NYC Pride unveils theme for 2024: ‘Reflect. Empower. Unite.’

 NYC Pride, which organizes the main NYC Pride March slated for June 30, has announced a theme for 2024: “Reflect. Empower. Unite.”

This year’s theme, announced on Feb. 27, aims to highlight the role of the Pride March “as the intersection for queer liberation and joy” and seeks to motivate members of the community and allies to reflect on how they have overcome adversity to shape the future, according to NYC Pride, or Heritage of Pride. Above all, the theme serves as a call for unity, organizers said.

“This year’s theme is an imperative and a call to action,” NYC Pride co-chair Jazz Alexander said in a written statement. “While we reflect on past triumphs and challenges, we must also empower our community to continue to ignite change and unite against the forces that do not want us to exist. Unity at this time is critical to our survival. Our theme calls us all to action.”

The announcement comes as NYC Pride, also known as Heritage of Pride, continues to plan the events leading up to and on Pride Sunday, including Youth Pride and the annual PrideFest street fair. Youth Pride will take place on June 29, but details on that — as well as events on Pride Sunday — are not yet available. The NYC Pride March will step off from 25th Street and Fifth Ave. on June 30 at 11 a.m., according to NYCPride.com. The route has not been announced.

“The NYC Pride March is how we combat all the negativity; this is the celebration that brings people from every borough in the city and all parts of the world together, in joy, to share the accomplishments, talents and resilience of our community,” NYC Pride executive director Sandra Pérez said in a written statement. “The march is where we demonstrate the strength that comes with inclusion, diversity and acceptance.”

The other march slated for Pride Sunday is the Reclaim Pride Coalition’s annual Queer Liberation March, which is also in the planning stages at this point. While this year is the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, it is the 40th year of Heritage of Pride and the sixth annual edition of the Queer Liberation March, which bars corporations and police participation. In 2021, NYC Pride also banned police contingents from their Pride march and related events through at least 2025.