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The Stonewall Inn, (circa 2005), on Christopher Street in New York City where the Stonewall riots occurred.
The Stonewall Inn, (circa 2005), on Christopher Street in New York City where the Stonewall riots occurred. The Stonewall Inn, and its surrounding area also known as Stonewall, was the site of the famous Stonewall riots of 1969, which have come to symbolize the Christopher Street is a street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, and was at the center of New York's The City of New York

The Stonewall Riots were a series of violent conflicts between LGBT people and New York City police officers that began during a 28 June 1969 police raid, and lasted several days. LGBT (also GLBT) is an initialism referring collectively to Lesbian, Gay, bisexual, and Transgender / transsexual The City of New York Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. They were centered at the Stonewall Inn and are widely recognized as the catalyst for the modern-day movement towards LGBT rights. The Stonewall Inn, and its surrounding area also known as Stonewall, was the site of the famous Stonewall riots of 1969, which have come to symbolize the Also called the Stonewall Uprising, Stonewall Rebellion, Stonewall Revolution or simply Stonewall, the clash was a watershed for the worldwide gay rights movement, as gay, lesbian and transgender people had never before acted together in such large numbers to forcibly resist police harassment directed towards their community. Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender social movements share related goals of social acceptance of Homosexuality, Bisexuality and Transgenderism Lesbian In the English language, gay is an Adjective that in modern usage refers to Homosexuality. A lesbian is a Woman who is romantically or sexually attracted only to other women Transgender (trænzˈdʒɛndɚ from ( Latin) derivatives Many also credit the events as igniting a movement to celebrate gay pride with events such as pride parades and dyke marches. LGBT pride or gay pride refers to a world wide movement and philosophy asserting that LGBT ( Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Dyke March is a mostly Lesbian -led and inclusive gathering and Protest march much like the original Gay pride parades and marches

Contents

History

Contrary to popular belief, activists had been fighting for homosexual rights for years prior to the Stonewall Riots. In 1950, a gay man named Harry Hay and a group of gay activists, tired of unequal treatment because of their sexual orientation, launched the Mattachine Society. Harry Hay ( April 7, 1912, Worthing, England – October 24, 2002) was a leader in the Gay rights The Mattachine Society was the earliest lasting Homophile organization in the United States. The society unified isolated gays and also encouraged them to fight for their rights. [1] The activism of the Mattachine Society served as an inspiration for the first student gay rights organization. Students at certain colleges began to see the importance of equal rights for LGBT people. LGBT (also GLBT) is an initialism referring collectively to Lesbian, Gay, bisexual, and Transgender / transsexual The first student gay rights group was formed in 1967 at Columbia University. Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. The group began because of a student, Stephen Donaldson, who identified himself as bisexual. Stephen Donaldson ( July 27, 1946 &ndash July 18, 1996) born Robert Anthony Martin Jr and also known by the pseudonym Bisexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of both sexes or to a bisexual orientation After the discrimination that he faced for being honest about his sexual orientation, he decided to form a Mattachine-like group called the Student Homophile League (SHL) that advocated for gay rights. Stephen Donaldson ( July 27, 1946 &ndash July 18, 1996) born Robert Anthony Martin Jr and also known by the pseudonym Although he faced challenges in trying to get the University to accept the organization, Donaldson eventually received approval from the administration. While the SHL attracted negative attention from the media, it inspired other gay activists to begin SHL chapters at different universities. In 1968, the second gay rights group to be formed on a college campus was created at Cornell University in New York by Jerald Moldenhaurer. [2] When he decided to take on the leadership role, he said to fellow activist Stephen Donaldson, “the mere presence of such an organization…will help to stimulate a more honest, healthy attitude about homosexuality. ”[2] Many people believe that the gay rights movement began the night after the Stonewall Riots. However, prior to the riots, students like Donaldson and Moldenhaurer had been fighting for equality. [2] After the Stonewall Riots, LGBT activists were motivated to form a group called the Gay Liberation Front. Gay Liberation Front (GLF was the name of a number of Gay Liberation groups the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969 immediately after the Stonewall The name was chosen for its association with the anti-imperialist struggles in Vietnam and Algeria. Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's

