On the one-year anniversary of the riots, thousands of people marches in the streets of Manhattan from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park in was then called Christopher Street Liberation Day, Americas first gay pride parade, (History, 2017). Fred Sargeant:The press did refer to it in very pejorative terms, as a night that the drag queens fought back. Fed up with constant police harassment and social discrimination, angry patrons and neighborhood residents hung around outside of the bar rather than disperse, becoming increasingly agitated as the events unfolded and people were aggressively manhandled. The Stonewall riots, as they came to be known, marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States and around the world. Calling 'em names, telling 'em how good-looking they were, grabbing their butts. This time they said, "We're not going." good people to the attention of your readers. an independent scholar and director of OutHistory.org, with help from David Carter, the author of Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution Danny Garvin:We were talking about the revolution happening and we were walking up 7th Avenue and I was thinking it was either Black Panthers or the Young Lords were going to start it and we turned the corner from 7th Avenue onto Christopher Street and we saw the paddy wagon pull up there. A Q-Ball Productions film for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Raymond Castro:There were mesh garbage cans being lit up on fire and being thrown at the police. The lasting impact of the Stonewall Riots. Corbis Prisoner (Archival):I realize that, but the thing is that for life I'll be wrecked by this record, see? I mean you got a major incident going on down there and I didn't see any TV cameras at all. Getty Images They'd think I'm a cop even though I had a big Jew-fro haircut and a big handlebar mustache at the time. a National Historic Landmark in 2000. Doric Wilson:And I looked back and there were about 2,000 people behind us, and that's when I knew it had happened. Raymond Castro:Incendiary devices were being thrown in I don't think they were Molotov cocktails, but it was just fire being thrown in when the doors got open. Because the owners were still making a profit, they simply adjusted to the raids, and were often tipped off about them ahead of time.The Stonewall was raided on average once a month leading up to the raid on June 28, 1969 (Martin Duberman,Stonewall p. 187), and had been raided once already that same week. Though the Stonewall uprising didnt start the gay rights movement, it was a galvanizing force for LGBT political activism, leading to numerous gay rights organizations, including the Gay Liberation Front, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD (formerly Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), andPFLAG (formerly Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). You gotta remember, the Stonewall bar was just down the street from there. Black Night Brawl, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 5, 1961. other rioters, Wolfgang Podolski and Thomas Staton, whose involvement in the disturbances had not been documented before. The first police officer that came in with our group said, "The place is under arrest. But I gave it up about, oh I forget, some years ago, over four years ago. Fred Sargeant:The effect of the Stonewall riot was to change the direction of the gay movement. In addition to launching numerous public demonstrations to protest the lack of civil rights for gay individuals, these organizations often resorted to such tactics as public confrontations with political officials and the disruption of public meetings to challenge and to change the mores of the times. Leroy S. Mobley Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:So at that point the police are extremely nervous. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:It was a bottle club which meant that I guess you went to the door and you bought a membership or something for a buck and then you went in and then you could buy drinks. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:It was always hands up, what do you want? Martin Boyce:It was thrilling. I had never seen anything like that. (The original inn closed soon after the riots, and the new bar, which occupies only part of the original space, has no other connection to the original establishment.) Though no longer on City Room, New York Today continues to appear every weekday morning, offering a roundup of news and events for the city. WebThe United States has had its share of violent or destructive protests, starting during colonial times and continuing through the 1900s (e.g., Boston Tea Party in 1773; New York City draft riots in 1863, Haymarket riot in Chicago in 1886, Chicago Race Riot in 1919, Tulsa Race Massacre 1921, Zoot Suite riot in 1943, riots in Newark and Detroit in The fire department and a riot squad were eventually able to douse the flames, rescue those inside Stonewall, and disperse the crowd. I said, "I can go in with you?" First you gotta get past the door. Not even us. Since the Stonewall was without a license, the place was being closed. They can be anywhere. I was never seduced by an older person or anything like that. We don't know. Other images in this film are