are aiming to avoid getting sucked further into culture wars that serve mostly to galvanize the Republican base.

But as Democrats largely avoid direct confrontations, some LGBTQ people say they feel abandoned.

“Our lives and our existence are being used as political fodder to ramp up the GOP base, and they’re not coming to our defense,” said Deja Alvarez, a transgender woman who finished third in the Democratic primary in a heavily LGBTQ state legislative district in Philadelphia. “They’re not rallying the troops and saying, ‘Hey, we can’t stand for this.’”

Democrats are hardly silent on LGBTQ issues.

As Pride month began this week, President Joe Biden tweeted his support for LGBTQ rights. He recently named Karine Jean-Pierre as the first openly gay White House press secretary and was critical of Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis this year after he signed legislation to ban the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

Even after she distanced herself from the Department of Education video, Mills released a statement this week ticking through LGBTQ-friendly legislation she has signed. She insisted that if she is reelected, Maine “will remain a safe and welcoming place to live for LGBTQ people.”

And in Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers warned that if he loses in November, Republicans will take steps to ban books, especially those with LGBTQ themes.

Evers’ approach is one activists say more Democrats should embrace this election year. They want to see candidates go beyond prepared statements celebrating Pride month and instead place LGBTQ issues more at the center of the campaign while warning of the specific consequences of Republican victories.

“These are the kinds of actions we need people to take,” Alvarez said, “but not just because it’s Pride month.”

The problem may be that even allies are not prepared to speak on the issues, which allowed the framing of LGBTQ people as a threat to catch on, said Fran Hutchins, executive director of the advocacy group Equality Federation.

In this election cycle, Republicans have zeroed in on the discussions banned by the Florida bill dubbed by opponents as “Don’t Say Gay”; the participation of transgender students in competitive sports, even though such conflicts are rare; and gender-affirming care for children.

“The root of why this is happening is a real lack of familiarity with and lack of understanding for trans folks and what it’s like to be transgender,” Hutchins said.

One notable exception has been Mallory McMorrow, a Democratic state senator from Michigan who gave an impassioned speech in response to an invocation from a Republican lawmaker who claimed McMorrow, who is running for reelection, wanted to “groom” and “sexualize” kindergarteners.

The video of McMorrow’s reaction speech and a related Twitter thread were widely celebrated, but there remains a sense — even by McMorrow — that she fell on a sword other Democrats are dodging.

“There is a difference between politics and outright hate,” she said in April, pondering the reaction to her speech. “I think people are frustrated that elected officials haven’t done enough to call that out, that maybe Democrats are afraid of talking about religion and faith openly and honestly and calling hate what it is.”

Labeling education about sexual orientation and gender identity as “grooming” connotes the methods sex offenders use to molest children, and is part of a push by conservatives to speak to parents’ fears by equating such education with pornography and pedophilia.

The teacher in the Maine video, Kailina Mills — no relation to the governor — said in a Facebook post that she has taught transgender and nonbinary preschoolers and that they deserve to be represented in the curriculum, the Portland Press Herald reported.

“Public schools are for everyone and should, therefore, include everyone,” the teacher said.

When the narrative that such issues are inappropriate or dangerous becomes embedded in the minds of voters, pushing back can indeed be politically problematic. But activists said there are larger issues to consider.

Pride Month Jun 14, 2021

Your Pride Flag Guide: All the Different LGBTQ Flags and Their Meanings

Pride Month May 23, 2022

What Is Pride Month? Everything to Know About the LGBTQ Observance

“It goes well for candidates when they stand up and say what their real values are and say what they believe about what’s really going on with legislation,” said Liz Seaton, policy director for the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund. “When they speak the truth from values, they will be speaking from their heart, and their constituents will respond.”

Annise Parker, a former Houston mayor who is now CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund and Institute, a nonpartisan organization that works on behalf of LGBTQ candidates, agreed that LGBTQ allies running for office have a responsibility to “stand up and speak out when any of those marginalized communities are attacked.”

Political observers and activists noted parallels in today’s rhetoric with that around same-sex marriage in the 1990s and 2000s.

It was only 10 years ago that former President Barack Obama — on the heels of Biden, his vice president — endorsed same-sex marriage. That was 16 years after another Democratic president, Bill Clinton, signed the law that blocked it.

