We're marching at NYC Pride!
Get your marching shoes ready! We’re thrilled to share that Stonewall Community Foundation’s Executive Director, Elisa Crespo, has been selected as a Grand Marshal of the 2025 NYC Pride March. On Sunday, June 29, the Stonewall community will be marching alongside Elisa as she leads up the historic procession. Joining her as fellow 2025 Grand Marshals include NYC drag artist and activist Marti Gould Cummings, legendary nightlife icon and advocate DJ Lina, Stonewall grantee partner Trans Formative Schools, and out former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Heritage of Pride - the organization behind the NYC Pride March - selected Elisa as a Grand Marshal because of her ongoing legacy of advocacy for LGBTQ+ folks in NYC and beyond. Here’s a snippet from their press release:
Elisa Crespo broke barriers in 2020 as the first trans woman of color to run for public office in the Bronx. Through her advocacy work with the NEW Pride Agenda, she played a key role in establishing a state fund to support trans and non-binary wellness and equity, securing insurance coverage for PrEP, and passing the Safe Haven for Trans Youth and Families act. She remains a leading force for change, funding LGBTQIA+ causes across the country as Executive Director of Stonewall Community Foundation. "I am thrilled to be selected as a Grand Marshall for NYC Pride - the city that raised me. My pride is rooted in resistance and love. In a world that tells queer people we don't belong, we must show up and demonstrate possibility models for the next generation,” said Crespo.
The theme for this year’s NYC Pride March is Rise Up: Pride In Protest, an apt reflection of the current political moment for our community. Amid a rising tide of anti-LGBTQ+ violence and legislation, this theme harkens back to the very first Pride March in 1970, which took place to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising - this organization’s namesake! This theme reminds us that Pride is - and has always been - a protest. In this moment, as queer and trans people are being told to hide away our true selves, we’re proud to show up with our community in our full authenticity, to take up space, and to make some noise! This is not a moment to sit back and be silent.
This will be the first time in Stonewall’s 35-year history that our organization will be marching in the NYC Pride Parade, and we’d love to see you in the crowd! You can learn more about the NYC Pride March here. If you catch us along the route, make sure to say “hello!” We’ll have some goodies for you. :) See you on Sunday, June 29!