Pride NYC: LGBT Talks and Events This Summer
By Alison Durkee
After the devastating tragedy in Orlando, there’s no better time than this month of Pride to come together and celebrate the LGBT community. Whether you’re LGBT yourself or an ally, show your support this month with these upcoming events around NYC.
Image: Anthony Quintano/Flickr
Trans rights and visibility has become a prominent issue, and New Yorkers have several events coming up on this essential issue. On June 23, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Amy Ellis Nutt will lead Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family. The illustrated lecture at the Mid-Manhattan Library focuses on the inspirational true story of a young transgender girl, her identical twin brother, and their family’s journey to understanding and acceptance. Acclaimed author Susan Faludi will give her own perspective on June 22 at the launch of her memoir In the Darkroom. The deeply personal work centers on questions of identity and Faludi’s struggle to come to terms with her father’s sex reassignment surgery.
For a more historical perspective on LGBT issues, join Professor Jim Downs on June 28 for Stand by Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation, an illustrated lecture on the literary, cultural, and religious awakening in the LGBT community that took place during the 1970s. The lecture will explore the establishment of an LGBT church in New Orleans that was the victim of an arson attack in 1973, which was—prior to the events in Orlando—the deadliest LGBT attack in US history. For a literary slant, head to The Strand on June 27 for Gay Life and Lit: Then and Now, a panel conversation touching on race, gender, art, and history through the lens of literature.
On June 21, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas will speak with Kevin Nadal, executive director of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies, as part of Pride Month. Nadal, who, in addition to being gay, also revealed his status as an illegal immigrant, will discuss his story and American citizenship, giving a more intersectional perspective on identity struggles in America.
On June 20, Howl! Happening will honor those lost in Orlando while marking the solstice and the full moon with an evening performance by visual and performance artist Chris Tanner.
Questions of gender and LGBT identity have also had profound impacts on the arts. A panel of pioneering models, bloggers, and fashion designers will come together on June 23 at the Brooklyn Historical Society to discuss the intersection of gender, identity, and fashion at Redefined and Redesigned. On June 18, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center will host the latest installment of their ongoing performance series Meditation on a Theme, where writers, performers, and raconteurs come together to explore the multiple ways in which a phrase gets interpreted.
Of course, June is Pride month, and even in the face of tragedy, NYC offers plenty of ways to celebrate the occasion. On June 25, BAM will host Everybooty 2016, a “radical evening of revelry” packed with four floors full of performances, DJs, installations, readings—and booze. Earlier that day, families can celebrate Pride uptown at the Museum of the City of New York’s LGBTQ Family Day Celebration, which will include arts & crafts, stories, exhibition showings, snacks, and more. But the true centerpiece of Pride is, of course, the Gay Pride March, which is the largest Pride celebration in the world. The parade will take place this year on June 26, with hundreds of marching groups and floats coming together to march from 36th Street to the West Village and celebrate the LGBT community and its individuals in truly spectacular fashion.
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