Both presidents were running for reelection and may have been hostages to public opinion, which by Obama’s time had swung the other way. Same-sex marriage soon became legal throughout the United States, and the public now sees the sky didn’t fall as predicted, advocates said.

But now “conservative forces are using the tactics of ‘othering’ us very effectively again … and they are making trans activists look radical when all they’re looking for is the right to exist,” said Jonathan Lovitz, a gay man who ran against Alvarez and other candidates in last month’s Democratic primary in Philadelphia and placed second.

A poll released in April by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that overall, Americans lean slightly toward expanding discussions of sexuality in K-12 classrooms. And some observers say it’s only a matter of time before today’s anti-LGBTQ rhetoric stops working in Republicans’ favor.

Lovitz encouraged Democrats to set aside political concerns as LGBTQ people feel increasingly targeted.

“Be a vocal and visible ally even if it costs you endorsements and donations. Stand up for what you believe in; otherwise you’re not an elected official, you’re just a weather vane,” he said. “We don’t need fair-weather friends right now.”

___

Follow Jeff McMillan at http://twitter.com/jeffmcmillanpa.

Today, there are flags for many different identities along the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

The story behind the rainbow Pride flag

The iconic rainbow flag is the universal symbol for LGBTQ Pride today, but it wasn’t always.

Until the late 1970’s, the pink triangle was the symbol for the gay movement, despite its dark history. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the inverted triangle was originally used as an identifier for gay men in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. It placed a stigma on gay prisoners, similar to how the Star of David was used against Jewish people.

More From NBCLX

LGBTQ Jun 8, 2021

Why This Professor Thinks Pride is Now ‘A Corporate Food Court'

LGBTQ Jun 5, 2020

Black LGBTQ Youth Face Extra Challenges This Pride Month

The triangle, however, was reclaimed by the LGBTQ community and used as a symbol of power decades later.

But many people, including Gilbert Baker, wanted a symbol for the community that was innately positive — thus the birth of the rainbow flag.

According to the Gilbert Baker Foundation, Baker designed and created the first rainbow flag in 1978. Baker was a vexillographer, or flag maker, for more than 40 years. He passed away in 2017.

The original rainbow flag had 8 colors: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue and violet. Each color on the Pride flag represented something significant: sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic, serenity and spirit.

But the flag has changed over time.

After the assassination of gay San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk in November 1978, demand for the flag increased and there was a shortage of pink fabric. To keep up, the Paramount Flag Company, where Baker worked, dropped the hot pink stripe.

According to the GLBT Historical Society Museum and Archives, the rainbow flag was modified again in 1979 because the middle stripe was obscured when the flag hung on lamp posts. Baker’s way to fix the problem was to create a flag with an even number of stripes — dropping another color, turquoise. That change created the six-stripe version of the flag that we all know today.

A few different flags within the LGBTQ+ community

But the rainbow flag is not the only flag that represents LGBTQ+ folks.

For example, the transgender flag was created in 1999 by trans woman Monica Helms. It has three colors: blue, pink and white. The blue stripe represents boys, the pink represents girls and the white is for people who are transitioning or are gender-neutral.

Philadelphia’s People of Color Inclusive flag added black and brown stripes to the top of rainbow flag in 2017. The addition was intended to give representation to people of color within the LGBTQ community.

The bisexual flag has pink, blue and lavender stripes that represent same-sex attraction, opposite-sex attraction and attraction to both sexes.

There have been multiple designs of a lesbian pride flag, but the version created by artist Emily Gwen is the most prominent online. In a tweet embedded above, Gwen explains that the stripes on their version represent gender non-conformity, independence, unique relationships to womanhood, serenity and peace, love and sex and feminity. Other versions by different designers have featured a lipstick print and a two-sided axe known as a labrys.

According to the U.K.-based Gay Times, the pansexual pride flag was created in 2010 by the artist Jasper. There are different interpretations of the colors’ meanings: some say the magenta, yellow and cyan represent attraction to male-identifying, female-identifying and nonbinary people, respectively. Others say the stripes represent men, women and nonbinary people themselves.

“The pan flag is defined by the people who identify with it, not just what I chose at the point of creation,” Jasper said in a Twitter thread on the flag’s origins.

