The New York Botanical Gardens recently opened a new exhibition, “Flower Power,” which celebrates the colors and aesthetics of the 1960s and 70s. This exhibit features inspirations from the Summer of Love and runs until October, opening just last week at the gardens. While the Summer of Love is remembered as romantic and lighthearted, the 1960s and 70s also featured protests, riots, social injustice, and people bucking traditional norms. In looking at how the 1960s and 70s changed the world and its culture, we often refer back to the Hippie Era. The Hippie Era, an influential time, saw social justice reform, gender expression, and a sexual revolution.
Flower Power at NYBG: honoring the colors of our past…
“Flower Power” is a beautiful array of colors, floral arrangements and sculpture gardens bringing a light atmosphere to the city. As such, NYBG proudly celebrates one of America’s most quintessential eras of the modern day, just before the 250th Anniversary. The flowers and centerpieces at the gardens invoke peace, love, joy, and community coming together. Blending colors and styles of the era that inspired many, this exhibit pays tribute to the Hippie life.
The hippie era was the culmination of political resistance, revolutionary ideas about gender and sexuality, and embracing of individuality. Many remember this period for its milkshakes, dances, and suburban life. Community, common ground, and the principal values of shared humanity shaped the era, according to many. Do we just have rose colored glasses, or was this era really so perfect?
@nyclovesnyc FLOWER POWER at the New York Botanical Garden (May 23 through October 18, 2026 ) 🌸 ☮️ 🩷 Stepped into a groovy dream at Flower Power at the New York Botanical Garden — a vibrant celebration of peace, love, and the beauty of nature inspired by the spirit of the ’60s. From colorful botanical displays to nostalgic art and photography, every corner felt like a reminder to slow down, connect, and let flowers speak louder than words. This is a joyous celebration of the enduring symbolism of flowers as icons of peace and love. @New York Botanical Garden Tag someone you’d like to experience Flower Power with. Come together & bloom freely. 📍 In and around the Haupt Conservatory, New York Botanical Garden, The Bronx, New York City #FlowerPower #NYBG #NewYorkBotanicalGarden #PeaceLoveFlowers #NewYork ♬ 60's Retro GS Group Sounds(1380284) – Hajime Hyakkoku
The hippie movement encouraged self-expression, speaking truth to power, and fighting the good fight. Today, resistance to war, fighting for equality, and continued bucking of tradition still fuel the things we fight for. It’s certainly more comfortable to think of these battles as won long ago, but this helps nobody. The 60s and 70s were full of prosperity and American goodness for some, but there is much more to the story. The hippies deserve more scrutiny; we can’t fight the continued problems we face today without looking at the past problems.
Race riots of the ‘Summer of Love’: behind rose colored glass
The New York Botanical Gardens tells the story of the hippies, but does it tell the whole story? The romanticizing of the hippie era is insulting to Black people considering their own history at this time. Race riots and targeted legislation imposed dangers on people who did not have white privilege. What white people remember is different from what Black people experienced at the hands of cops, legislators, and the KKK.
Today, people still widely disregard the experiences of Black people, which include public harassment, stalking, assault, and murder. It is exhausting to watch people blatantly disregard the safety and well-being of people. Just six years ago, George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis by police officers sent the nation into modern race riots. We are still fighting to acknowledge the continued dangers Black people face for doing just about anything in public. Floyd’s death anniversary on May 25th reminds us that Black communities still face the same problems and perpetrators.
@tnathan_lokius #unwhitewashingofhistory #ashesofthefold #revelationofthefold #summeroflove1967 #longhotsummerof1967 ♬ original sound – Revelation of The Fold
While hippies remember the 1960s for Woodstock, Black people remember murders and persecutions for the color of their skin. The narration is not reliable, as it is not from the perspective of the oppressed. It is vitally important that we listen to Black voices and recognize the way race impacts people’s lives and safety. If we want to create a future without these problems sixty years later, we must pay attention to our past.
Second-wave feminism and gender roles: a new dawn
The NYBG Flower Power exhibit emphasizes traditional feminine aesthetic, associated with the time, but it’s a misnomer. By the 1970s, Second Wave Feminism was taking over the nation; a generation of girls who had grown up in the 50s with traditional housewife moms were growing up. After watching their mothers suffer as women of the home, they were ready to reject expectations. As such, second-wave feminism became popular for those who grew up with moms in the 1950s, having watched their suffering firsthand.
