Happy Pride Month, downtown! June is an exciting opportunity for our city to remember and celebrate how far we’ve come since the beginning of the modern gay rights movement in 1969. While other neighborhoods may be more commonly associated with queer communities, Lower Manhattan has a storied history all its own that includes numerous notable LGBTQIA+ residents throughout the past few centuries (yes, really).
Amid the many festivities planned throughout the month (including our next LM Live event, a screening of “The Gospel According to André,” on June 20), read up on downtown’s LGBTQIA+ history from 1609 to present day, chronicled in the Downtown Alliance’s “Queer All Along: A Short History of LGBTQ Life in Lower Manhattan,” compiled and published back in 2019. This month and every month, Lower Manhattan is proud to be a welcoming place to live, work and play for New Yorkers from all walks of life.
Read below, and stay tuned for more Pride content in the coming weeks.
