Often, those who had survived police raids were hospitalized or had to seek medical care for their injuries. Fred Sargeant:When it was clear that things were definitely over for the evening, we decided we needed to do something more. Dick Leitsch:Very often, they would put the cops in dresses, with makeup and they usually weren't very convincing. What finally made sense to me was the first time I kissed a woman and I thought, "Oh, this is what it's about." Jerry Hoose:I remember I was in a paddy wagon one time on the way to jail, we were all locked up together on a chain in the paddy wagon and the paddy wagon stopped for a red light or something and one of the queens said "Oh, this is my stop." Acceptance and respect from the establishment were no longer being humbly requested but angrily and righteously demanded. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Our radio was cut off every time we got on the police radio. University, A Maybe the guys name was real (parents do name their kids after saints) but maybe it was just given at the time of arrest. John van Hoesen They would bang on the trucks. They were afraid that the FBI was following them. 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). Eric Marcus, Writer:It was incredibly hot. And they wore dark police uniforms and riot helmets and they had billy clubs and they had big plastic shields, like Roman army, and they actually formed a phalanx, and just marched down Christopher Street and kind of pushed us in front of them. A medievalist. Michael Dolan, Technical Advisors Pennebaker courtesy of Pennebaker Hegedus Films 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. Martha Shelley:Before Stonewall, the homophile movement was essentially the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis and all of these other little gay organizations, some of which were just two people and a mimeograph machine. National Archives and Records Administration familiar with those individuals to e-mail OutHistory.org. Notably, an uncounted number of LGBTQ+ people have died as a result of police raids on gay spaces. I could never let that happen and never did. New York City Police Department/OutHistory.org. Martha Shelley:If you were in a small town somewhere, everybody knew you and everybody knew what you did and you couldn't have a relationship with a member of your own sex, period. John Scagliotti "Don't fire. Hunted, hunted, sometimes we were hunted. Slate:Activity Group Therapy (1950), Columbia University Educational Films. One time, a bunch of us ran into somebody's car and locked the door and they smashed the windows in. 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. Over a short period of time, he will be unable to get sexually aroused to the pictures, and hopefully, he will be unable to get sexually aroused inside, in other settings as well. Jerry Hoose:The police would come by two or three times a night. When you exit, have some identification and it'll be over in a short time." PBS - American Experience - Who was at Stonewall? WebIt provides references for primary documents related to the materials reprinted in The Stonewall Riots; most of the sources come from newspapers, magazines, and The Stonewall Inn site was declared By 1969, the Stonewall Inn (now a national monument) was one of the most popular gay bars in New York City.Throughout the state, homosexuality was considered a criminal offense, and it would take over a decade of organizing before "same-sex relationships" were legalized in 1980 (New York v. Onofre). Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We were looking for secret exits and one of the policewomen was able to squirm through the window and they did find a way out. 1969: Stonewall Riots. But that night, for some unknown reason, people fought back. 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. There's a little door that slides open with this power-hungry nut behind that, you see this much of your eyes, and he sees that much of your face, and then he decides whether you're going to get in. Americas first lesbian rights organization, The Daughters of Bilitis, was formed in San Francisco on September 21, 1955. Accustomed to more passive behaviour, even from larger gay groups, the policemen called for reinforcements and barricaded themselves inside the bar while some 400 people rioted. 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? They had a warrant. But, that's when we knew, we were ourselves for the first time. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:Yes, entrapment did exist, particularly in the subway system, in the bathrooms. I am not alone, there are other people that feel exactly the same way.". (c) 2011 My father said, "About time you fags rioted.". Jerry Hoose:I was afraid it was over. After two years, police said they had been informed that liquor was being served on the premises. Homo, homo was big. John O'Brien Danny Garvin:There was more anger and more fight the second night. Atascadero was known in gay circles as the Dachau for queers, and appropriately so. But I had only stuck my head in once at the Stonewall. Police raids forced them to disband in 1925, but not before they had published several issues of their newsletter, Friendship and Freedom, the countrys first gay-interest newsletter. ( New York : New York University Press , 2019 . Stanford University | 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA 94305 | Privacy Policy. It was a horror story. And you will be caught, don't think you won't be caught, because this is one thing you cannot get away with. WebLast Friday the privacy of the Stonewall was invaded by police from the First Division. When Virginia Apuzzo: I grew up with that. by e-mail. Like most gay bars in New York, it was owned by the Mafia, an organized crime group. 