There’s so much focus on traditionally feminine design in modern odes to the Flower Power era, but why? Changes in fashion, the modern queer movement, and second-wave feminism led to a generation of women who bucked tradition. While this led to some women joining the hippie movement, it led others to activism, arts, and other social protests. The free-loving narrative dilutes discussions of the harms in the 1960s and 1970s today, allowing oppressive systems to continue. Society is afraid of women who reject their place, so the patriarchy sells the sanitized version of this time.
@herspective #feminism #feminist #genderequity #QuickerPickerRapper #genderequality #smashpatriarchy #smashthepatriarchy #womenempowerment #stoprapeculture #tiktok ♬ Inspirational Piano – AShamaluevMusic
Second-wave feminism wasn’t without its problems; the movement itself was somewhat exclusionary based on race, barring Black and trans women. Today, feminism is more inclusive and intersectional, and we continue to fight for and honor all women. Now, women, men, and non-conforming people alike reject traditional gender roles and expression in favor of what makes them happy. Young people are bolder in being themselves because the world can be kinder with more normalization of non-conformity. None of this would be possible without second-wave feminism and the women who dared to be different.
Early queer icons: Stonewall, bricks, and a whole lot of love…
In the late 1960s and into the 70s, the then-modern queer movement was fully underway. The Stonewall Riots of 1969 encouraged many queer people to get involved in protesting and fighting. It’s easy for young people to forget how far we have come; we cannot forget who fought for us to be able to exist. The Stonewall Riots were famously fought and won largely by Black trans icons like Marsha P. Johnson, who threw the first brick in protest. Johnson boldly lived the way she wanted to, saying the ‘P’ in her name was for ‘pay it no mind,’ regarding her gender.
The queer movement benefited from, and created, an emerging art scene of women, men, and gender nonconforming individuals alike who chose to follow their unconventional paths. The art that we associate with this era comes from a time of rebellion against the social norms of the past, like queer artists with an opportunity to spread messages of pride and love. The NYBG ‘Flower Power’ exhibit is a beautiful tribute to this era and its art, but we cannot forget the less comfortable parts of the past.
@queer.legacy The first Pride march on the west coast took place on June 28, 1970 through Hollywood Blvd! Here's the story of California's first Pride march, which became the first EVER Pride parade. 🌈🎉 #pride #lgbthistory #california #queerhistory ♬ california love – 🎧
Today, LGBTQIA+ issues still face pushback, including but not limited to the continued murder of trans and queer students on college campuses. Recently, two missing trans students, Juniper Blessing (19) and Murry Foust (22), were found deceased, their communities mourning their losses and celebrating the people they were. These deaths are not isolated, part of a much larger trend of hate crimes against trans people, and their deaths cannot be in vain. We must continue fighting against hate, particularly that hate against our Black trans community, who face heightened levels of race-fueled hate crimes. Racist, misogynistic, transphobic & homophobic hate have no place here.
Enjoy the view at the NYBG & speak truth to Flower Power
The NYBG Flower Power exhibit is as powerful as it is beautiful. If you’re looking to ponder our country’s history leading up to the 250th anniversary of the USA, this is where to do it. Enjoy the flowers, touch some grass, but never forget our work to make this country truly great is far from over. No matter what anyone tells you, we are great because of the diversity our country is made up of. We’re stronger, better, greater when we are diverse and colorful, just like the gardens at the NYBG.
NYBG’s Flower Power exhibit is a great place to get away from the noise and return to the calmness of nature. We forget sometimes that we are not here to conquer the world, but to coexist together in harmony. We must stand against all hate, derived from differences in race, gender, sexuality, and more. It can feel hard to remember that when the world is screaming at you to hate your neighbors. If you need somewhere to get away from it all & ponder, NYC has great places to do that.
The 1960s and 1970s are remembered as a quintessential American landscape of milkshake dates, suburban fantasy, and pure utopia. But it is incredibly important to remember that if we do not directly respond to the issues in our past, they will inevitably become the extensions of our future. As we have recently seen with the murders of Black people, women, and queer or trans individuals, our work is far from over. We cannot let the rose colored glasses keep us from recognizing the continued fights ahead of us. It won’t be easy or comfortable, but it certainly wasn’t comfortable for those who came before us either.
