But the route and start time aren’t the only things that will make the Queer Liberation March a bit different. Notably, while the Queer Liberation March will start at 9:30 a.m., the Pride March isn’t scheduled to start until noon. The coalition is asking marchers to gather in Sheridan Square. Marchers will then travel up Sixth Avenue, ending with a rally on Central Park’s Great Lawn. The Reclaim Pride Coalition’s march will retrace the steps of the original Christopher Street Liberation Day March of 1970. As stated on its website, the group is now planning a Queer Liberation March on June 30, but take a different route. The tensions eventually led to the establishment of a breakaway group known as the Reclaim Pride Coalition.
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Since the changes in 2018, tensions between HOP and community activists have continued to brew. Activist Sheri Clemons told The Villager prior to last year’s Pride event: “You have to listen to the community and that also means reaching out and engaging… Everybody should have known that these changes would be disturbing.” But Clemons and other community activists not only objected to the lack of consultation over the new parade route, but to a new requirement that all marchers wear wristbands and to lower caps on contingent size. This year, the route will resume its standard direction, but cover more ground and end in Chelsea rather than the West Village.īut as reported in The Villager in 2018, not everyone in the community felt consulted about the initial changes in 2018. Last year, the route reversed direction-the festivities kicked off on Seventh Avenue at West 16th Street, cut through Greenwich Village, and ended at West 29th Street and Fifth Avenue. Prior to 2018, HOP’s parade route started further north at West 36th Street and Fifth Avenue and traveled down Fifth Avenue to West 8th Street and ended in Greenwich Village at the corner of Greenwich and Christopher Streets. Since 1984, the parade has been organized by an organization known as Heritage of Pride (HOP).
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The 2019 Pride March route may not seem controversial, but choosing the route was a highly divisive and time-consuming process. The new route was primarily chosen to ensure there are ample viewing opportunities for what is expected to be the largest Pride Parade yet. Eventually, revelers will travel back up Seventh Avenue to West 23rd Street. The parade will start at West 26th and Fifth Avenue, travel down Fifth Avenue to West 8th street, and cut across West 8th to Christopher Street, and finally, over to Seventh Avenue.