According to OutRight Action International, the asexual pride flag was designed in 2010 and features black, gray, white and purple stripes. The top three stripes represent sexuality, asexuality, and the gray area in between, while the purple stripe represents community.

This intersex pride flag was created by Morgan Carpenter, head of Intersex Human Rights Australia. It features a purple circle on a yellow background, with the circle representing completeness and “the right to be who and how we want to be,” Carpenter wrote on IHRA’s website.

According to OutRight International, the genderfluid pride flag has a pink stripe representing femininity, blue representing masculinity, purple for masculinity and femininity, black for a lack of gender, and white for all genders.

The genderqueer flag was created by Marilyn Roxie and contains lavender, white, and green stripes. The lavender stripe represents androgyny and queerness, the white represents agender identity, and the green represents nonbinary people, according to Roxie’s website.

According to the Grand Rapids Pride Center, the nonbinary flag’s yellow stripe represents people with a gender identity outside the male-female binary, while the white stripe is for people who identify as multiple genders. The purple represents a mixture of male and female, and the black stripe represents people who identify as not having a gender.

There are seven stripes on the agender pride flag, created by Salem X in 2014. The black and white stripes on the flag represent the absence of gender, the gray represents people who are semi-genderless, and the green represents nonbinary genders.

There are also several other flags that represent people who identify as demisexual, aromantic and polyamorous.

Each flag represents the various needs and experiences of these communities, and as the LGBTQ+ movement continues to grow, so may the number of flags.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

But what is Pride Month exactly? The rainbows and glitter may catch your eye, but the month-long celebration is really a call for greater unity, visibility and equality for the LGBTQ community. And while it’s a time to look toward a fairer, kinder future, it’s also a moment to recognize all of the advances — and setbacks — in the last few decades.

“The number and variety of Pride events throughout the country and the world reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ community both in the United States and abroad,” GLAAD writes on their website. That said, Pride celebrations can last anywhere from several days to a full week, and they often include marches, speeches, outdoor festivals, concerts, performances and workshops.

Below, we’ve answered all of your top questions about Pride Month, including why it’s celebrated in June and how the rainbow flag came to be a universal symbol of solidarity.

More LGBTQ+ Coverage:

transgender rights Mar 31, 2022

Nurse at Trans Health Center Breaks Down Myths in Anti-LGBTQ Legislation

Florida Mar 28, 2022

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Signed the ‘Don't Say Gay' Bill. What Exactly Is in It?

What is Pride Month?

Pride Month celebrates LGBTQ culture, achievements and activism through a series of organized activities, including film festivals, art exhibits, marches, concerts and other programs.

Through these efforts, the LGBTQ community and its allies also aim to increase awareness over ongoing issues of inequality as well as commemorate the lives lost to hate crimes and HIV/AIDS.

Why is Pride Month in June?

Pride Month is observed in June to honor the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, a touchstone event in LGBTQ history that laid the foundation for Pride.

In the late 1960s, being openly gay was largely prohibited in most places. New York, in particular, had a rule that the simple presence of someone gay or gender queer counted as disorderly conduct, effectively outlawing gay bars.

On June 28, 1969, patrons of the Stonewall Inn, a popular bar with a diverse LGBTQ clientele, stood their ground after police raided the establishment. The resulting clash led to days of riots and protests, known as the Stonewall Uprising.

One year later, on the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, thousands of people flooded the streets of Manhattan in the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day March, regarded as the first gay pride event ever.

How did Pride Month begin?

Pride Month had humble beginnings: It initially began as Gay Pride Day, observed annually on the last Sunday in June.

As awareness increased, more activities and events were planned throughout the month and eventually, it evolved into the month-long observance, aptly named Pride Month.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton officially declared June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, setting aside the month as a time to recognize the LGBTQ community’s achievements and support the community.

What is the Pride symbol?

The rainbow flag is universally recognized as the symbol for LGBTQ pride. Created by Gilbert Baker, a renowned San Francisco activist, the flag was flown for the first time at the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day celebration.

According to Baker, what inspired him about the rainbow was that it represented all the genders, races and stands for “the rainbow of humanity.” Each of the six colors of the rainbow flag represent a different aspect of the LGBTQ movement including life, healing, sunlight, nature, serenity and spirit.

To some, the rainbow flag also signifies power, rebellion and hope.

In 2017, Philadelphia added a black and brown stripe to their flag to symbolically represent LGBTQ people of color who have often felt marginalized from their own community. Today, many organizations have adopted that flag, also adding the colors of the transgender pride flag — baby blue and light pink — to represent that community as well.

How can I celebrate Pride Month?

Each year, dozens of celebrations and marches are held around the world during Pride Month.

One of the largest celebrations happens in New York City, the birthplace of modern gay rights movement. The NYC Pride parade, which is held on June 26 this year, is the country’s biggest Pride Month parade, with roughly 2 million attending in 2018.

Here’s a list of other notable U.S. Pride Month events happening this year:

Los Angeles: June 11 – 12, 2022

Chicago: June 25 – 26, 2022

San Francisco: June 25 – 26, 2022 

New Orleans: June 9 – 12, 2022

Provincetown, MA: June 3 – 5, 2022

Philadelphia: Sunday, June 5, 2022

Nashville, TN: June 25 – 26, 2022

Key West, FL: June 1 – 5, 2022

LGTBQ Pride Month resources

To learn more about Pride Month or find additional ways to get involved, check out the following resources:

• GLAAD, a non-government agency founded to promote LGBTQ acceptance along with identifying and preventing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals.
• GLSEN, a network of students, families and education advocates working to facilitate LGBTQ safety and support in schools.
• The Equality Federation is a LGBTQ advocacy group working to help advance the rights of LGBTQ people.
• The National LGBTQ Task Force, an advocacy group dedicated to advancing freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people.
• The Library of Congress, for history on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Pride Month.
• The Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate organization dedicated to fighting bias, extremism, discrimination or hate.
• The American Civil Liberties Union, works to preserve and defend the rights and liberties of U.S. citizens.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

• Life coach and author Jay Shetty wants to answer your questions on TODAY!
• 31 DIY Father’s Day gifts dad will absolutely love getting from you
• Al Roker shares video of son’s church sermon: ‘Could not be prouder of who he is’

Following years of virtual celebrations due to the pandemic, the long-awaited fully in-person Pride Island experience is scheduled to take place this year — at a new location.

The three-day music festival, part of NYC Pride, will fill Governors Island from June 24 to 26 and will feature international popstar Kim Petras as its headliner, with additional performances by Eddie Martinez, Dani Toro, and Alex Chapman. More performers will be announced at a later date.

“Pride Island is rooted in a history dating back more than 30 years,” Mario Schmitt, Pride Island Director, said in a statement. “After being silenced for the past 2 years due to the pandemic, we are coming back with one of the biggest events in Pride history. We are proud to be breaking barriers by introducing our first Pride Island headliner of the transgender experience.”

Aside from Pride Island, the NYC Pride 2022 roster of events includes: the first fully in-person NYC Pride March in three years on June 26; PrideFest, also on June 26, in Greenwich Village; as well as The Rally on June 24, among other events.

NYC Pride, which celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community, is one of the biggest Pride celebrations in the world.  

“Our community has been through tremendous hardships over the past few years, beginning with the pandemic, and continuing with a reckoning with social justice, threats to our democracy, and more recently armed conflict overseas,” NYC Pride Executive Director Sandra Pérez said in a statement announcing NYC Pride’s 2022 theme: “Unapologetically Us.”

“Compounding these struggles is the onslaught of legislation around the country that directly targets LGBTQIA+ individuals,” Pérez’ statement goes on to say. “In spite of these challenges and attacks, we are here to tell the country and the world: we will not be erased. We will stand together to face these attacks on our LGBTQIA+ siblings across the country and around the world. We will continue to love and live our truth and be our full and complete selves – and we are not going to apologize for it.”

The theme is a celebration of the resilience of the LGBTQIA+ community.

“Many have focused on exploring their true selves, coming out to the world with vibrant, loving hearts and souls open to the public – no matter how scary, unsure, or vulnerable it might have been. Others continue their journeys of finding a true sense of self and inner peace. The entire community should celebrate each and every person’s story and provide support so everyone can feel happy, healthy, and safe being Unapologetically Us,” according to NYC Pride’s website.

For more information on this year’s NYC Pride, click here.