Law enforcement raids on gay bars and discotheques were a regular part of gay life in cities across the United States, until the 1960s, when sudden raids on bars in many major cities became markedly less frequent. gay bar (also known as a boy bar if the clientele is predominantly male or conversely a girl bar) is a drinking establishment that caters exclusively A discothèque, diskoˈtɛk̚ compare the Spanish "discoteca" is an Entertainment venue or Club with recorded music played by "Discaires" The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Most conclude that the decline in raids can be attributed to a series of court challenges and increased resistance from the Homophile Movement. The word homophile is an alternative to the word homosexual, preferred by some because it emphasizes love (" -phile " from Greek φιλία over

Prior to 1965, the police would sometimes record the identities of all those present at a raid, occasionally providing the information to newspapers for publication. Police used any convenient justification to make arrests on charges of "indecency" including kissing, holding hands, cross dressing - even merely being in the bar at the time of the raid. Decency is conformity to sociocultural standards of conduct and speech Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothing commonly associated with another gender within a particular Society.

In 1965, two important figures came into prominence. The first was John Lindsay, a liberal Republican who was elected mayor of New York City on a reform platform. John Vliet Lindsay ( November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American Politician who served as a member of the The other was Richard Leitsch, who became president of the New York City chapter of the Mattachine Society at around the same time. The Mattachine Society was the earliest lasting Homophile organization in the United States. Leitsch was considered relatively militant compared to his predecessors and believed in direct action techniques commonly used by other civil rights groups in the 1960s. Direct action is political action which happens outside normal political channels via indirect actions such as electing representatives.

In early 1966, administration policies had changed because of complaints made by Mattachine that the police were on the streets entrapping gay men and charging them with indecency. Entrapment is the act of a law enforcement agent in inducing a person to commit an offence which the person would not have or was unlikely to have otherwise committed The police commissioner, Howard Leary, instructed the police force not to lure gays into breaking the law and also required that any plain clothes officers must have a civilian witness when a gay person was arrested. This policy caused entrapment of gay men to become much less common in New York City. [3]

In the same year, in order to challenge the State Liquor Authority (SLA) regarding its policies over gay bars, Leitsch conducted a "sip in. " Leitsch had called members of the press and planned on meeting at a bar with two other gay men—a bar could have its liquor license taken away for knowingly serving a group of three or more homosexuals—to test the SLA policy of closing bars. When the bartender at Julius turned them away, they made a complaint. [4]

Elsewhere in the nation, group resistance that contributed to recognition of LGBT civil rights was taking place, for instance the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria riot of mostly transwomen in San Francisco. LGBT (also GLBT) is an initialism referring collectively to Lesbian, Gay, bisexual, and Transgender / transsexual The Compton's Cafeteria Riot occurred in August 1966 in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. A transwoman (also spelled trans woman or trans-woman) is a male-to-female transsexual and the term transwoman is preferred by many such

The question then remains why the Stonewall was raided if gay bars were legal and on the rise. John D’Emilio, a prominent historian, points out that the city was in the middle of a mayoral campaign and John Lindsay, who had lost his party’s primary, had reason to call for a cleanup of the city’s bars. A primary election ( nominating primary) also referred to simply as a primary, is an election in which voters in a Jurisdiction select candidates There were a number of reasons that made the Stonewall Inn an easy target: it operated without a liquor license; had ties to organized crime; and, “offering scantily clad go-go boys as entertainment, it brought an ‘unruly’ element to Sheridan Square”. [5]

The Stonewall Inn was frequented mainly by Black and Hispanic gay men. Many of those present were transgender and drag queens. Transgender (trænzˈdʒɛndɚ from ( Latin) derivatives A drag queen is a person usually a man who dresses (or "drags" in female clothes and make-up for special occasions and usually because they are performing and entertaining

Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine, who led the raid on the bar that first night, claims that he was ordered to close the Stonewall Inn because it was the central location for gathering information on gay men who worked on Wall Street. Wall Street is a street in lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. A recent increase in the number of thefts from brokerage houses on Wall Street led police to suspect that gay men, forced by blackmail, were behind the thefts. Wall Street is a street in lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. Blackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public a family member or associates unless a demand made upon the [6]

The patrons of the Stonewall were used to such raids and the management was generally able to reopen for business either the same night or the following day.

The Stonewall raid and the aftermath

The Stonewall Inn.
The Stonewall Inn.

On Saturday morning, June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a bar in Greenwich Village where gay people frequently gathered to socialize on Christopher Street, just off Sheridan Square. Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Stonewall Inn, and its surrounding area also known as Stonewall, was the site of the famous Stonewall riots of 1969, which have come to symbolize the Greenwich Village (ˌgrɛnɪtʃ ˈvɪlɪdʒ often simply called the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern Manhattan A number of factors differentiated the raid that took place on June 28 from other raids at the Stonewall Inn. Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Because raids had occurred at the Stonewall Inn in the past, managers usually knew what to expect when a raid was about to occur. Likewise, raids tended to occur earlier in the evening, which allowed the bar to continue with normal business for the busiest hours of the night. On June 28th, however, an unexpected raid unfolded at the Inn. At approximately 1:20 am, eight police officers entered the bar with a warrant authorizing a search for illegal sales of alcohol. [7] Of the eight policemen, only one was dressed in his uniform. The police questioned the customers and made many of them show identification. Many were escorted out of the bar, and some were even arrested. The escorted crowd became very angry and began to cause chaos outside of the Inn. While the police loaded arrested patrons into the police van, the existing crowd responded with catcalls and then, eventually erupted into violence. Transgender activist Sylvia Rivera claimed she "led the charge". Transgender (trænzˈdʒɛndɚ from ( Latin) derivatives Activism, in a general sense can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change Sylvia Rae Rivera ( 2 July 1951 – 19 February 2002) was a Transgender Activist. [8] They threw bottles at the officers, and even used a parking meter as a battering ram. Heterosexual folk singer Dave van Ronk, who was walking through the area, was grabbed by the police, pulled into the bar, and beaten. Heterosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the opposite sex or to a heterosexual orientation Dave Van Ronk ( June 30 1936 – February 10 2002) was a Folk singer born in The crowd’s attacks were unrelenting. Word quickly spread of the riot and many residents, as well as patrons of nearby bars, rushed to the scene. When the police officers went inside the bar, the angry clients blockaded the Inn and then torched it. [9] Eventually, the protesting crowd was so strong that each time the police would disperse the mob, a new group would re-form behind the police’s back, preventing them from actually breaking up the riot. [1] Over the course of five days, the crowd of 400 protesters continued throwing bottles and lighting fires around the Inn. Police attempted to capture some of the violent rioters. If the rioters did not act fast enough, they were pushed and shoved and even clubbed to the ground by officers. [7] Protesters in the crowd began to scream "Gay Power" and some activists dressed as drag queens started chanting:[9]

We are the Stonewall Girls
We wear our hair in curls
We wear no underwear
We show our pubic hair
We wear our dungarees
Above our nelly knees

Throughout the night the police singled out many transgender people and gender nonconformists, including butch women and effeminate men, among others, often beating them. Effeminacy is a trait in males that generally contradicts traditional male ( masculine) Gender roles It is a derogatory term frequently applied to Femininity On the first night alone 13 people were arrested and four police officers, as well as an undetermined number of protesters, were injured. It is known, however, that at least two rioters were severely beaten by the police. [10] Bottles and stones were thrown by protesters who chanted “Gay Power!” The crowd, estimated at over 2000, fought with over 400 police officers.

The police sent additional forces in the form of the Tactical Patrol Force, a riot-control squad originally trained to counter Vietnam War protesters. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia The tactical patrol force arrived to disperse the crowd. However, they failed to break up the crowd, who sprayed them with rocks and other projectiles.

Eventually the scene quieted, but the crowd returned again the next night. While less violent than the first night, the crowd had the same energy as it had on the previous night. Skirmishes between the rioters and the police ensued until approximately 4:00 a. m. . The third day of rioting fell five days after the raid on the Stonewall Inn. On that Wednesday, 1,000 people congregated at the bar and again caused extensive property damage.

Numerous books on this North American gay civil rights flash point have been written. In 2004, St. Martin's Press published David Carter's Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, based on ten years of research and interviews with participants. In the book Carter examines inconsistencies of historical record, debunking a number of myths that have surrounded the events of June 1969, including the oft-repeated urban legend that it was the death of Judy Garland that sparked the riots. Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10 1922 – June 22 1969 was an American actress and singer

Legacy

The forces that were simmering before the riots were now no longer beneath the surface. The community created by the homophile organizations of the previous two decades had created the perfect environment for the creation of the Gay Liberation Movement. By the end of July the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was formed in New York and by the end of the year the GLF could be seen in cities and universities around the country. Gay Liberation Front (GLF was the name of a number of Gay Liberation groups the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969 immediately after the Stonewall Similar organizations were soon created around the world including Canada, France, Britain, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island

The following year, in commemoration of the Stonewall Riots, the GLF organized a march from Greenwich Village to Central Park. Greenwich Village (ˌgrɛnɪtʃ ˈvɪlɪdʒ often simply called the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern Manhattan Central Park is a large public Urban park in New York City, with about twenty-five million visitors annually Between 5,000 and 10,000 men and women attended the march. Many gay pride celebrations choose the month of June to hold their parades and events to celebrate “The Hairpin Drop Heard Round the World" (D'Emilio 232). LGBT pride or gay pride refers to a world wide movement and philosophy asserting that LGBT ( Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and The " Shot heard round the world " is a well known phrase that has come to represent several historical incidentals throughout world history Many major American cities including New York City, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Columbus as well as other cities such as Toronto hold Gay Pride Marches on the last Sunday of June, in honor of Stonewall. The City of New York Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city Columbus is the Capital and the largest city of the US state of Ohio. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Other cities such as Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Des Moines, Detroit, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Washington, DC hold their pride parade in June but not on the last Sunday of the month. Kansas City Missouri only Items for the metro area Kansas City Kansas or North Kansas City MO should go on their respective pages Salt Lake City is the Capital and the most populous city of the U Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Still others, such as Dallas, Texas and Palm Springs, California, hold their celebration in another month entirely. Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, approximately 111 miles (177 km east of Los Angeles and 136 miles (225 km northeast of

In 1998, an LGBT-rights group in the United States formed the Stonewall Democrats (affiliated with the Democratic Party). The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The National Stonewall Democrats is an LGBT-rights group in the United States with seat in Washington D The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. The group was founded by Barney Frank, a gay Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Massachusetts's fourth congressional district. Barnett "Barney" Frank (born March 31, 1940) is an American Politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate.

The Stonewall Inn closed in late 1969. Over the next twenty years, the space was occupied by various other establishments, including a bagel sandwich shop, a Chinese restaurant, and a shoe store. Many visitors and new residents in the neighborhood were unaware of the building's history or its connection to the Stonewall riots. In the early 1990s, after its first renovation, a new gay bar, named simply "Stonewall" opened in the west half of the original Stonewall Inn. A second renovation in the late 1990s brought in new crowds to its new multi-floor layout. The club remained popular until management lost its lease in 2006. New management reopened the latest version of The Stonewall in February 2007.

In popular culture

See also

Footnotes and references

  1. ^ a b Wright, Lionel. Brenda Howard ( December 24 1946 – June 28 2005) was a Bisexual rights Activist and sex-positive Christopher Street Day ( CSD) is an annual European LGBT celebration held in various cities across Europe The Compton's Cafeteria Riot occurred in August 1966 in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. Timeline of Lesbian, Gay, bisexual and Transgender ( LGBT) history Homosexual rights during the 20th century The White Night Riots were a series of violent events stemming from the sentencing of Dan White, which was deemed lenient by many for the assassinations of San “The Stonewall Riots - 1969 – A turning point in the Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Liberation. ” Socialist Alternative, 1999.
  2. ^ a b c Beemyn, Brett (2003). "The Silence Is Broken: A History of the First Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual College Student Groups". Journal of the History of Sexuality 12 (2): 205-223. Ohio State University.  
  3. ^ (D'Emilio 1983, p.  207)
  4. ^ (D'Emilio 1983, p.  208)
  5. ^ (D'Emilio 1983, p.  231)
  6. ^ Carter, David. Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked The Gay Revolution. New York: St. Martin's Press, pg. 262, 2004.
  7. ^ a b New York Times, 1969, staff reporter.
  8. ^ Sylvia Rivera. Sound Portraits. org. Retrived on June 12, 2008. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
  9. ^ a b Duberman, Martin. Cures: A Gay Man’s Odyssey. New York: Penguin, 1991.
  10. ^ Duberman, Martin. Stonewall. New York: A Dutton Book, 1993, pg. 201-202.

External links

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