The First Gay Pride March
JOHN O'BRIEN
We had no idea we were gonna finish the march. We had no speakers planned for the rally in Central Park, where we had hoped to get to. We didn't expect we'd ever get to Central Park. We assembled on Christopher Street at Sixth Avenue to march.
DORIC WILSON
And we were about a hundred, 120 people, and there were people lining the sidewalks ahead of us to watch us go by-- gay people, mainly.
JERRY HOOSE
And we were going fast. People that were involved in it like me referred to it as the first run. We had been threatened bomb threats. You know, people could take shots at us. We were scared. But as we were going up Sixth Avenue, it kept growing. (cheering, whistling)
WILSON
And I looked back and there were about 2,000 people behind us, and that's when I knew it had happened. (choking up) I say I cannot tell this without tearing up. And Peter and I walked the rest of the whole thing with tears running down our face. But that's when we knew. We were ourselves for the first time.
DEMONSTRATORS
The people, united, will never be defeated! The people, united, will never be defeated!
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