The mainstream LGBTQ rights movement in America may have achieved some remarkable gains over the last several years ― but it took decades and decades of work for our culture to get to this point.
The first Pride march in New York City took place in 1970, the year after the Stonewall Riots. And while the meaning or “purpose” of Pride may have shifted and changed over the years depending on America’s political and social climate at the time, visibility of LGBTQ people ― their identities and their relationships ― have always been at the heart of it.
Take a trip back in time with these beautiful photos of Pride celebrations over the past several decades.
View of the large crowd, some of whom are holding up handmade signs and banners, participating in a gay and lesbian Pride parade in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, 1970. (Photo by Spencer Grant/Getty Images)
A participant at a gay Pride gathering in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, circa 1972.
A group, led by several people carrying an 'It's Time! National Gay Task Force' banner, marches up Sixth Avenue during the annual Gay Pride parade in New York City, June 29, 1975.
Couples embrace and kiss in Central Park after a gay Pride parade, New York, New York, June 26, 1975.
A gay rights protester in drag with a banner declaring 'Not Every Boy Dreans Of Being A Marine' during a gay rights march up Fifth Avenue to Central Park, New York City.
A group of men ride in a truck at the intersection of 32nd Street and Fifth Avenue during the annual gay Pride parade in New York City, circa 1980.
Gay and lesbian Pride parade in New York City, circa 1980.
A lesbian and gay Pride in London,1980.
Gay Pride parade marches down Charles Street in Boston on June 20, 1981.
Gay Fathers take part in a gay Pride parade on the corner of Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue S in New York City, June 1982.
A group of men relax on the street during the gay Pride parade in New York City, June 1982.
Members of the Jewish community join gay Pride day in New York City, June 1982.
Two women embrace during the gay Pride parade in New York City, June 1982.
Men and women carry signs during the gay Pride parade in New York City, June 1984.
Two men watching the gay Pride parade in New York City, June 1984.
Lesbian and gay Pride in London, 1985.
Lesbian and gay Pride in London,1985.
Dancing on the street during the gay Pride parade in New York City, June 1986.
Members of the People With AIDS movement carry a banner during the gay Pride parade in New York City, June 1986.
Near the intersection of North Broadway and West Barry Avenue, participants march behind a banner that reads 'G.L.P.C., Gay & Lesbian Physicians of Chicago' during the annual Chicago gay and lesbian Pride day parade, Chicago, Illinois, June 28, 1987.
Gay and lesbian Pride parade, Hollywood, California, in 1988.
Two women wearing 'Wife' signs around their necks, smile for the camera, at the 1989 gay Pride parade in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, June 25, 1989:
#TheFutureIsQueer is HuffPost’s monthlong celebration of queerness, not just as an identity but as action in the world. Find all of our Pride Month coverage here.
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