Meet Your NYC Pride Parade 2025 Grand Marshals

Meet Your NYC Pride Parade 2025 Grand Marshals

Wow, is it already time to start talking about the upcoming Pride Month? While it's still a couple of months away, start making your arrangements now if you want to have a front row seat...or back standing area...to one of the biggest parties of the season. The NYC Pride Parade, one of the largest in the country, is set to roll down 5th Ave and on towards Greenwich Village on Sunday, June 29th. As reported over at The Homo Culture, upwards of 75,000 participants will walk/ride the route, while more than 2.5 million will party in the streets as they all roll by.

With the political and social climate as it currently is, the fierce revolutionary spirit of the first Pride event in NY, the Christopher Street Liberation Day demonstration in 1970, the year after Stonewall, is certain to be back in full force. Never in recent times have our lives and the gains we've made in the past decades been as threatened as they are with this current administration. And the five Grand Marshals chosen for this year's parade reflect the fighting spirit we need right now to keep us fighting and dancing. Pride Co-Chair Michele Irimia said of the group: “Their participation is a powerful example of the enduring spirit of our community."

So, who are the people who will be leading the party this year?

Karine Jean-Pierre

 

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As Joe Biden Press Secretary, Jean-Pierre was the first Black woman and the first openly queer woman to hold that position. She's a homegrown New Yorker, having grown up in Queens, working from grassroots politics to guiding the discussion on the national level. “We march—hand in hand, arm in arm—not just in resistance, but in remembrance, in celebration, and in unshakable pride.” She says that being invited to ride as a Grand Marshal is “more than an honor—it’s a homecoming.”

Marti Gould Cummings

 

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From the cabaret stage to the political stage, Cummings has sashayed to slay and isn't backing down from a fight. As the first nonbinary candidate to run for NY political office in 2021, they did things their way, holding drag fundraisers and voter registration drives in local bars. They would prove to be a global force, being the first drag queen to moderate a United Nations panel on LGBTQ political representation. “As Grand Marshal, I will use this platform to bring awareness to the grave issues impacting the most vulnerable within our community.”

DJ Lina Bradford

 

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A legendary DJ ruling NY's nightlife from Fire Island to the underground, from NYC to international destinations, Bradford represents Black and trans communities often uplifted in our nightlife, but not always put front and center. As Brian Webb writes of her: "By slotting her at the front of the march, NYC Pride sends a clear message: nightlife is not escapism; it’s resistance." This former club kid says of being chosen: “Growing up, I never imagined such an honor. I am humbled, honored, blessed and grateful.”

Elisa Crespo

 

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A Bronx native, Crespo became the first trans woman of color to run for public office in her borough. "As head of the NEW Pride Agenda, Crespo helped forge a state fund supporting trans and nonbinary wellness, secured insurance coverage for PrEP, and championed the Safe Haven for Trans Youth and Families Act." Today, she is the Executive Director of the Stonewall Community Foundation, guiding philanthropic fundraising for social and political change.

Trans formative Schools

 

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Trans formative Schools is a collective of trans and queer educators and students raising up the hearts and minds of trans students in the NYC system. "The program offers after-school sessions that center trans joy, social justice, and academic excellence. Honored as this year’s Youth Activist Grand Marshals, their team insists visibility alone won’t save students. 'We need everyone to rise up and invest in trans lives, right now,' they emphasize."

This year's Pride Parade is set to begin at noon at 25th St. and Fifth Ave. Follow @NYCPride socials or their website for more info.

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