"Pride and Protest" Exhibition at The New York Historical

Pride and Protest exhibition title over contact sheet of photographs.

“Pride and Protest: Photographs by Fred. W. McDarrah” provides a glimpse of gay culture and the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement in New York City. On view at The New York Historical, the exhibition features more than 60 black-and-white photographs from the 1950s through the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the 1980s AIDS crisis. The show ends with Mayor Dinkin’s 1993 executive order allowing gay couples to form domestic partnerships. Not only does “Pride and Protest” transport viewers into iconic Greenwich Village, but it also highlights the importance of LGBTQ+ history.

Who was Fred McDarrah?

Fred McDarrah (1926-2007) was the first staff photographer for the Village Voice, a community newspaper in Greenwich Village, New York. Editor Dan Wolf, publisher Ed Fancher, and writer Norman Mailer launched the newspaper in 1955. It was a community hub for creatives such as Beat Generation poets, musicians, and artists. By 1967, the Village Voice was a best-selling weekly.

As staff photographer, McDarrah took his camera onto the Village’s streets. He captured the neighborhood’s bohemian vibe and famous cast of characters who called it home. As the Village became immersed in counterculture and activism in the 1960s and 1970s, McDarrah documented it all. His photographs are invaluable pieces of American history, depicting pivotal and revolutionary moments for the LGBTQ+ community.

Pride and Protest: Portraits

McDarrah photographed both gay and straight inhabitants at home or in their studios, as well as out in the wild at clubs and venues. Portraits of James Baldwin, Andy Warhol, Marsha P. Johnson, Tennessee Williams, Cecil Beaton, Candy Darling, Robert Rauschenberg, and Susan Sontag are included in the exhibition.

Pride and Protest: Sip-In

A fascinating photograph in the exhibition is from April 21, 1966. It shows members of the Mattachine Society, a gay rights organization, conducting a “sip-in.” In the 1960s, it was illegal to drink while gay in New York. If one man bought another a drink, or if two men were flirting with each other, they could be charged with disorderly conduct as per a New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) regulation. Yeah…I’m not making this shit up. It’s ridiculous, I know, but it’s true.

So, Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, John Timmons, and Randy Wicker decided to head on over to Julius’ bar in the Village to conduct a “sip-in” to challenge the law. The bartender cooperated with them by placing his hand over their drinks and refusing to serve them. McDarrah captured this moment with his camera. The New York Times and the Village Voice covered the “sip-in,” resulting in the New York City Commission on Human Rights changing the regulation and allowing gays more freedoms in bars.

Pride and Protest: Stonewall 1969 and Aftermath

McDarrah captured another momentous occasion in LGBTQ+ history. On June 28, 1969, New York City Police officers raided the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street. Stonewall was an unlicensed gay bar run by the mafia. Gay bars were often exploited in an ongoing cycle of police raids, bribes, and payouts. The police raid on June 28 was supposed to be routine: get in, raid, get out. But that night, the patrons fought back, leading to an uprising lasting over six days. This protest sparked a revolution, thrusting LGBTQ+ civil rights into the limelight.

One month after Stonewall, activists marched in the First Gay Liberation Rally. Mary Robinson and Martha Shelley led the protest, starting in Washington Square Park and ending in Christopher Park. Once again, McDarrah captured the march for the Village Voice.

Display of Stonewall Rising photographs from the "Pride and Protest" exhibition. — Display of Stonewall Uprising Photographs, 1969

Anniversary Marches

On June 28, 1970, the first anniversary of Stonewall, the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee organized another march. Their slogan was, “Say it clear! Say it loud! Gay is good! Gay is proud!”

“Pride and Protest” includes photographs of this march and those in subsequent years. These marches are vitally important to New York City history, since they later became the annual June Pride parade.

Display of photographs of First Gay Liberation Rally from the "Pride and Protest" exhibition. — Display of Photographs of First Gay Liberation Rally in New York, 1969

Pride and Protests: HIV/AIDS

As the HIV/AIDS epidemic swept through the globe in the 1980s, NYC’s gay community was at the forefront of the activism movement. McDarrah photographed ACT UP’s (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) 1989 protest in New York. Members protested Mayor Ed Koch’s response to the AIDs crisis, demanding funding, education, and housing for those with the disease.

Pride and Protest: 1993 Domestic Partnership

“Pride and Protest” ends with Mayor David Dinkin’s executive order allowing homosexual couples to apply for domestic partnership. The law went into effect on March 1, 1993. On that day, McDarrah captured gay and lesbian couples on their way to submit their applications. While this was a victory, it would be another 18 years before same-sex marriage became legal in New York on June 24, 2011. It took the United States another 4 years to make gay marriage legal in all 50 states, on June 26, 2015.

How to See Pride and Protest

Pride and Protest opened on November 22, 2024, and is on view until July 13, 2025. The New York Historical’s address is 170 Central Park West at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street). Admission fees are $24 for adults; $19 for seniors, educators, and active military; $13 for students; $6 for children 5-13 years old; and free for children under 5. From 5 PM to 8 PM on Fridays, admission is pay-as-you-wish.

You can plan your visit according to the following hours: