'Everybody has a different story about how they came out as gay, but we're all here.' 'We're walking to celebrate, to be embraced being who we are around people who are like us, free to express ourselves,' Oatis said. The grand marshals of the parade included transgender actress and activist Laverne Cox, actor Jonathan Groff and Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.Īmong the participants were cousins Yaseena Oatis, 20, and Shayna Melendez, 22, from Plainfield, New Jersey. The parade route passes The Stonewall Inn, the site of the riots. The parade was one of many being held around the world, and marked the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the 1969 uprising against police raids that were a catalyst for the gay rights movement.
Andrew Cuomo were among those walking along a lavender line painted on the avenue from midtown Manhattan to the West Village. Politicians including Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. NEW YORK - Fifth Avenue became one big rainbow on Sunday, as thousands of participants waving multicolored flags made their way down the street for New York City's annual gay pride march.