either recreations or drawn from events of the time. John DiGiacomo Since the Stonewall was without a license, the place was being closed. Martin Boyce:The day after the first riot, when it was all over, and I remember sitting, sun was soon to come, and I was sitting on the stoop, and I was exhausted and I looked at that street, it was dark enough to allow the street lamps to pick up the glitter of all the broken glass, and all the debris, and all the different colored cloth, that was in different places. David Huggins When Martha Shelley, 25, climbed on top of a water fountain in a park near Stonewall exactly one month after the riot, she feared for her life. We went, "Oh my God. One time, a bunch of us ran into somebody's car and locked the door and they smashed the windows in. It was a way to vent my anger at being repressed. But that night, for some unknown reason, people fought back. The Web site OutHistory.org has obtained police records from the start of the Stonewall Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. The Stonewall Riots marked the beginning of the gay liberation movement that has transformed the oppression of gays and lesbians into calls for pride and action. Franco Sacchi, Additional Animation and Effects But as visibility increased, the reactions of people increased. Leaflets in the 60s were like the internet, today. Slate:The Homosexual(1967), CBS Reports. I have to wonder about the veracity of the name Vince DePaul doesnt it sound like a comical twist on the famous Society of St. Vincent de Paul of thrift-shop fame? You see, Ralph was a homosexual. When police raided Stonewall Inn on the morning of June 28, it came as a surprisethe bar wasnt tipped off this time. When The Commission on Human Rights ruled that gay individuals had the right to be served in bars, police raids were temporarily reduced. Marc Steins The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History is a primary-source collection of the sort that a professor might assign in a class on social movements. Somebody grabbed me by the leg and told me I wasn't going anywhere. But we went down to the trucks and there, people would have sex. This is every year in New York City. The term like "authority figures" wasn't used back then, there was just "Lily Law," "Patty Pig," "Betty Badge." Because that's what they were looking for, any excuse to try to bust the place. Drag queens and Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:Saturday night there it was. Cover art for The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History and The Stonewall Reader. WGBH Educational Foundation In Stonewall, renowned historian and activist Martin Duberman tells the full story of this pivotal moment in history. The New York State Liquor Authority refused to issue liquor licenses to many gay bars, and several popular establishments had licenses suspended or revoked for "indecent conduct.". National History Archive, LGBT Community Center We could easily be hunted, that was a game. Narrator (Archival):This is one of the county's principal weekend gathering places for homosexuals, both male and female. WebArrest Reports From the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. Well, little did he know that what was gonna to happen later on was to make history. Club attendees had to sign their names in a book upon entry to maintain the clubs false exclusivity. There was the Hippie movement, there was the Summer of Love, Martin Luther King, and all of these affected me terribly. Virginia Apuzzo:It's very American to say, "This is not right." And they started smashing their heads with clubs. I famously used the word "fag" in the lead sentence I said "the forces of faggotry." Jerry Hoose:I was afraid it was over. One document provides additional detail about the previously known arrest of David Van Ronk, a heterosexual folk singer (who was incorrectly described as an actor) who was accused of assaulting an officer with I told the person at the door, I said "I'm 18 tonight" and he said to me, "you little SOB," he said. Armed with a warrant, police officers entered the club, As president of the Mattachine Society in New York, I tried to negotiate with the police and the mayor. Fred Sargeant:Three articles of clothing had to be of your gender or you would be in violation of that law. Amber Hall Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:Yes, entrapment did exist, particularly in the subway system, in the bathrooms. And if we catch you, involved with a homosexual, your parents are going to know about it first. The crime syndicate saw profit in catering to shunned gay clientele, and by the mid-1960s, the Genovese crime family controlled most Greenwich Village gay bars. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:It was getting worse and worse. rebellion in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969. We didn't necessarily know where we were going yet, you know, what organizations we were going to be or how things would go, but we became something I, as a person, could all of a sudden grab onto, that I couldn't grab onto when I'd go to a subway T-room as a kid, or a 42nd street movie theater, you know, or being picked up by some dirty old man. Tom Caruso It must have been terrifying for them. Like most gay bars in New York, it was owned by the Mafia, an organized crime group. It is usually after the day at the beach that the real crime occurs. Was he present at the Stonewall Riots? You see these cops, like six or eight cops in drag. k lmZkvLvcJ?Jcb^*` It was not a place that, in my life, me and my friends paid much attention to. Lauren Noyes. Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution Fred Sargeant:When it was clear that things were definitely over for the evening, we decided we needed to do something more. There may be some here today that will be homosexual in the future. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:And by the time the police would come back towards Stonewall, that crowd had gone all the around Washington Place come all the way back around and were back pushing in on them from the other direction and the police would wonder, "These are the same people or different people?". David Alpert That night, the police ran from us, the lowliest of the low. Certainly it was rare at the time to learn more than the first name or nickhame of someone you met casually in a bar. The overwhelming number of medical authorities said that homosexuality was a mental defect, maybe even a form of psychopathy. Vanessa Ezersky Homosexuality was a dishonorable discharge in those days, and you couldn't get a job afterwards. Primary sources available at the Library of Congress provide detailed information about how this first Pride march was planned, and the reasons why activists felt so strongly that it should exist. So in every gay pride parade every year, Stonewall lives. None of the nine pages of reports It sparked protests, political organization for gays, and gay pride parades. Noah Goldman Oddball Film + Video, San Francisco Do you want them to lose all chance of a normal, happy, married life? And the police were showing up. Cause I was from the streets. Chapter 2: Activist Agendas and Visions before Stonewall, Chapter 3: Political Protests before Stonewall, Chapter 6: Activist Agendas after Stonewall, Chapter 7: Political Protests after Stonewall, About the Author:Short CV/Long CV/Biography, Documenting the Stonewall Riots: A Bibliography of Primary Sources, View the files for Part I, II, III and Resources, San Francisco State But everybody knew it wasn't normal stuff and everyone was on edge and that was the worst part of it because you knew they were on edge and you knew that the first shot that was fired meant all the shots would be fired. Doric Wilson:Somebody that I knew that was older than me, his family had him sent off where they go up and damage the frontal part of the brain. But it's serious, don't kid yourselves about it. The raid sparked a riot among bar patrons and neighborhood residents as police roughly hauled employees and patrons out of the bar, leading to six days of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement outside the bar on Christopher Street, in neighboring streets and in nearby Christopher Park. People that were involved in it like me referred to it as "The First Run." Metropolitan Diary continues to publish! Her car, parked across the street from the Stonewall Inn, at 53 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, had been stomped Doric Wilson:And we were about 100, 120 people and there were people lining the sidewalks ahead of us to watch us go by, gay people, mainly. . Milestones in the American Gay Rights Movement. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Mr. Carter also said the documents corroborated information that had been provided to him by Seymour Pine, the police inspector who led the raid on the Stonewall Inn (and later expressed regret about the nature and Some of the pre-Stonewall uprisingsincluded: There have been many incidents in which police interaction with LGBTQ+ communities has resulted in violence, and in response, protest. Website support provided by Margaret Paz. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:There were complaints from people who objected to the wrongful behavior of some gays who would have sex on the street. an unknown object. Mr. Van Ronk eventually pleaded guilty to harassment, a violation. And this went on for hours. Dr. Socarides (Archival):I think the whole idea of saying "the happy homosexual" is to, uh, to create a mythology about the nature of homosexuality. We'll put new liquor in there, we'll put a new mirror up, we'll get a new jukebox." The idea was to be there first. They could be judges, lawyers. A word that would be used in the 1960s for gay men and lesbians. John O'Brien:And then somebody started a fire, they started with little lighters and matches. For the first time, we weren't letting ourselves be carted off to jails, gay people were actually fighting back just the way people in the peace movement fought back. Slate:Activity Group Therapy (1950), Columbia University Educational Films. by e-mail. Janice Flood John O'Brien:I knew that the words that were being said to put down people, was about me. stream Ed Koch, mayorof New York City from1978 to 1989, discussesgay civil rights in New York in the 1960s. Saying I don't want to be this way, this is not the life I want. We knew it was a gay bar, we walked past it. Robin Haueter Historians have noted that the shift in activism, if Stonewall truly represented one at all, was a shift primarily for white cisgender people, as people of color and gender non-conforming people never truly had the benefit of concealing their marginalized identities. xGrS$GJ19f#Qld| C$ Rcyu5K+#<_7jntz~:tOuS=>@Vy?~j{P/TUc7VC^|j_](G.Ox.~vTGz6r+]* 6 :!>j6KcV'6FjSSTcNsWU zwOV$k5(;'NAo;;l'Skmu}n%86`naUfJ7WMvf Even non-gay people. In 1969, it had no liquor license and held refuge for gay men and transvestites against the prejudiced police and laws. Published July 1969. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:This was the Rosa Parks moment, the time that gay people stood up and said no. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). By Marc Stein . Liz Davis Americas first lesbian rights organization, The Daughters of Bilitis, was formed in San Francisco on September 21, 1955. . In this lesson, students analyze four documents to answer the question: What caused the Stonewall Riots? Susan Liberti Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:I had been in some gay bars either for a story or gay friends would say, "Oh we're going to go in for a drink there, come on in, are you too uptight to go in?" It was nonsense, it was nonsense, it was all the people there, that were reacting and opposing what was occurring. But, that's when we knew, we were ourselves for the first time. Diana Davies Photographs, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations manner of the way the police conducted themselves. 400 Plankinton Ave. Compton's Cafeteria Raid, San Francisco, California, 1966, Coopers Do-Nut Raid, Los Angeles, California, 1959, LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Part I, LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Part II, Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century, International Perspectives on LGBTQ Activism and Culture. Pamela Gaudiano Our lessons and assessments are available for free download once you've created an account. The homosexual, bitterly aware of his rejection, responds by going underground. Arrest Reports From the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, City University of New York Graduate Center, photographs taken by The New York Times from the final night of the riots, Litter and Graffiti Show Norwoods Distress, Tavern on the Green Seeks Publics Support. They had a warrant. Jerry Hoose:And I got to the corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street, crossed the street and there I had found Nirvana. I would wait until there was nobody left to be the girl and then I would be the girl. Yvonne Ritter:I had just turned 18 on June 27, 1969. WebDocument C: Mattachine Society of New York Newsletter 1. WebLast Friday the privacy of the Stonewall was invaded by police from the First Division. I mean it didn't stop after that. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:That night I'm in my office, I looked down the street, and I could see the Stonewall sign and I started to see some activity in front. This online resource is a research supplement to Marc Stein,The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History(New York: New York University Press, 2019). WebThe Stonewall Inn is a gay bar in New York City. The Stonewall Inn was a sanctuary for drag queens, who were not always welcomed even at other gay bars. Martin Boyce:Mind you socks didn't count, so it was underwear, and undershirt, now the next thing was going to ruin the outfit. Drawing from the New York Public Library's archives, The Stonewall Reader is a collection of firsthand accounts, diaries, periodic literature and articles from LGBTQ magazines and newspapers that documented both the years leading up to and the years following the riots. . Chris Mara, Production Assistants PBS - American Experience - Who was at Stonewall? Absolutely, and many people who were not lucky, felt the cops. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Our radio was cut off every time we got on the police radio. Raids were still a fact of life, but usually corrupt cops would tip off Mafia-run bars before they occurred, allowing owners to stash the alcohol (sold without a liquor license) and hide other illegal activities. But I'm wearing this police thing I'm thinking well if they break through I better take it off really quickly but they're gunna come this way and we're going to be backing up and -- who knows what'll happen. Eric Marcus, Writer:Before Stonewall, there was no such thing as coming out or being out. Documents. The laws were made to specifically On June 28th, these police raided Stonewall, which was not uncommon. And the police escalated their crackdown on bars because of the reelection campaign. John O'Brien:I was very anti-police, had many years already of activism against the forces of law and order. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:A rather tough lesbian was busted in the bar and when she came out of the bar she was fighting the cops and trying to get away. Martin Boyce:And I remember moving into the open space and grabbing onto two of my friends and we started singing and doing a kick line. So I got into the subway, and on the car was somebody I recognized and he said, "I've never been so scared in my life," and I said, "Well, please let there be more than ten of us, just please let there be more than ten of us.
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