The hustle and bustle of an average day in New York City can seem overwhelming, and this pride weekend was no exception. However, despite the suffocating crowds, the atmosphere still felt powerful. I spent the first couple hours of my day on the southeast corner of Christopher and Greenwich streets in the West Village, a few doors down from the historic Stonewall Inn, attempting (and failing) to navigate the barricades and meet up with my friend on the northwest corner. Eventually I gave up and completely immersed myself in the surroundings.
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As always, the parade was met with loud cheers, falling confetti, and rainbow goods of all kinds—from flags and capes to booty shorts, jewelry, and pinwheels. At certain times, though, the event felt more like a political rally than a celebration of life and love, with signs like "I hope to be gay in my next life" and "build bridges not walls." And that's more than understandable—the event carried a strong anti-Trump current precisely because Trump, directly and indirectly, threatens the gains in rights LGBTQ people have sacrificed so much to achieve over the past few decades. From laws targeting LGBTQ foster youth to today's announcement that the Supreme Court will hear a case with the potential to legalize anti-queer discrimination on the basis of "religious freedom," and in myriad other ways, queer people have been given ample reason to fight since last November. And this weekend, they came together and fought.That said, at the end of the day, pride in New York was still a celebration of LGBTQ lives. With these photographs, I wanted to celebrate the love that I saw and felt all around me, in spite of all the bigotry in our world.
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