The first Gay Pride March in June 1970

[Dachshund]

Some rare footage of the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day March.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj1AlL43Y0o

[Iggy]

What great footage.  I don't think I knew or remembered if I did know that the March* had to fight along Sixth Ave traffic.

Also, I think person in the white fairy costume is a woman who used to ride along the Village in the same outfit on top of a VW beetle - if so , she used to be my landlord when I lived on Christopher Street and was an excellent, kind and gracious person.

Thanks for posting!


*Can't believe I wrote parade at first 

[edfu]

The 1970 March went OUT of Greenwich Village, then the gay ghetto, to the world up at Central Park.  This was done deliberately.  The route was changed, reversed, several years later, destroying the whole metaphorical meaning; it started uptown and ended in the Village, as it does today.   

[bear60]

Brought tears to my eyes!

[Peter Staley]

Great video find, Hal.  Thanks for sharing it.

Gay men and lesbians of all ages should take the time to learn their gay history (yes, I'm wagging my finger like an old coot).

[lydgate]

Echoing what others have said: moving, poignant, valuable footage -- and voices. I think a lot about that time and that place -- New York, specifically the Village, in the 1970s; post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS.

Of course we were all sick then. Literally, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association in its "Bible" -- the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (Shameless self-promotion: I'm working on a history of the DSM.) It wasn't until December 1973 that the APA decided to de-list homosexuality from its catalog of psychiatric illnesses. The image is from the second edition of the DSM (1968).

Jay

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[pozattitude]

thank you for this great piece of history.  I agree with Peter, so many take the freedom we enjoy today for granted, it is very important that we know our history, without knowing where we came from, it makes it very difficult to find the direction to where we need to take in our future.
btw...my BULL DIKE great aunt was involved in the 69 riots and the gay liberation movement of the 70's in NYC...yes, it is genetic... the queer gene runs strong in my family...LOL

thanks again Doxie   

[MarkB]

(Shameless self-promotion: I'm working on a history of the DSM.)

Are you? That's very interesting. When do you hope to publish?

[AlanBama]

Great footage!   I enjoyed watching it.