The Stonewall RiotsThe Stonewall Riots have been defined as the moment the catalyzed the rest of the Gay Liberation movement as a whole. Located in the Greenwich Village area of New York City, the Stonewall Inn served as a center of community and centrality for members of the LGBT community throughout the 60’s. At this time, being gay was essentially still considered to be a deviant activity. Having public places like the Stonewall Inn was an incredibly important factor behind the development and success movement as overall, as designated bars and clubs were the center of the unity and growth of the gay community. As David Carter writes, “…the most important part about the clientele of the Stonewall Inn is that all segments of the gay and lesbian community, including a strong representation of the more marginal elements, defined the Stonewall Inn as a special place in the homosexual world of greater New York, giving it a unique status at that time.” (77) However, the bar itself was not free of corruption: Stonewall was owned by members of the NYC mafia, and payoffs were often made between them and the police. The bar owners exploited the gay community, knowing that Stonewall was one of the few places in the city that they were able to meet and drink legally. Raids were frequent on the bar, and police presence was generally expected.
However, a final raid on Saturday, June 28th, 1969, is remembered as the breaking point for many of Stonewall’s patrons. Around 1:20 am, “plainclothes police officers from the 1st division morals squad…stopped at the Stonewall Inn’s thick wooden double doors and announced ‘Police! We’re taking the place!’” (137) The police were aggressive right from the start- not necessarily in their actions, but in the general attitude of approach. There was a general air of disdain and disrespect, which was felt almost immediately by the bar patrons. Things were tense, and there was a certain sense of awareness that this specific raid was going to be different than the ones of the past. |
The Stonewall Uprising is an in-depth documentary about the happenings of the Stonewall Riots.
Check it out if you can! |
The first tangible act of outward violence “occurred when a police officer shoved one of the transvestites, who turned and smacked the officer over the head with her purse. The cop clubbed her, and a wave of anger passed through the crowd, which immediately showered the police with boos and catcalls…” (148) At this point, the prior repressed anger of the gay community began to boil over with fierce intent: patrons spread out of the bar, and a crowd (both from the bar itself and the surrounding community) began to grow outside in the street. Tensions were high, and the LGBT group began to band together: “’We all had a collective feeling like we’d had enough of this kind of shit…it was not an organized demonstration. It was spontaneous. It was time to reclaim something that had always been taken from us…And we felt that we had freedom at last, or freedom to at lead show that we demanded freedom.’” (161) The fact that the riots were not planned only fueled the aggression behind them- it was an impulsive, uninhibited act of pure emotion. Members of the community were fed up, they were instigated, and something had finally happened because of it.
Police were finally able to break up the crowds during the early morning hours of the 28th, but the catalyst had already occurred. The Stonewall Riots were undoubtedly the event that gave the Gay Liberation movement the momentum it needed, and what continue to push its’ cause into the later decades that followed. The Stonewall Inn was host to the isolated riots, but the starting point to an entire revolution: “Suddenly the gay street youths linked their arms around one another and kicked Rockette style as they sang their old reprise, but this time changing the world village to Stonewall: ‘We are the Stonewall Girls, We wear our hair in curls. We wear no underwear, We show our pubic hairs.’”(176) The extent of Stonewall’s influence on the movement is almost incomprehensible, but certainly never downplayed.
Police were finally able to break up the crowds during the early morning hours of the 28th, but the catalyst had already occurred. The Stonewall Riots were undoubtedly the event that gave the Gay Liberation movement the momentum it needed, and what continue to push its’ cause into the later decades that followed. The Stonewall Inn was host to the isolated riots, but the starting point to an entire revolution: “Suddenly the gay street youths linked their arms around one another and kicked Rockette style as they sang their old reprise, but this time changing the world village to Stonewall: ‘We are the Stonewall Girls, We wear our hair in curls. We wear no underwear, We show our pubic hairs.’”(176) The extent of Stonewall’s influence on the movement is almost incomprehensible, but certainly never downplayed.
What Exactly Happened that Night?
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