Tom and Paul Go To NYC Pride, 1974 | Video Footage
Footage referenced in this blog post can be found here (video 1) and here (video 2).
In June 1974, five years after riots broke out at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York, and four years after the first Christopher Street Liberation Day was held in New York City, the United States would see the first iteration of a now-annual phenomenon seen worldwide: a nationwide gay pride celebration. Previously regional affairs relegated to single streets, as with the original marches near Stonewall, 1974 was the first year where multiple events in multiple cities were organized at the same time of the year, running parallel with one another in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, and more.
At the center of it all was NYC Pride, and spread among its thousands of attendees and spectators were a smattering of clergymen and religious figures. One was Tom Oddo, wearing his collar and walking with others identified with Dignity, still referred to by its original name rather than the later-adopted “DignityUSA.” A photo of Tom appeared in the New York Times (“A Parade Closes Gay Pride Week,” July 1, 1974) after the event, where he holds a sign showing the gay/lesbian love symbols inside of a heart topped by a cross:
This image identified Tom by name, and it is remarkable he, at least in a few column inches, was a face of that year’s Pride event. Remarkable, too, is the fact that Tom and Paul were romantic, long-term partners—at the time of this photo, they would’ve been secretly dating for over a year, a relationship confirmed to me by three different individuals. But what was not clear from the photo was whether Tom, Paul, and others like them walked the parade route, actively participating rather than merely observing from the sidelines.
With a little digging, I found the answer in two home movies from that day—June 30, 1974.
Video 1: @devroshart (YouTube)
Tom visible from ~0:38-0:41
The first film taken along the parade route, posted by YouTube user @devroshart as “1974 NYC Pride Parade Home Movie,” shows a series of shots of paradegoers, signs, and scenes as the camera walks past. At 0:37, a priest in glasses appears looking at the camera. A man walking behind him in purple, with long hair and glasses, appears to be Paul Diederich—wearing the same outfit from the New York Times photo. Barely a second later, in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him appearance, Tom pops out from beside Paul. He walks with the crowd, and seems to spot the camera before continuing on, swinging a water bottle.
Bookmarking this minor cameo are clips showing a sign that reads “WAKE UP TO THE GAY WORLD” and “GAY MEANS HAPPY,” followed by groups of activists from various regional and national outlets, including the Gay Activists Alliance.
From prior research, I was aware of Tom’s work alongside the group while part of Dignity; here, we can establish that Tom walked alongside them, too.
Video 2: LoveTapesCollective
The second film also follows the route with the marchers but catches up to the Dignity group at a stopping point. The Dignity banner (with the subheader “CATHOLIC HOMOPHILES”) comes into focus around 3:05. After panning away to film a costumed marcher passing by, the camera once again shows the Dignity banner. Panning back, at 3:38, the sign Tom held in the New York Times photo is seen held by another of the Dignity marchers. Then, just as in the first video, Tom appears out from behind or beside someone—another priest who hands him a paper cup. Tom takes a sip at the right corner of the screen, then the film cuts to another shot. In both videos, his long, shaggy hair is a defining feature that makes him stand out.
The fact Tom participated in this event, and was identified by name in the nation’s newspaper of record, may seem inconsequential today—clergy are now regular parade participants, whose supportive attendance at Pride is often seen as a highlight of the movement’s contributions to social progress and the centrality of “love thy neighbor” to it, mirroring the teachings of Christ. But this was not the case in 1974.
What Tom, his Dignity colleagues, and other clergy did was radical, and public: making a declaration that, despite (or, rather, because of) their sworn vows and allegiance to the word of God, they would stand and celebrate with their LGBTQ+ siblings. And among the other clergy, identification came on a spectrum. It started with entering the march from the sidewalks along the route.
In the New York Times piece, the act of stepping off the sidewalk to join the march is highlighted several times. One could say this parade was when, presumably, Tom stepped off the sidewalk. Another clergyman who made the step identified himself only as “Brother Damien” to a Times reporter. Brother Damien was marching with another individual. How they were described by the piece reminds modern audiences of the risks these early marchers took, and the considerations people like Tom and Paul would’ve made every day, sometimes every waking hour:
Another marcher, in clerical garb, identified himself as Brother Damien, an Episcopalian, who was also “stepping off the sidewalk” for the first time.
His companion declined to give his name but said he was an “evangelical minister.”
“Maybe next year,” he said, “I’ll tell you who I am.”
June 11, 2026 @ 9:31 am
These videos are a treasure! In the LoveTapes footage, I love hearing the children and all the background hubbub.