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“If we could have gotten a sponsor we probably would have,” he said, “but no corporation in America would touch us.” Mark Segal, a journalist and a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front, which helped organize the first march, said they might have accepted corporate support in 1970. “What now feels like a very canned’’ parade, she added, “doesn’t speak to my heart in the way that the early, more countercultural energy did.” Glick said she felt “more comfortable in a march that is going back to basics.” “It’s all about the money, and that’s what we find offensive - the corporatization of our lives,” he said.Īssemblywoman Deborah Glick, a Democrat who represents parts of Lower Manhattan and who in 1991 became the first openly gay person elected to the State Legislature, said that after marching in about 40 Pride Marches, she intended to march only in the Queer Liberation parade this year. Smaller groups like his are put toward the back, he said, and sometimes finish the route after dark. Charles King, chief executive of Housing Works, said his group had grown frustrated with the Pride March and the priority given to corporate floats. Housing Works, an advocacy group focused on H.I.V./AIDS and homelessness, is supporting the protest march and handling its finances. Dobbs, who pointed out that the Pride March bans marchers from spontaneously joining. They have asked the Police Department not to cordon off the route with barricades, as is done along the Pride March, “because people should be able to join and leave a protest easily,” said Mr. Organizers said it would evoke the look and feel of the 1970 march, with participants carrying signs and banners and playing musical instruments. The splinter march has banned floats and corporate involvement. “I don’t think we’ve lost our way or sold out and turned this into a party or something it wasn’t originally meant to be,” Mr. employee group participating in the march. Most of the 677 marching contingents in the Pride March represent smaller nonprofits and community organizations, he said, adding that corporations are accepted only if they have an L.G.B.T. It now has 160 floats that corporations pay for on a sliding scale ranging from $10,000 to $35,000, depending on financial resources, while nonprofits pay up to $2,050 apiece, said James Fallarino, a member of Heritage of Pride’s executive board. But over the decades, the Pride March has grown to include dancers, elaborate costumes and loud music. Dobbs said the new march will better reflect the principles of Stonewall and of the 1970 Christopher Street Day Liberation March, which was held on the first anniversary of the rebellion and is considered the country’s first pride march.įinancing once came from collection cups, local gay bars and small nonprofits. on June 30 in Greenwich Village near the Stonewall Inn it will follow the route of the first pride march in 1970, proceeding up Sixth Avenue to Central Park for a rally on the Great Lawn. The Queer Liberation March is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. The main Pride March steps off at noon on its two-mile route through Chelsea and the Village. “They get one of the loudest ovations in the whole march.” officers educate and sensitize their colleagues,” she said.
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“No one is giving the Police Department a pass, but the only way to make a change is to let the L.G.B.T. Allowing uniformed officers to march, she said, was a step toward improving relations with the police. Renna called the police presence at the main Pride March necessary to maintain safety, given the large crowds. She called the march’s popularity among corporate sponsors a positive sign of how far the gay community has come in achieving mainstream acceptance.
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“You can’t talk about economic justice when you have Fortune 500 companies marching in your parade,” he said.īut Pride March officials said corporate revenue was crucial to providing supplies, equipment rentals, insurance, security and other aspects for the costly march and related events.Ĭorporate revenue also takes the financial burden off advocacy groups and community nonprofits with tight budgets, said Cathy Renna, a spokeswoman for Heritage of Pride, which has organized the Pride March since 1984. Dobbs said, and offers them prime spots toward the front of the march. The Pride March allows corporate sponsors to effectively “pinkwash” their images as gay-friendly organizations with progressive principles, Mr. “Their march stands for corporate pride and the status quo.