Seven pages of records were released by the citys Police Department in response to a Freedom of Information Law request. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:In states like New York, there were a whole basket of crimes that gay people could be charged with. traumatic physicaL, emotional and financial personal experience of my own at the time, I nonetheless said a silent prayer for those who were brave enough to be fighting for freedom. Absolutely, and many people who were not lucky, felt the cops. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:I never bought a drink at the Stonewall. So it was a perfect storm for the police. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We didn't have the manpower, and the manpower for the other side was coming like it was a real war. In June 28, 1969, in Greenwich Village, The New York City Police Department fueled by bigoted liquor licensing practices and an omnipresent backdrop of homophobia I hope it was. Stonewall Inn was registered as a type of private bottle bar, which did not require a liquor license because patrons were supposed to bring their own liquor. 1969 Stonewall Riots - Origins, Timeline & Leaders - History ", Martin Boyce:People in the neighborhood, the most unlikely people were starting to support it. All rights reserved. Martin Boyce:I heard about the trucks, which to me was fascinated me, you know, it had an imagination thing that was like Marseilles, how can it only be a few blocks away? Dan Bodner Virginia Apuzzo:It was free but not quite free enough for us. One never knows when the homosexual is about. 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. City Room, a news blog of live reporting, features and reader conversations about New York City, has been archived. Daily News It was as if an artist had arranged it, it was beautiful, it was like mica, it was like the streets we fought on were strewn with diamonds. My father said, "About time you fags rioted.". Raymond Castro:If that light goes on, you know to stop whatever you're doing, and separate. Dick Leitsch:It was an invasion, I mean you felt outraged and stuff like you know what, God, this is America, what's this country come to? It was the law. Dick Leitsch:And that's when you started seeing like, bodies laying on the sidewalk, people bleeding from the head. Identify the topic you chose to explore: Tulsa Massacre Cover art for The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History and The Stonewall Reader. On June 28, 1970, two thousand gay and lesbian activists in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago paraded down the streets of their cities in a new kind of social protest, one marked by celebration, fun, and unashamed declaration of a stigmatized identity. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, a police raid of the Stonewall Inn exploded into a riot when patrons of the LGBT bar resisted arrest and clashed with police. Stonewall Raymond Castro:I'd go in there and I would look and I would just cringe because, you know, people would start touching me, and "Hello, what are you doing there if you don't want to be touched?" I just thought you had to get through this, and I thought I could get through it, but you really had to be smart about it. It was tremendous freedom. I mean does anyone know what that is? You see these cops, like six or eight cops in drag. Stonewall Riots Heather Gude, Archival Research Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. But instead of responding with the routine compliance the NYPD expected, patrons and a growing crowd decided to fight back. However, once the bar reopened the next day, the cops planned a surprise raid that upcoming weekend. When police raided Stonewall Inn on the morning of June 28, it came as a surprisethe bar wasnt tipped off this time. How do you Ensure Paul Bosche So I run down there. rebellion in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969. The mirrors, all the bottles of liquor, the jukebox, the cigarette machines. Well, little did he know that what was gonna to happen later on was to make history. What finally made sense to me was the first time I kissed a woman and I thought, "Oh, this is what it's about." They were just holding us almost like in a hostage situation where you don't know what's going to happen next. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:What they did in the Stonewall that night. Queer Riffs on Life Since 1969, for 7:30 p.m. Monday at the current And as awful as people might think that sounds, it's the way history has always worked. We knew that this was a moment that we didn't want to let slip past, because it was something that we could use to bring more of the groups together. Ed Koch, mayorof New York City from1978 to 1989, discussesgay civil rights in New York in the 1960s. Stonewall Riot NYPD Reports and Transcriptions. Doric Wilson These events and the people involved have not received as much historical attention as Stonewall, but are just as central to understandings of U.S. LGBTQIA+ histories. Black Night Brawl, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 5, 1961. Narrator (Archival):We arrested homosexuals who committed their lewd acts in public places. Stonewall Riots And some people came out, being very dramatic, throwing their arms up in a V, you know, the victory sign. Dick Leitsch:And I remember it being a clear evening with a big black sky and the biggest white moon I ever saw. a gay-history Web site run by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Stonewall Riots Teacher Materials.pdf Watch documentary footage of the first Pride march held in New York City on June 28, 1970, Gay and Proud, a documentary by activist Lilli Vincenz: The S.V.A. In the sexual area, in psychology, psychiatry. Gay Pride Week and March, was meant to give the community a chance to gather together to, "commemorate the Christopher Street Uprisings of last summer in which thousands of homosexuals went to the streets to demonstrate against centuries of abuse.from government hostility to employment and housing discrimination, Mafia control of Gay bars, and anti-Homosexual laws" (Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee Fliers, Franklin Kameny Papers). Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We told this to our men. 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. Since the Stonewall was without a license, the place was being closed. Published July 1969. Bars were one of the few places LBGTQ+ people could gather in public, and these spaces were frequently raided throughout the 1950s-1970s. First you gotta get past the door. I was a man. Martha Babcock Eric Marcus, Writer:The Mattachine Society was the first gay rights organization, and they literally met in a space with the blinds drawn. We don't know. Jerry Hoose:And we were going fast. 1969: Stonewall Riots. They call them hotels, motels, lovers' lanes, drive-in movie theaters, etc. Jerry Hoose:And I got to the corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street, crossed the street and there I had found Nirvana. Drag queens and Geordie, Liam and Theo Gude You throw into that, that the Stonewall was raided the previous Tuesday night. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:The Stonewall riots came at a central point in history. WebStonewall Riot praxis one paper pcs 215 03 praxis the stonewall riots in 1969, people responded to violence from officers at police raid at the stonewall inn in. Stonewall Rebellion - HIS 100 - Perspectives in History - Research 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. 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. You know, all of a sudden, I had brothers and sisters, you know, which I didn't have before. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:It was always hands up, what do you want? That's more an uprising than a riot. Frank Kameny Martin Boyce:It was thrilling. He is not interested in, nor capable of a lasting relationship like that of a heterosexual marriage. Library of Congress - The Stonewall Uprising of 1969, Columbia University - The Stonewall Riots, Stonewall riots - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). His movements are not characteristic of a real boy. That's what gave oxygen to the fire. PBS - American Experience - Who was at Stonewall? The Stonewall Riots (June 28, 1969) In 1969, a riot at the Stonewall Inn (later known as the Stonewall Riots) became a turning point in the fight for LGBTQ civil rights. But it was a refuge, it was a temporary refuge from the street. In this lesson, students analyze four documents to answer the question: What caused the Stonewall Riots? And Howard said, "Boy there's like a riot gonna happen here," and I said, "yeah." Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Little is known about the four people cited in the documents Vincent DePaul, Marilyn Fowler, Wolfgang Podolski and Thomas Staton whose involvement was not previously documented. 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. Martin Boyce:And then more police came, and it didn't stop. Please consider donating to SHEG to support our creation of new materials. Danny Garvin:He's a faggot, he's a sissy, queer. There was at least one gay bar that was run just as a hustler bar for straight gay married men. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:And they were, they were kids. Stonewall - Primary Sources: LGBTQ+ - LibGuides at Florida Stonewall Riots I went in there and they took bats and just busted that place up. John O'Brien:It was definitely dark, it was definitely smelly and raunchy and dirty and that's the only places that we had to meet each other, was in the very dirty, despicable places. HIS 100 Module Three Activity Revising Questions - Studocu John Scagliotti And the first gay power demonstration to my knowledge was against my story inThe Village Voiceon Wednesday. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/stonewall Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:As much as I don't like to say it, there's a place for violence. WGBH Educational Foundation Geoff Kole You know. ), Pine has been vilified by a number of gay writers, but from all my interactions with him I believe his account was truthful and accurate, Mr. Carter said. WebChicago Race Riot in 1919, Tulsa Race Massacre 1921, Zoot Suite riot in 1943, riots in Newark and Detroit in 1967 and the LA Riots in 1995)(See Stonewall Riots, 1969). Martin Boyce:Oh, Miss New Orleans, she wouldn't be stopped. Dick Leitsch:Mattachino in Italy were court jesters; the only people in the whole kingdom who could speak truth to the king because they did it with a smile. Detective John Sorenson, Dade County Morals & Juvenile Squad (Archival):There may be some in this auditorium. Martin Boyce:Mind you socks didn't count, so it was underwear, and undershirt, now the next thing was going to ruin the outfit. Richard Enman (Archival):Well, let me say, first of all, what type of laws we are not after, because there has been much to-do that the Society was in favor of the legalization of marriage between homosexuals, and the adoption of children, and such as that, and that is not at all factual at all. A set of police records gathered by OutHistory.org, a Web site run by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the City University of New York Graduate Center. I was in the Navy when I was 17 and it was there that I discovered that I was gay. The Underground Lounge However, the New York State Liquor Authority penalized and shut down establishments that served alcohol to known or suspected LGBT individuals, arguing that the mere gathering of homosexuals was disorderly.. Raymond Castro:So then I got pushed back in, into the Stonewall by these plain clothes cops and they would not let me out, they didn't let anybody out. Police raids and harassment were a common occurrence across the U.S. during this time, and amid the growing political activism of the 1960s,LGBTQ+ people began to mobilize and fight back. They put some people on the street right in front ofThe Village Voiceprotesting the use of the word fag in my story. Lester Senior Housing Community, Jewish Community Housing Corporation But as we were going up 6th Avenue, it kept growing. Lauren Noyes. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:There were no instructions except: put them out of business. Too bad we didnt get to the Stonewall, though very likely we walked by enroute to elsewhere. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:All of straight America, in terms of the middle class, was recoiling in horror from what was happening all around them at that time, in that summer and the summer before. The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began Martin Boyce:We were like a Hydra. 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. Trevor, Post Production The stomping occurred around 3 a.m. on June 28, 1969, at the start of what would later be known as the Stonewall uprising , the six-day series of disturbances that As kids, we played King Kong. Fred Sargeant:Things started off small, but there was an energy that began to flow through the crowd. Martha Shelley:I don't know if you remember the Joan Baez song, "It isn't nice to block the doorway, it isn't nice to go to jail, there're nicer ways to do it but the nice ways always fail." It was not a place that, in my life, me and my friends paid much attention to. If youre interested in learning more about the Stonewall Riots, theres a free sneak preview of an upcoming American Experience film at the New York Public Library this evening at 6:30pm. And gay people were standing around outside and the mood on the street was, "They think that they could disperse us last night and keep us from doing what we want to do, being on the street saying I'm gay and I'm proud? 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. They were afraid that the FBI was following them. Stream thousands of hours of acclaimed series, probing documentaries and captivating specials commercial-free in HISTORY Vault. It was a real good sound to know that, you know, you had a lot of people out there pulling for you. Bettye Lane However, in the 51 years since, not everyone has benefited equally. A lot of them had been thrown out of their families. Within minutes, a full-blown riot involving hundreds of people began. The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History . Stonewall Riots In the Civil Rights Movement, we ran from the police; in the peace movement, we ran from the police. Research Guides: Civil Rights Movements: Sources on Stonewall The first documented U.S. gay rights organization, The Society for Human Rights (SHR), was founded in 1924 by Henry Gerber, a German immigrant. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! John O'Brien:I knew that the words that were being said to put down people, was about me. Pennebaker courtesy of Pennebaker Hegedus Films Mike Wallace (Archival):Two out of three Americans look upon homosexuals with disgust, discomfort or fear. University, A Then during lunch, Ralph showed him some pornographic pictures. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. While the events of Stonewall are often referred to as "riots," Stonewall veterans have explicitly stated that they prefer the term Stonewalluprising orrebellion. And, it was, I knew I would go through hell, I would go through fire for that experience. The reference to these events as riots was initially used by police to justify their use of force. 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 We knew it was a gay bar, we walked past it. So if any one of you, have let yourself become involved with an adult homosexual, or with another boy, and you're doing this on a regular basis, you better stop quick. at nytoday.com or in the morning, on The New York Times homepage or its New York section. WebStonewall (1995), another fictional presentation of the events leading up to the riots After Stonewall (1999), a documentary of the years from Stonewall to century's end Stonewall Uprising (2010), a documentary presentation using archival footage, photographs, documents and witness statements Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. There are a lot of kids here. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. There were gay bars in Midtown, there were gay bars uptown, there were certain kinds of gay bars on the Upper East Side, you know really, really, really buttoned-up straight gay bars. Martin Boyce:In the early 60s, if you would go near Port Authority, there were tons of people coming in. The owner of a 1968 Volkswagen showed up at the Sixth Precinct station house with a complaint. John O'Brien:And then somebody started a fire, they started with little lighters and matches. It gives back a little of the terror they gave in my life. Armed with a warrant, police officers entered the club, Fred Sargeant:In the '60s, I met Craig Rodwell who was running the Oscar Wilde Bookshop. When The Commission on Human Rights ruled that gay individuals had the right to be served in bars, police raids were temporarily reduced. And I knew that I was lesbian. (St. Martins Press, 2004). We could easily be hunted, that was a game. All of this stuff was just erupting like a -- as far as they were considered, like a gigantic boil on the butt of America. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Stonewall Riots Yvonne Ritter:I did try to get out of the bar and I thought that there might be a way out through one of the bathrooms. Thats why all our lessons and assessments are free. This was in front of the police. They would bang on the trucks. The New York Times / Redux Pictures % Dana Kirchoff But engaging in gay behavior in public (holding hands, kissing or dancing with someone of the same sex) was still illegal, so police harassment of gay bars continued and many bars still operated without liquor licensesin part because they were owned by the Mafia. The documents also cited The mob was saying, you know, "Screw you, cops, you think you can come in a bust us up? Mike Nuget . Doric Wilson:In those days, the idea of walking in daylight, with a sign saying, "I'm a faggot," was horren--, nobody, nobody was ready to do that. And I said to myself, "Oh my God, this will not last.". That was scary, very scary. All kinds of designers, boxers, big museum people. And Dick Leitsch, who was the head of the Mattachine Society said, "Who's in favor?" David Alpert Susan Liberti NPS.gov. Research assistance provided by Mario Burrus, Adam Joseph Nichols and Cole Souder. June 28, 2019 The Stonewall Inn is a sacred place for many in the LGBTQ community. On June 24, 1969, the Public Morals squad of Manhattans First Police Division raided the Stonewall Inn. But we couldn't hold out very long. Internet History Sourcebooks Project Documents from the 1969 Furor Immediately following the Stonewall riots of June 27th 1969, a series of demonstrations You see, Ralph was a homosexual. Although I was going through an extremely At least if you had press, maybe your head wouldn't get busted. Internet History Sourcebooks Project WebOn June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village, was raided by police. That wasn't ours, it was borrowed. Our lessons and assessments are available for free download once you've created an account. Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution consists of actual Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Straight. For a comprehensive list of which homophile groups contributed financially to the first Pride, researchers can reference the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee Bulletin and Reports External. Queer was very big. Martin Boyce:There were these two black, like, banjee guys, and they were saying, "What's goin' on man?" I told the person at the door, I said "I'm 18 tonight" and he said to me, "you little SOB," he said. I believe hes an honorable man, And I ran into Howard Smith on the street,The Village Voicewas right there. The laws were made to specifically On June 28th, these police raided Stonewall, which was not uncommon. E.R.C.H.O. Ellinor Mitchell Image: Police push protestors back outside of the Stonewall Inn in the early hours of June 28, 1969. It was large and relatively cheap to enter. I made friends that first day. You know, it's just, everybody was there. In the trucks or around the trucks. A History of Gay Rights in America. The police made several arrests and confiscated liquor. I was never seduced by an older person or anything like that. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:The moment you stepped out that door there would be hundreds facing you. Even non-gay people. Your choice, you can come in with us or you can stay out here with the crowd and report your stuff from out here. Do you understand me?". Home - Research Guides at Library of Congress One chapter covers bars and policing from 1965 to 1969; two address LGBT They raided the Checkerboard, which was a very popular gay bar, a week before the Stonewall. He was not present at the riot. The day is now celebrated globally to honor the brave individuals who stood up to the system and protested for equality in 1969. This 19-year-old serviceman left his girlfriend on the beach to go to a men's room in a park nearby where he knew that he could find a homosexual contact. Edmund White (Foreword by); New York Public Library (Editor), Phyllis Lyon/Del Martin And The Daughters Of Bilitis, Arrest Reports from the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, Stonewall and It's Impact on the Gay Liberation Movement, Stonewall 50: Library of Congress Panel Discussion on LGBTQ+ Research, Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee Bulletin and Reports, Black Cat Raid, Los Angeles, California, 1967. The overwhelming number of medical authorities said that homosexuality was a mental defect, maybe even a form of psychopathy. I was a homosexual. Janice Flood WPA Film Library, Thanks to Corbis WebStonewall Riot praxis one paper pcs 215 03 praxis the stonewall riots in 1969, people responded to violence from officers at police raid at the stonewall inn in Skip to document Ask an Expert Sign inRegister Sign inRegister Home Ask an ExpertNew My Library Discovery Institutions Southern New Hampshire University Harvard University They would not always just arrest, they would many times use clubs and beat. The Stonewall Riots are widely considered to be the start of the LGBT rights movement in the United States. John O'Brien:Cops got hurt. But it's serious, don't kid yourselves about it. Here are my ID cards, you knew they were phonies. Slate:Boys Beware(1961) Public Service Announcement. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:What was so good about the Stonewall was that you could dance slow there. WebSTANFORD HISTORY EDUCATION GROUP sheg.stanford.edu Document B: Sylvia Rivera (Excerpt) Born and raised in New York City, Sylvia Rivera participated in the Stonewall One poignant example is the murder of Frederick Wiliam Paez on the 11th anniversary of Stonewall (June 28 1980) who was shot by a police officer who had solicited him. Two of the pages posted online were obtained in 1988 by Michael Scherker, a writer who sued the city to obtain some police records from the time of the uprising, and who has since died. But we went down to the trucks and there, people would have sex. In 1999 the U.S. National Park Service placed the Stonewall Inn on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 2016 Pres. Danny Garvin:People were screaming "pig," "copper." And, you know,The Village Voiceat that point started using the word "gay.". Not even us. They'd think I'm a cop even though I had a big Jew-fro haircut and a big handlebar mustache at the time. The Chicago riots, the Human Be-in, the dope smoking, the hippies. Martha Shelley:They wanted to fit into American society the way it was. He was later sued by the police officer, Gilbert Weisman, for assault, and had to pay a fine. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:The police would zero in on us because sometimes they would be in plain clothes, and sometimes they would even entrap. Patricia Yusah, Marketing and Communications 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). John O'Brien:If a gay man is caught by the police and is identified as being involved in what they called lewd, immoral behavior, they would have their person's name, their age and many times their home address listed in the major newspapers. Documents and Transcripts Listed by Time of Occurrence, from Earliest to Latest Document 1. I would wait until there was nobody left to be the girl and then I would be the girl. They began to jeer at and jostle the police and then threw bottles and debris. Martin Boyce:It was another great step forward in the story of human rights, that's what it was. These 1969 riots are largely credited with sparking the contemporary LGBTQ+ rights movement. That night, the And they were gay. Despite the later historical significance assigned to the Stonewall rebellion, many of the details associated with the events have have been poorly or incompletely documented, said Mr. Carter, whose book has been cited Every arrest and prosecution is a step in the education of the public to the solution of the problem.

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