More than a million people marched through Lower Manhattan on Sunday, June 28, for New York City’s annual Pride March, one of the largest events of the city’s Pride month and, this year, a pointed defense of transgender and nonbinary people facing what organizers called a rising wave of attacks. The march was reported by ABC7, the event’s broadcast sponsor, and by ForumDaily.
The march is run by Heritage of Pride, the nonprofit behind NYC Pride. It stepped off at 26th Street and Fifth Avenue, ran down through Lower Manhattan and dispersed at 15th Street and Seventh Avenue.
The 2026 theme was “For All of Us,” a phrase pulled from a quote widely attributed to Marsha P. Johnson, the activist and Stonewall veteran: “There is no pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.” Organizers framed the theme as a response to the political moment, pointing to LGBTQIA+ people in states including Arkansas, Florida and Oklahoma who they said need safe spaces as Pride events face economic and political pressure around the world.
“LGBTQ+ Pride events are under attack around the world, but NYC is determined to march on,” said Im Lynde, NYC Pride’s executive director. “We invite our LGBTQIA+ community from near and far to join us in the birthplace of Pride as we continue the fight for LGBTQIA+ equality – for all of us.”
This year’s grand marshals were “Pose” actress Dominique Jackson, drag performer and musician Peppermint, transit-announcement voice and advocate Bernie Wagenblast, “Saturday Night Live” cast member Bowen Yang, and the group Gays Against Guns. The marshals were nominated by community members and allies, and chosen for their work on LGBTQIA+ equality.
“Our Grand Marshals have blazed trails and opened doors in entertainment, media, and advocacy,” Lynde said. “Their visibility alone is worth celebrating, but they are fighting for opportunity, support, and safety for our entire LGBTQIA+ community.”
The march traces back more than half a century. New York City’s first Pride march, then called the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day march, took place on June 28, 1970, one year after the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn. After a police raid on the gay bar, a crowd led in part by trans women of color confronted police, an act of defiance that became a catalyst for a global LGBTQIA+ rights movement.
In the decades since, the annual marches have doubled as a celebration and a platform for specific demands, from action on the AIDS epidemic to the fight for same-sex marriage.
Sunday’s march capped a weekend of NYC Pride events. PrideFest, billed as the largest LGBTQIA+ street festival in the city, returned for its 32nd year the same day, and Youth Pride, for ages 13 to 24, took place Saturday, June 27, at the South Street Seaport, opening with a rally demanding more funding and protections for trans and queer youth.
Featured image: Bushwick Daily image
