Stonewall Riots

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Stonewall Riots

Stonewall Riots

Remembering Stonewall, 40 Years Later

1969-2009

Those who fail to remember History are doomed to repeat it!

With the recent news about Gay marriage it is easy to forget how difficult it was just a few years ago to be Gay or Lesbian. Few of those coming out today know what efforts were made by a few brave souls to bring equal right to the Gays & Lesbian community. To them we say: "We honor your bravery and determination and we promise to keep up the fight!

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the police

raided the Stonewall Inn, a dingy, Mafia-run "private club" on

Christopher Street in Greenwich Village with a predominantly gay clientele.

The charge was illegal sale of alcohol. It was the second time that week

the bar had been targeted by the police, and other gay bars had also

been raided in prior weeks. Police officers lined up the Stonewall's 200

patrons to check identification. Most were free to leave, but the staff,

as well as three drag queens and two male-to-female transsexuals, were detained.

Eyewitnesses recalled that the scene outside the bar was

at first campy and festive. Patrons were joined by tourists and passers-by,

and everyone cheered when a gay person emerged from the bar, dismissed

by the police. But when a paddy wagon arrived and the police loaded the bar's

staff and the three drag queens inside, the crowd on the street grew surly.

One person threw a rock through a window, and eventually garbage cans,

bottles, and even a parking meter were used to assault the building.

Someone set a fire with lighter fluid. By newspaper accounts,

13 people were arrested and three police officers sustained minor injuries

in the confrontation.

Later that night and into Sunday morning, a crowd again gathered

in front of the ravaged bar. Many young gay men showed up to

protest the flurry of raids, but they did so by handholding, kissing, and

forming a chorus line. "We are the Stonewall girls," they sang, kicking their legs

in front of the police.

"We wear our hair in curls./We have no underwear./We show our pubic hair."

Police cleared the street without incident this time,

but another street altercation occurred a few days later.

From these events as well as others that soon followed, grew

what is now commonly called the Gay Liberation movement.

Estimates suggest that, at the time of the riots,

there were a few dozen gay organizations in the United States.

Within a few years, the number had risen to more than 400.

More reading about the riots...

Actual article from the 1969 NY Daily News

Reprint of the original newpaper story

More on the Riots

Another Point of View

Queer History on Planet Out

History of the Gay Revolution!

The Stonewall Riots

History of the riots