Preview 10 Incredible Photos of Landmark Events in Queer History
If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then Pride: 50 Years of Parades and Protests—a new photo book jam-packed with incredible images from The New York Times' photo archive—is a veritable epic. Edited by Times veterans David Kaufman and Adam Nagourney, the book documents decades of queer history through historical images of LGBTQ trailblazers, pioneers, and major events.
In a statement to NewNowNext, Kaufman says working on this book was a deeply personal experience for him:
For someone like me—who came of age during the 1980s and 1990s—NYT PRIDE was a chance to dig deep and discover how much LGBT history has played a part in both my life, and the lives of people I knew and admired and have been inspired by both personally and professionally. What struck me most about these five decades was how little time the nascent LGBT movement had to flourish before the ravages of AIDS descended upon it and—nearly 40 years on—how much HIV has descended into the background of current community conversations. It's a marked shift—one that I am not certain contemporary thinkers and activists yet to fully comprehend as today's leaders focus on more esoteric issues such as gender intersectionality. Nonetheless, I am eager to see how the next half-century of these movements play out—I only pray I live so long.
Below, find an exclusive preview of 10 historical images from Pride: 50 Years of Parades and Protests, out this Tuesday, May 21.
New York City's first ever Pride March in on Christopher Street in 1970.
A protest at the height of the AIDS crisis in 1987.
An aerial view of the New York Memorial AIDS Quilt circa 1988.
Activists at an ACT UP protest in '89.
San Franciscans gather in the streets of the Castro to remember Harvey Milk in 1996.
Veterans of the 1969 Stonewall Riots attend New York City's Pride March in '96.
Advocates and allies march through the District during the National Equality March in 2009.
A proud couple reacts to the Supreme Court's groundbreaking ruling in favor of marriage equality circa 2015.
The White House illuminated with rainbow lights in honor of marriage equality.
Transgender activists and allies demonstrate outside the White House in October 2018.