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. Published July 1969. BBC Worldwide Americas And as awful as people might think that sounds, it's the way history has always worked. They were just holding us almost like in a hostage situation where you don't know what's going to happen next. Your choice, you can come in with us or you can stay out here with the crowd and report your stuff from out here. Most importantly, this anthology shines a light on forgotten figures who were pivotal in the movement, such as Lee Brewster, head of the Queens Liberation Front and Ernestine Eckstine, one of the few out, African American, lesbian activists in the 1960s. Danny Garvin:Everybody would just freeze or clam up. Doric Wilson:And I looked back and there were about 2,000 people behind us, and that's when I knew it had happened. Franco Sacchi, Additional Animation and Effects None of the nine pages of reports A panel discussion on LBGTQ+ research on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. More progressives should keep that in mind these days. Clever. I had never seen anything like that. So gay people were being strangled, shot, thrown in the river, blackmailed, fired from jobs. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We only had about six people altogether from the police department knowing that you had a precinct right nearby that would send assistance. Gay bars were places of refuge where gay men and lesbians and other individuals who were considered sexually suspect could socialize in relative safety from public harassment. Webraided a Greenwich Village nightclub called the Stonewall Inn. Liz Davis It was like a reward. But we're going to pay dearly for this. That night, the His movements are not characteristic of a real boy. Cause we could feel a sense of love for each other that we couldn't show out on the street, because you couldn't show any affection out on the street. The ones that came close you could see their faces in rage. 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 WebFinal Question What caused the Stonewall Riots? But we went down to the trucks and there, people would have sex. An article in the Rat, Subterranean News entitled "Queen Power" chronicling the night of the Stonewall Uprising and the centrality of drag queens, trans, and gender non-conforming participants. This was the first time I could actually sense, not only see them fearful, I could sense them fearful. The organization with the largest donation to Christopher Street Liberation Day 1970 was the Queens Liberation Front, donating $50 (CSLDC Bulletin and Reports External, Cash Receipts Journal). . Martin Boyce:Oh, Miss New Orleans, she wouldn't be stopped. Todays post comes from Rachel Rosenfeld in the National Archives History Office. And the first gay power demonstration to my knowledge was against my story inThe Village Voiceon Wednesday. It was the law. Dick Leitsch:New York State Liquor Authority had a rule that one known homosexual at a licensed premise made the place disorderly, so nobody would set up a place where we could meet because they were afraid that the cops would come in to close it, and that's how the Mafia got into the gay bar business. There was all these drags queens and these crazy people and everybody was carrying on. It was as bad as any situation that I had met in during the army, had just as much to worry about. were wrongplain and simple.. x , 341 pp. Few photographs of the raid and the riots that followed exist. Since the Stonewall was without a license, the place was being closed. That this was normal stuff. 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. And I hadn't had enough sleep, so I was in a somewhat feverish state, and I thought, "We have to do something, we have to do something," and I thought, "We have to have a protest march of our own." One such well-known gathering place for young gay men, lesbians, and transgender people was the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, a dark, seedy, crowded bar, reportedly operating without a liquor license. Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn has undergone several transformations in the decades since it was the focal point of a three-day riot in 1969. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Many of those bars were, however, subject to regular police harassment. by David Carter, Associate Producer and Advisor Use evidence from at least three of the documents in your response. Here are my ID cards, you knew they were phonies. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:It was always hands up, what do you want? The Stonewall Riots served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement and led to the creation of various gay activist groups in the United States and around the world. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We had maybe six people and by this time there were several thousand outside. . 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 William Eskridge, Professor of Law:The federal government would fire you, school boards would fire you. Certainly it was rare at the time to learn more than the first name or nickhame of someone you met casually in a bar. It was not the first time police raided a gay bar, and it was not the first time LGBTQ+ people fought back, but the events that would unfold over the next six days would fundamentally change the discourse surrounding LGBTQ+ activism in the United States. 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. You know, we wanted to be part of the mainstream society. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They'd think I'm a cop even though I had a big Jew-fro haircut and a big handlebar mustache at the time. It was a nightly home for many runaways and homeless gay youths, who panhandled or shoplifted to afford the entry fee. Samual Murkofsky Doric Wilson:When I was very young, one of the terms for gay people was twilight people, meaning that we never came out until twilight, 'til it got dark. And there was tear gas on Saturday night, right in front of the Stonewall. And they were gay. Stonewall soon became a symbol of resistance to social and political discrimination that would inspire solidarity among homosexual groups for decades. Danny Garvin:Bam, bam and bash and then an opening and then whoa. E.R.C.H.O. One report cites three people Raymond Castro, Marilyn Fowler and Vincent DePaul as having acted together to shove and kick the officer. Ms. Fowler and Mr. DePaul had not been previously 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. 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. Martha Shelley:The riot could have been buried, it could have been a few days in the local newspaper and that was that. The concept behind the initial Pride march was formally proposed by lesbian activist Ellen Broidy (NYU Student Homophile League), who had written the proposaltogether with Craig Rodwell (Homophile Youth Movement). The first documented U.S. gay rights organization, The Society for Human Rights (SHR), was founded in 1924 by Henry Gerber, a German immigrant. The lasting impact of the Stonewall Riots. Sophie Cabott Black WebStonewall Riots 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. Yvonne Ritter:I had just turned 18 on June 27, 1969. I said, "I can go in with you?" There were occasions where you did see people get night-sticked, or disappear into a group of police and, you know, everybody knew that was not going to have a good end. Barack Obama designated the site of the Stonewall uprising a national monument. Stonewall Riot NYPD Reports and Transcriptions. Mr. Katz highlighted several ways in which the documents cast new light on the Stonewall uprising: In an interview, Mr. Carter said of the documents, Theres potential there for learning a lot more.. Then during lunch, Ralph showed him some pornographic pictures. We assembled on Christopher Street at 6th Avenue, to march. It was nonsense, it was nonsense, it was all the people there, that were reacting and opposing what was occurring. 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 From theWikimedia Commons. For LGBT periodicals, seeLGBT Life with Full Text(EBSCO),Archives of Sexuality and Gender(Gale), and theOutHistorywebsite. All I knew about was that I heard that there were people down in Times Square who were gay and that's where I went to. And I just didn't understand that. This time they said, "We're not going." The police had a history of raiding the nightclub and targeting its patrons because of their sexual orientation. Because that's what they were looking for, any excuse to try to bust the place. And a whole bunch of people who were in the paddy wagon ran out. And the people coming out weren't going along with it so easily. Prisoner (Archival):I realize that, but the thing is that for life I'll be wrecked by this record, see? (U.K.-based), GLAAD (formerly Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), PFLAG (formerly Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), and Queer Nation. And it was fantastic. Never, never, never. Occurring as it did in the context of the civil rights and feminist movements, the Stonewall riots became a galvanizing force. Because if you don't have extremes, you don't get any moderation. Saying I don't want to be this way, this is not the life I want. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! We didn't want to come on, you know, wearing fuzzy sweaters and lipstick, you know, and being freaks. We were winning. I made friends that first day. Corbis A set of police records gathered by OutHistory.org, a Web site run by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the City Omissions? Participants of the 1969 Greenwich Village uprising describe the effect that Stonewall had on their lives. WebView Valiyah Johnson - Stonewall Riot Questions.pdf from ACCT 40 at Georgia Virtual School. This produced an enormous amount of anger within the lesbian and gay community in New York City and in other parts of America. That's more an uprising than a riot. June 28, 2019 The Stonewall Inn is a sacred place for many in the LGBTQ community. Gay people were not powerful enough politically to prevent the clampdown and so you had a series of escalating skirmishes in 1969. Documents and Transcripts Listed by Time of Occurrence, from Earliest to Latest Document 1. Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. And, you know,The Village Voiceat that point started using the word "gay.". So it was a perfect storm for the police. Website support provided by Margaret Paz. And the police were showing up. It was terrifying. Sourcing: Who was Jerry Lisker? If anybody should find out I was gay and would tell my mother, who was in a wheelchair, it would have broken my heart and she would have thought she did something wrong. The broad-based radical activism of many gay men and lesbians in the 1970s eventually set into motion a new, nondiscriminatory trend in government policies and helped educate society regarding this significant minority. I mean you got a major incident going on down there and I didn't see any TV cameras at all. Stonewall Riots Document A: New York Daily News 1. These 1969 riots are largely credited with sparking the contemporary LGBTQ+ rights movement. Because its all right in the Village, but the minute we cross 14th street, if there's only ten of us, God knows what's going to happen to us.". That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. The music was great, cafes were good, you know, the coffee houses were good. According to all of these documents one of the main causes of these riots were sparked whenever they failed to pay off the cops. Maureen Jordan Thats why all our lessons and assessments are free.
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