Crowds gathered outside New York's historic Stonewall Inn on Sunday to celebrate five decades of LGBTQ pride, marking the 50th anniversary of the police raid that sparked the modern-day gay rights movement. Other cities throughout the country held parades.
More than 2,000 people gathered outside the bar where patrons resisted the famous June 28, 1969, police raid. Thousands also turned out for a larger parade that packed Fifth Avenue, where rainbows were on display across everything from flags to T-shirts.
Eraina Clay, 63, of suburban New Rochelle, came to celebrate the anniversary.
"I think that we should be able to say we've been here for so long, and so many people are gay that everybody should be able to have the chance to enjoy their lives and be who they are," Clay said. "I have a family. I raised kids. I'm just like everybody else." Alyssa Christianson, 29, of New York City, was topless, wearing just sparkly pasties and boy shorts underwear. A Pride flag was tied around her neck like a cape.
"I've been to the Pride parade before, but this is the first year I kind of wanted to dress up and get into it," she said.
Christianson said she is concerned that the movement could suffer setbacks during the Trump administration, which has moved to revoke newly won health care protections for transgender people, restrict their presence in the military and withdraw federal guidance that trans students should be able to use bathrooms of their choice.
"I'm definitely a little scared of how things are going, just the anger and violence that comes out of it and just the tone of conversation about it. We've come so far, especially in the last few decades, that I don't want to see that repressed in any way."