(University photos / Sofia Tokar)
A group of University of Rochester students and employees took part in this year’s Rochester Pride Parade along Alexander Street, joined by family and friends on Saturday, July 16. The annual parade coincides with similar Gay Pride events around the world towards the end of June to commemorate the so-called Stonewall riots in New York City. Also referred to as the Stonewall uprising—they were a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ community in response to a police raid on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood. Stonewall is considered the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement.
Why still walk today, nearly 50 years later? “Because there are many who still don’t have equal rights. You can still lose your job, your housing, and your liberty in many states, because of your sexual orientation or gender identity,” says John Cullen, director of diversity and inclusion at the Clinical & Translational Science Institute at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “The future does not look as bright as it did a year ago for the LGBTQ community,” adds Cullen, who is also the assistant director of the University’s Susan B. Anthony Center.
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