The
June
1969
weekend
that
became
known
as
the
Stonewall
Riots
is
the
most
frequently
invoked
moment
in
gay
history,
and
it’s
just
as
frequently
misunderstood.
The
three
days
of
rioting
are
often
credited
with
sparking
the
modern
gay
rights
movement,
although
many
gay
people
are
unfamiliar
with
what
actually
triggered
the
rebellion,
or
why
the
gay
rights
movement
was
born
in
a
rather
shady
bar.
Some
people
believe
there
was
no
gay
activism
prior
to
Stonewall,
while
others
are
convinced
that
the
death
of
Judy
Garland
on
June
22,
1969,
got
the
New
York
queens
in
a
fighting
mood.
“No
eyewitness
account
of
the
riots
written
at
the
time
by
an
identifiable
gay
person
mentions
Judy
Garland,”
writes
historian
David
Carter
in
his
book
“Stonewall.”
“The
only
account
written
in
1969
that
suggests
that
Garland’s
death
contributed
to
the
riots
is
by
a
heterosexual
who
sarcastically
proposes
the
idea
to
ridicule
gay
people
and
the
riots.”
Additionally,
Carter
notes,
the
young
gay
instigators
of
the
Stonewall
Riots
were
not
from
the
conservative
generation
of
gay
men
who
were
enamored
with
Garland.
Indeed,
a
civil
rights
movement
that
is
derided
by
some
as
serving
only
wealthy
white
men
was
jump-started
by
homeless
gay
youth,
drag
queens
of
every
color,
and
an
unknown
butch
lesbian
who,
as
she
was
being
arrested
and
mistreated
by
New
York
City
police
officers,
screamed
to
the
gay
onlookers,
“Why
don’t
you
guys
do
something!”
THE
TIMES
Gay
life
prior
to
1969
was
marginalized
to
the
point
of
invisibility.
Underground
gay
subcultures
were
developing
in
places
like
New
York
and
California,
but
the
vast
majority
of
gay
and
lesbian
Americans
were
closeted
about
their
sexual
orientation.
Several
gay
rights
demonstrations
occurred
prior
to
the
Stonewall
Riots,
including
an
“Annual
Reminder”
march
that
took
place
outside
Philadelphia’s
Independence
Hall
beginning
in
1965,
a
picket
by
the
Mattachine
Society
at
the
White
House
the
same
year,
and
an
uprising
by
the
mostly
transgender
patrons
of
the
San
Francisco’s
Compton
Cafeteria
in
1966.
But
gay
activism
was
in
its
nascent
stages,
and
was
mostly
spearheaded
by
groups
like
the
Mattachine
Society
and
Daughters
of
Bilitis,
who
were
intent
on
showing
society
that
homosexuals
were
normal,
upstanding
citizens.
THE
STONEWALL
INN
Like
many
gay
bars
of
the
era,
the
Stonewall
Inn
was
a
Mafia-run
nightspot,
as
most
upstanding
businessmen
were
unwilling
to
cater
to
a
criminal
clientele.
Anti-sodomy
laws
and
the
influence
of
organized
crime
made
gay
bars
an
easy
target
for
police
officers,
who
regularly
raided
such
venues
in
order
to
extort
hush
money
from
owners,
or
arrest
and
embarrass
the
bar’s
patrons.
The
Stonewall
Inn
featured
a
rather
diverse
clientele,
including
black
and
Puerto
Rican
gay
patrons,
homeless
gay
youth
who
were
dubbed
“street
queens,”
Wall
Street
employees
and
drag
queens.
Carter
quotes
people
in
“Stonewall”
who
describe
the
club
as
the
“favorite
hangout
of
the
freest
of
gay
people
—
those
most
likely
to
be
labeled
‘fag’
and
‘drag
queen’
and
a
place
where
‘anyone
who
was
in
the
margins
of
gay
society
would
be
free
to
go
there,
because
they
were
totally
accepted.”
THE
RIOTS
During
the
early
hours
of
Saturday,
June
28,
1969,
New
York
City
police
were
engaged
in
one
of
their
routine
raids
of
the
Stonewall
Inn,
purportedly
targeting
its
owners.
But
as
the
belligerent
officers
were
harassing
gay
patrons
inside
and
demanding
that
transgender
patrons
be
“examined”
inside
bathrooms,
they
encountered
unprecedented
hostility
and
resistance
from
the
Stonewall
crowd.
Determined
to
show
force,
the
police
officers
responded
to
the
heckling
and
lack
of
cooperation
by
arresting
many
gay
patrons
in
addition
to
the
employees.
The
conflict
inside
the
bar
created
a
large
crowd
outside
the
Stonewall
Inn,
and
as
gay
people
and
drag
queens
were
forcibly
escorted
into
paddy
wagons,
those
being
arrested
continued
to
resist
and
the
crowd
grew
increasingly
contentious.
Police
increased
their
heavy-handed
tactics
as
the
resistance
continued,
until
the
raucous
crowd
began
throwing
change,
bottles
and
other
street
objects
at
the
officers.
With
violence
erupting
outside
the
Stonewall
Inn,
the
crowd
forced
officers
to
retreat
inside
the
gay
bar
for
safety,
then
blockaded
the
bar’s
door
and
set
it
on
fire.
Heavy
backup
arrived
for
both
the
police
officers
and
the
gay
rioters,
resulting
in
violent
clashes
throughout
the
night.
A
similar
showdown
took
place
the
following
night,
followed
by
several
milder
uprisings
outside
the
Stonewall
Inn.
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