Pride today is a dazzling celebration of love, visibility, and solidarity. Rainbow flags fly high, families gather in support, and millions around the world march through city streets in joyful affirmation of identity. Yet the origins of these vibrant parades are far more defiant — born not from celebration, but from resistance. The March for Freedom takes listeners back to those crucial first steps, when courage, anger, and hope converged to create a movement that would change the world.

This book offers a powerful journey into the early days of Pride, exploring ten essential facts that reveal how parades that now span continents began as bold acts of protest. From the explosive spark of the Stonewall Uprising in 1969 to the first Christopher Street Liberation Day March one year later, Avery Marlin vividly reconstructs a world where LGBTQ+ people lived under threat of arrest, harassment, and public shame — and the moment they decided to fight back.

Listeners will discover the determination it took to stage those first marches in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago, where participants faced real fear of violence and rejection simply for walking openly together. They will see how activists wrestled with police resistance, struggled to obtain permits, and endured hostility in order to claim visibility. And they will meet the unsung heroes who risked careers, families, and personal safety to lay the foundation for future generations.

Each chapter highlights a crucial piece of the story:
– The spirit of rebellion at Stonewall that lit the flame.
– The very first Pride marches and the courage behind them.
– The simultaneous steps taken across America to build momentum.
– How Pride was protest first, celebration later.
– The difficult battles with police, laws, and permits.
– The role of community in creating a sense of “we are everywhere.”
– The pioneers whose names history too often forgets.
– How the first parades inspired an international wave of Pride.
– The legacy of Pride as both joy and protest, carrying forward to this day.

Marlin weaves together history, activism, and human stories to show that Pride was never just a parade — it was and remains a declaration of existence. By revisiting these beginnings, the book reminds us why Pride is celebrated in June, why visibility matters, and why protest is still at its heart.

The March for Freedom is not simply a history book. It is a reminder of resilience, a tribute to bravery, and a guide to understanding how far we’ve come — and how much further there is to go. It invites listeners of all generations, whether LGBTQ+ or allies, to step back into those defining moments of defiance and recognise the sacrifices that made today’s celebrations possible.

For anyone who has ever waved a flag at a Pride parade, marched in solidarity, or simply wondered where it all began, this book offers a moving and eye-opening exploration of how a small group of people standing up for themselves transformed the world.

Because Pride is not just about celebration — it is about freedom. And the march for freedom continues.