I felt like I was being represented

An early NYC Pride Parade proceeding down Christopher Street in Greenwich Village.Photo: Suzanne Poli

So we can celebrate virtually, asked our readers to share a photo with us from the first time they went to Pride. Submissions poured in from around the world, spanning every year from 1970 to 2019.

We’ve selected 30 of our favorite photos and stories so we can celebrate with a Pride In Pictures special series and we’ll be sharing them with you every day this month.

Name: 

Suzanne Poli, Photographer & Social Activist

Location:

Christopher Street, Greenwich Village, New York City

Related: Parades might get canceled, but Pride never will be

What makes this photo special to you?

“I have been photographing on Christopher Street since the Stonewall Uprising 51 years ago. This is a picture I took from my fire escape in the 1970s. I was so excited looking out at the Parade from my window.

They were chanting, shouting and saying things that I believed. Then you see that wonderful sign: ‘If You Don’t Like Us, Why Are You Watching?’ – don’t you love it?

I felt like I was being represented…

Also, that’s Marsha P. Johnson, to the left of the woman in the picture holding the sign (left side center in the photo), on the street marching and wearing white gloves. The first ever transgender monument in the world, of Marsha and Sylvia Rivera will be unveiled sometime next year in Greenwich Village.”