by Evelyn Ch'ien

Jun 27, 2000

Several hundred colored balloons in the shape of a dragon danced down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan this past Sunday in the Gay Pride Parade as the Gay Asian and Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY) celebrated their tenth anniversary in the Year of the Dragon. Fifty members of GAPIMNY participated in the day-long event, which reportedly drew hundreds of thousands of gays and lesbians along the Eastern Seaboard. 

Other gay representation included South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association, Kilawin Kolektibo (a Filipino lesbian group), Iban/Queer Koreans of New York City and the Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS. 

"The big issue was that we are here, and we think it's important for the gay community to see we are diverse, and for the Asian community to see we are diverse," said Glenn Magpantay, a member of GAPIMNY's steering committeee. Conrad Chu, GAPIMNY's co-chairman, said that Asian Americans had made a strong showing. 

The Gay Pride Parade commemorates the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village that symbolized the beginning of the gay rights movement. Stonewall veterans in drag led the parade on Fifth Avenue, a visual reminder of the 1969 incident.