Gray, gloomy skies did not deter students and alumni from having a colorful celebration during the eighth annual Pride Brunch as they cheered on the NYC Pride Parade from the Ruth & H. Bert Mack Pavilion in the Cardozo Lobby on Sunday.
OUTlaw Alumni and Cardozo hosted the brunch, and attendees celebrated Cardozo’s vibrant and diverse LGBTQIA+ community and kept cool on the humid NYC June day by sipping mimosas in an air-conditioned room covered in rainbow decorations.
Cardozo is located in Greenwich Village, a New York City neighborhood known for its LGBTQIA+ history, including the 1969 Stonewall uprising. One year after the uprising, thousands of people marched from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park on the first Christopher Street Liberation Day.
The parade began on 25th Street and 5th Avenue passing Cardozo on its way to Washington Square Park before heading to Christopher Street, the site of the Stonewall Inn. It then circled back up and ended on 16th Street and 7th Avenue.
Generations of Cardozo alumni were in attendance, including current and former OUTlaw presidents Francesca Acocella ’16, director of student life at Cardozo; Alex Newman ’16; Chantelle ‘Elle’ Gyamfi ’20, the chair of OUTlaw Alumni; Rachel Barkley ’24, incoming OUTlaw president; and Davis Villano ’23, outgoing OUTlaw president.
A portion of the proceeds from the event went toward The David Martinidez Scholarship for Underrepresented Students, which supports underrepresented students based on race, ethnicity, gender identity or other criteria, such as those from immigrant backgrounds or first generation in their family to enter a higher education institution.