Rodwell had been an organizer of the annual Fourth of July Reminder Day demonstrations in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, from 1965 to 1969. Known at the time as the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, the route began on Washington Place between Sheridan Square and Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village, moved north up Sixth Avenue, and ended with a “Gay-In” in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow.Īt the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprising on Sunday, June 28, 1970, a group headed by Craig Rodwell, owner of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop, led what became the first annual NYC Pride March (then known as the Christopher Street Liberation Day March). New York City’s first ever Pride March was held on Sunday, J(the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprising), and, much to the organizers’ surprise, attracted thousands of participants.
