2025 NYC Pride Guide - Flipbook - Page 12
SOCIAL ACTIVISM GRAND MARSHAL
In 2021, Marti Gould Cummings became the
first non-binary candidate to run for public office in New York City. As the first drag
artist to moderate a panel at the United Nations, discussing ways to bolster LGBTQIA+
representation in global politics, Marti fearlessly advocates for a society that embraces
and celebrates diversity. They serve on the
Board of Directors for The Ali Forney Center for Homeless LGBTQ Youth, The Advisory Board Drag Story Hour NY, as a National Co Chair of Drag Out the Vote, and work
as a Project Specialist for Equality NY. Marti
Gould Cummings is a NYC Drag staple. Their
16 year long career has expanded into the
realms of nightlife, cabaret, theatre, film,
and television. They have sold out shows at
Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, and Lincoln Center’s
Big Apple Circus. As a recording artist they
released, “A Very Marti Holiday,” featuring
some of Broadway biggest names as well as
their hit single CAKE.
WE ASKED MARTI TO REFLECT
ON THE 2025 NYC PRIDE THEME,
RISE UP: PRIDE IN PROTEST.
This interview has been edited and condensed for
clarity. For more from Marti, visit
@martigcummings.
“I moved to New York 20 years ago when I was
17. I went to my very first Pride at 17, and it was
my first time being around that many queer people. It was many firsts: seeing drag queens in person, seeing the full spectrum of our community,
and the first time that I truly felt like I belonged. It
radiated joy! Pride is a celebration of Queer joy.
/11 //
“It is imperative that in these political times —
when there are over 600 pieces of anti-LGBTQ
legislation that have been introduced across the
country — that we hold onto our joy because
when we lose it, that means they won.”
“In addition to being a celebration, Pride has
always been a Protest. It started as a Protest
against police brutality against our community
with the raids at the Stonewall Inn. Pride was
a protest and a riot led by the likes of Stormé
DeLarverie, Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson,
and trans people of color. Every single right that
we have achieved over the years is because of
the work and advocacy and fighting of the trans
community. Now that they are under attack in
extreme ways, we must come together in solidarity to protect the most vulnerable among
us. Our kids are under attack. The people in the
world are not only trying to legislate against
trans people, they’re trying to eradicate trans
people. We need to make sure that our kids don’t
just get to exist as trans kids, but they get to
grow into trans adults to have full thriving lives.”
“We should look to the generations before: lesbians who cared for our community when they
were dying of aids, trans people who threw
bricks and fought back. Look to José Sarria, the
first openly queer person to run for office in this
country, a Latino drag queen from San Francisco,
and the work they did. I also look to the leaders
like Miss Major [Griffin-Gracy], who was a NYC
Pride Grand Marshal last year. I look to those
fighters who are continuing to fight well into
their eighties [or nineties]. They’re still out there
advocating, and the older generations are now
looking to younger generations for new ways of
protesting. So Pride is a celebration of joy, but it
is also a Protest for our very existence.
NYCPRIDE.org
