WATCH: This ‘90s news clip by Network Q throws it back to Stonewall’s 25th anniversary
Self-proclaimed as “too queer for cable,” Network Q was originally distributed to viewers nationwide via VHS tapes before being picked up by a select few public television stations.
Pride has a long and rich history tracing back to the Stonewall Riots of June 1969 in New York City. But along the way, other landmark Pride celebrations have made their mark on LGBTQ+ history — and thanks to this throwback news segment, we can relive one of the largest.
In 1994, 25 years after the Stonewall Riots, LGBTQ+ folks from around the world came together again in New York to celebrate the event’s legacy and prove that Pride is and always has been a protest. The event was documented in a 15-minute news segment produced by Network Q, a monthly TV program focusing on LGBTQ+ topics that ran through 1996. Self-proclaimed as “too queer for cable,” Network Q was originally distributed to viewers nationwide via VHS tapes before being picked up by a select few public television stations.
Stonewall 25’s main events were two parades, one sanctioned by the city and one done without a permit. One of those parades involved the carrying of a mile-long rainbow flag, shown in all its technicolor glory via aerial footage.
Many of the people marching in the parades carried flags, signs, and banners representing different subsets of the queer community. That included representatives for countries from around the world including India, Japan, and the Netherlands, as well as affinity groups based around professions (like the National Gay Pilots Association), racial, ethnic, and cultural groups (like GMAD, or Gay Men of African Descent), and every other identity marker under the sun (one banner simply reads, “Gay Fathers”).
The segment also features person-on-the-street interviews with parade participants, including Stonewall veteran Allen Mendelson, who spoke to the riots’ legacy with a sentiment that still hits home in our modern political climate.
“It started for me there. I was 17 years old and really didn’t know much until then, until we marched in the first Gay Pride march,” Mendelson said. “Now we have to fight to live, and that’s what we do. We march. We take care of each other. We love each other. That’s what this is about. It’s about unity. It’s about strength. It’s about love. And it’s about fighting the fight.”
Ivan Valentin, another Stonewall veteran, echoes Mendelson’s words: “I got my ass kicked, and I’d do it over again if I had to.”
Both marches culminated in Central Park, where Pride participants came together for a six-hour rally with dazzling performances and rousing speeches. One speaker was Married… with Children actress Amanda Bearse, who broke ground by publicly coming out as a lesbian in 1993. “I am your next-door neighbor,” Bearse asserted in her speech, garnering applause from the massive crowd.
The parade and rally coincided with the fourth-ever Gay Games, an international sporting event held every four years a la the Olympics since 1982. In 1994, the Gay Games were held in New York City and attracted 10,864 athletes, more than the 9,386 at the actual Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992. Though it’s not featured in this clip, lifelong icon Sir Ian McKellan delivered the Games’ closing address.
The Network Q clip ends with footage from the subway after the rally. The credits roll over a train car full to bursting the queer community of the ‘90s, a joyful reminder of the power of queer community.
Get excited for Pride and check out the clip for yourself:
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