“FIRST NEW YORK ANNUAL DYKE PRIDE MARCH,” New York City, June 26, 1993. Photo © Sas

“FIRST NEW YORK ANNUAL DYKE PRIDE MARCH,” New York City, June 26, 1993. Photo © Saskia Scheffer (@saskiany), via @lesbianherstoryarchives.
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In the leadup to the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation, the New York City-based Lesbian Avengers grew increasingly frustrated with the virtual absence of lesbian representation from the March’s official program. In response, the Avengers announced plans for a Dyke March, to be held the evening before the National March. From there, grassroots lesbians activists from around the country got involved in what turned out to be an enormous show of Dyke force—with over 20,000 lesbians marching through D.C.—on April 24, 1993.
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Based on the success of the D.C. March, the New York Lesbian Avengers organized a local march to coincide with the city’s Pride celebrations. On June 26, 1993, twenty-four years ago today, the first annual New York City Dyke March stepped off from Bryant Park and made its way to Union Square Park, where Heritage of Pride, the official organizers of New York City’s Pride events, was holding a rally.
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The first New York City Dyke March, “like the [D.C.] March before it and all NYC Dyke Marches to follow, did not have a permit. It is our First Amendment right to protest, and until we are truly liberated, the New York City Dyke March is a protest march.”
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According to organizers of the 2017 Dyke March (@nycdykemarchofficial), the march “is a protest march, not a parade…a demonstration of [] our right to protest [] without permits or sponsors. We recognize that we must organize among ourselves to fight for our rights, safety, and visibility. Thousands of Dykes take the streets each year in celebration of our beautiful and diverse Dyke lives, to highlight the presence of Dykes within our community, and in protest of the discrimination, harassment, and violence we face in schools, on the job, and in our communities. All self-identified Dykes are welcome to march regardless of group or political affiliation.”
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There are Dyke Marches in cities all over the world. #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory #Resist #DykeMarch #Pride2017 (at New York, New York)