We all need sanctuary: a place where we can bravely question and explore who we are and find where we belong.
Christopher Street in New York’s Greenwich Village has long been a refuge for generations of transgender and queer people – a beacon for freedom of expression and acceptance. The LGBTQIA2+ rights movement was born there when the police raided the historic gay bar The Stonewall Inn in 1969, sparking protests on Christopher Street that would later be commemorated as Pride marches across the world. In an area at the edge of Manhattan marked by the decline of the shipping industry, Christopher Street and the nearby piers have offered the semblance of a safe harbor, for those whose safety, even within family, is not guaranteed. Many trans and queer people have said that the Village is the first space they have shared with others like themselves, and for all of us it is a place that constantly shifts and challenges our understanding of gender identity and of self.
The internationally renowned photographer Mark Seliger has captured the beauty and struggle of this famous but vanishing neighborhood – and his longtime home – in this series of portraits. He has witnessed the steady erosion of the rich cultural diversity of the area and its replacement with luxury boutiques. To Seliger, these images not only celebrate the trans community but also represent a cautionary tale about gentrification. His work is a call for allyship to protect our neighborhoods and the many different faces that form them.
These portraits remind us that Christopher Street is more than just a physical place – it is a feeling, an idea, that redefines notions of home and community. It encourages us to experience it and bring it with us. At a time when trans and queer rights are again at the political forefront, it is increasingly important to create and foster our own Christopher Streets.
LGBTQIA2+ is an abbreviation for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer and/or Questioning Intersex Asexual Two-Spirit +and the many affirming ways people choose to self-identify.
