Stonewall
by Jennifer Joliet,
September 2006
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The Stonewall riots (or Stonewall Rebellion, as it is often called) began on June 28, 1969, in Greenwich Village at a gay bar with the riots’ namesake, the Stonewall Inn. At approximately 1:20 a.m., police raided the bar, and a riot ensued. Details about how the riot started are not clear, however, violence quickly escalated inside the bar as people were dragged in from the street and beaten, and word spread to local patrons in the area. The crowd fought the police, and the attacks included people attempting to set the bar on fire and using a battering ram to try to force the police out of the bar. Throughout the evening, both the crowd and the police force grew, as the police signaled out many effeminate men and beat them. By the end of the first evening, the riots included 2000 civilians and 400 police officers; 13 arrests, 4 injured police offers, and innumerable injured civilians.
Though the police were able to calm the crowd down enough to disperse them the first evening, by the second evening, the crowd had returned. Skirmishes were fought until 4 a.m. The third night of rioting took place on Wednesday; five days after the first riot, when 1000 people congregated at the Stonewall Inn, again rioting and protesting treatment of the gay community.
The Stonewall Inn was thought to have been targeted for several reasons. The city was undergoing a mayoral campaign, and the main candidate, John Lindsay, wished to "clean up" the city’s bars. The Stonewall Inn operated without a liquor license, and was well known to cater to minorities. Not only gay men, but Black and Hispanic gay men. It is also known that the bar was a growing location for information on gay men who worked on Wall Street. The riot also coincided with the death, a week earlier, of Judy Garland, a popular cultural gay icon. The grief over her death may have incited many rioters to further violence.
The Stonewall Riots are generally thought of as the first major turning point for the gay rights movement, as it was the first time a significant number of gay citizens resisted arrest. By the end of July, the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), had formed in New York, and similar organizations were formed throughout the world. In commemoration of Stonewall, the following year the GLF held a march from Greenwich Village to Central Park. Between 5,000 to 10,000 people attended.
Many gay pride celebrations are now held in major cities on the last Sunday of June, to commemorate Stonewall.
References:
http://manhattan.about.com/od/glbtscene/a/stonewallriots.htm/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots/
http://www.nycnotkansas.com/GaySixties.htm/
Please do not copy or paste. Links to
this URL always welcome.
http://www.iron-rose.com/jennifer_joliet/docs/stonewall.htm Feel free to contact
jen.joliet @ sbcglobal.net
since
May 23, 2006