Home & LivingU.S. NewsWomenLGBTQ

50 Vintage Photos Of Pride Parades In The U.S.

These photos highlight the evolution of LGBTQ Pride over decades.
By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost Life

and

Photo Editor, HuffPost

Pride Month is in full swing, and people finally have the chance to honor the occasion in person. But as folks live in this present moment of celebration, June also offers the opportunity to look back at the history of Pride and all it stands for.

LGBTQ pride parades in the U.S. date back to 1970, the year after the Stonewall riots in New York City. In June 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, sparking riots and protests that galvanized the gay rights movement. Since then, members of the LGBTQ community and their allies have commemorated the anniversary of these events by marching in support of the queer community and celebrating queer identity.

In honor of Pride this year, we’ve rounded up 50 vintage photos from pride parades dating back to the 1970s.

1
1970s
Homer Sykes via Getty Images
Two men attend a pride parade in "Gay Is Proud" T-shirts in New York City in the 1970s.
2
1971
Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images
Representatives of the Buffalo Radical Lesbians take part in an LGBTQ parade through New York City on Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day in 1971.
3
1971
Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images
A man wears a "Gay Revolution" T-shirt at an LGBTQ parade through New York City on Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day in 1971.
4
1971
Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images
A couple embraces at an LGBTQ parade through New York City on Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day in 1971.
5
1971
Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images
A woman holding a placard that reads "I Enjoy Being a Dyke" during an LGBTQ parade through New York City on Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day in 1971.
6
1971
Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images
People stop at an LGBTQ parade through New York City on Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day in 1971.
7
1972
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
Men hold hands at the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade on June 25, 1972.
8
1974
Bettmann via Getty Images
Parents march in the Gay Pride Parade in New York City's Greenwich Village up the Avenue of the Americas to rally in Central Park in 1974.
9
1975
Peter Keegan via Getty Images
Participants in the annual gay rights parade march in New York on June 29, 1975.
10
1975
Fred W. McDarrah via Getty Images
American gay liberation activist Marsha P. Johnson smiles during the pride march in New York on June 29, 1975.
11
1975
Spencer Grant via Getty Images
A crowd marches with signs and banners in a pride parade in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston in 1975.
12
1976
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
Participants march in the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 27, 1976.
13
1976
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
A group marches at the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 27, 1976.
14
1976
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
Crowds march at the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 27, 1976.
15
1977
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
Participants hold signs at the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 26, 1977.
16
1978
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
Harvey Milk at the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 23, 1978.
17
1978
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
Signs at the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 25, 1978.
18
1978
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
Spectators watch the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 25, 1978.
19
1979
Walt Disney Television Photo Archives via Getty Images
A performer processes in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade in 1979.
20
1979
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
Spectators watch the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 24, 1979.
21
1979
Suzanne Poli via Getty Images
Marchers walk on Christopher Street during the annual New York City pride march on June 24, 1979.
22
1979
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
A group marches on Gay Freedom Day in San Francisco on June 26, 1979.
23
1979
Paul Sakuma via AP
A group called The Advocate Experience parades in front of San Francisco City Hall on June 24, 1979, during the Gay Freedom Day Parade and Celebration.
24
1979
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
Crowds watch the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 24, 1979.
25
1980
Keystone via Getty Images
A group of lesbian and gay Catholics of DignityUSA hold a banner at the annual pride parade in New York City in June 1980.
26
Circa 1980
Hulton Archive via Getty Images
A group of men ride in a Jeep at the intersection of 32nd Street and Fifth Avenue during the pride parade in New York City circa 1980.
27
1981
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
Cowboys kick up their heels at the Gay Freedom Parade in San Francisco on June 28, 1981.
28
1981
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images via Getty Images
Crowds at the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 28, 1981.
29
1982
Barbara Alper via Getty Images
A group of men relax on the street during the pride parade in New York City in June 1982.
30
1982
Mike KullenASSOCIATED PRESS
A crowd marches along Beacon Street to the Boston Common in support of gay and lesbian rights on June 19, 1982.
31
1982
Carl Viti via AP
Members of the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band and Twirling Corps dance down San Francisco's Market Street on June 27, 1982.
32
1983
Images Press via Getty Images
A group from Columbia University marches in the Gay & Lesbian Pride Parade in New York City circa 1983.
33
1983
Bettmann via Getty Images
Gay and lesbian activists get ready for a pride parade in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, on June 25, 1983.
34
1983
Corbis via Getty Images
Women march with a "Lesbians Against Police Violence" sign in a Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 24, 1983.
35
1984
Bromberger Hoover Photography via Getty Images
A woman smiles as she carries a sign that reads "I Raised One Great Dyke" along Market Street during the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 24, 1984.
36
1984
Bromberger Hoover Photography via Getty Images
Marchers from the Shanti Project — a nonprofit that provides support services for people living with various life-threatening illnesses, including AIDS — walk on Market Street during the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 24, 1984.
37
1984
Mario CabreraASSOCIATED PRESS
Marchers in the 15th Annual Gay Pride Parade sit down in front of New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral on June 24, 1984, to protest Archbishop John J. O'Connor's refusal to sign a homosexual anti-discrimination pledge required by the city for any organization with city social service contracts.
38
1984
Bromberger Hoover Photography via Getty Images
Crowds sit on the ground outside the Civic Center during the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 24, 1984.
39
1985
Bromberger Hoover Photography via Getty Images
A man waves a pride flag on Market Street during the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 15, 1985.
40
1985
Bromberger Hoover Photography via Getty Images
People wave from a pair of windows on Market Street during the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 15, 1985.
41
1985
Barbara Alper via Getty Images
Participants process in a pride march on Fifth Avenue in New York City in June 1985.
42
1987
Bromberger Hoover Photography via Getty Images
Two people dance outside the Civic Center during the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 28, 1987.
43
1988
Bromberger Hoover Photography via Getty Images
A marcher carries a sign that reads, in part, "It Takes Balls to be a Butterfly" as he walks along Market Street during the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 26, 1988.
44
1988
Bromberger Hoover Photography via Getty Images
A pair of women in the "Dykes on Bikes" group wait in the Castro District of San Francisco for the start of the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 26, 1988.
45
1989
Bromberger Hoover Photography via Getty Images
Men seated on a rooftop in the Castro District cheer and applaud marchers below during the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 25, 1989.
46
1989
Scott McPartland via Getty Images
A parade float passes through the crowd at the pride parade in New York City on June 25, 1989.
47
1990
Bromberger Hoover Photography via Getty Images
Women from "Dykes on Bikes" ride a motorcycle on Market Street during the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 24, 1990.
48
1990
Bromberger Hoover Photography via Getty Images
Among the "Dykes on Bikes" group on Market Street, four women in tops that read "Women on the Verge" sit on motorcycles as they wait for the start of the International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 24, 1990.
49
1994
Scott McPartland via Getty Images
Gay rights activists holding a banner that reads "Silence = Death" make their way down Central Park South during the pride march in New York City on June 26, 1994.
50
1994
Scott McPartland via Getty Images
Gay rights activists from Slovenia, Scotland and South Africa hold their country signs high over their heads, as they walk along Central Park South during the pride march in New York City on June 26, 1994.

Before You Go

LOADINGERROR LOADING
|
Submit a tip
Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE