Sparked by an insidious hate crime committed in 1990, a group of LGBT people came together in Jackson Heights to let the world know that the time had come to speak out and make their presence known. This was the birth of the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee, the dedicated individuals who organize the Queens LGBT Pride Parade held every year on the first Sunday in June.

This year, for one day, Queens Pride will be sharing the celebration of their 25th Anniversary at the Queens Museum. The one day pop-up exhibit will feature artifacts from the parade over the years as well as documentation of the parade’s growth from a response to homophobia into an event that testifies to the diversity of all people. A program highlighting the parade’s beginnings will include a panel discussion with Q&A from those who were instrumental in establishing this celebration over the past 25 years.

For more information email: info@queenspride.org

Schedule of Activities:

11:30-12:30pm: Opening Reception for the Pop-up Exhibit

12:45-2:45pm: Screening of the Documentary Julio of Jackson Heights (Dir. Richard Shpuntoff, 2016, 90min)
Julio Rivera was murdered in a schoolyard in Jackson Heights, Queens on July 2, 1990, by three young men looking to clean up their neighborhood by ‘stretching out a gay guy’, but instead the murder sparked the coming out of New York’s largest and until then most closeted LGBTQ community. Julio of Jackson Heights  is the story of how a handful of people – Julio’s friends and family – decided that they would not accept the official police report, and learned how to organize, ultimately bringing their case to the attention of then Mayor Dinkins. And it is the story of how their actions sparked a movement that founded the Queens Pride Parade, supported the creation of over a dozen LGBT organizations and ultimately served as the platform that elected two openly gay candidates to the New York City Council.

2:45-4pm: Panel Discussion

View Trailer of Julio of Jackson Heights

Sponsored by:
The Queens Museum, Queens Pride Lions Club, and Queens Pride