The Stonewall
Fifty years ago the history of the nation
changed forever. Change came in the most unlikely of places-a bar. Namely, the
Stonewall Inn.
I had never heard of the Stonewall Inn
until President Barack Obama referred to it in his second inauguration speech:
“We,
the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are
created equal — is the star that guides us still, just as it guided our
forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall, just as it guided all
those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great
Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone, to hear a King proclaim
that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul
on Earth."
https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/01/22/169984209/stonewall-explaining-obamas-historic-gay-rights-reference
Upon hearing the President’s words, I began
to research what the Stonewall was.
Near Christopher and Gay Streets in New
York City, The Stonewall Inn is a bar in Greenwich Village in New York City. More
than a place to hang out together, spend free time together, it was a lifeline
for those in the LGBTQ communities.
*
The world was completely different in the
early part of the 20th century. In 1969, in the United States, it
was illegal to be gay. Homosexuality was classified as a disease. Many young people
throughout the country who identified in the LGBTQ communities decided to leave
home in search of a more welcoming, accepting environment. As such, San
Francisco, California and New York City were the meccas in the country. In New
York, queer youth found themselves in the Greenwich Village part of the city.
“You
think there was anything on gay history, or gay people, or gay lives, or that
we existed without being in jail or in mental hospitals? That was it….You went
to the West Village because it was dark, and you knew that your parents - or
your friends, or your parents’ friends - weren’t going to drive by and see
you.”-Stanley Stellar
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographer-of-gay-new-york-recalls-early-days-of-pride_n_5d13a0f1e4b09ad014f9a7fb?utm_medium=facebook&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000050&utm_source=qv_fb&utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&fbclid=IwAR1tlXBjwdosZFnUqSReFTk92LLiVrVb7irb392crOEOAT1fnreUfzJ1rgk
While there was some freedom living in the
city within a queer community, there was near constant police harassment. There
was a practice that, if you were not wearing three articles of clothing that
matched your gender, the police could arrest you. There was also an archaic law
about masquerading in public, which the police used to arrest many drag queens
and transgender people:
“In
Brooklyn in 1913, for instance, a person who we would today call a transgender
man was arrested for ‘masquerading in men’s clothes,’ smoking and drinking in a
bar. When the magistrate noted that the state’s masquerade law was intended
only to criminalize costumed dress used as a cover for another crime, the
police were forced to let the man go. However, they promptly re-arrested him,
charged him with ‘associating with idle and vicious persons,’ and found a new
magistrate to try the case. When he was found guilty and sentenced to three
years in a reformatory, the judge made it clear that despite the new charge, he
was being punished for his dress. ‘No girl would dress in men’s clothing unless
she is twisted in her moral viewpoint,’ the magistrate proclaimed from the
bench, according to a September 3, 1913 article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”
Bars and restaurants like the Stonewall Inn
were respites from the street, places where the queer community could go and
not be harassed by the police. Yet, the queer community still faced
discrimination in the Stonewall. The bar was owned and operated by the mafia,
who served watered down drinks at an inflated price. The bar was subject to
frequent raids by police, as were many other queer establishments. The mafia
often paid the police a bribe, allowing them to be skipped or passed over in a
night of raids. Other times, the mafia willingly let the police.
On June 28, 1969, the night began like any
other. News broke that day that Judy Garland had passed away; many went to the
Stonewall to toast Judy and pay their respects. Others were just out and about,
enjoying a night out, popping in to the Stonewall for a drink or to be with
members of their communities. That night, police officers raided the Stonewall
Inn.
By all appearances, nothing was different
about that night. Yet something was different about that night, from both the
police and the people in the Stonewall. Mark Segal, one of the people there
that night, spoke about the police that night:
The fight continued outside the bar, as the
police began to load people into the paddy wagon:
“One
woman in handcuffs was hit over the head by an officer. She pleaded with the
crowd to ‘do something.’ They responded by throwing pennies and other objects
at the police. As the crowd reached hundreds, a full-blown riot ensued. Ten
police officers barricaded themselves inside the Stonewall. The crowd set fire
to the barricade. Crowd attempts to impede police arrests outside the Stonewall
Inn after the nightclub raid on June 28, 1969. The fire department and Tactical
Police Force were called in. They put out the flames, rescued the officers
inside Stonewall and dispersed the crowd—but that didn’t last long.”
The uprising at The Stonewall Inn lasted
for several days. The rebellion was not the first example of mass protest for
equal rights for the LGBTQ communities. Yet, from then on, a surge of activism occurred.
People spoke to their loved ones about the issues they were facing. More
closeted people came out. Many gay rights liberation groups were formed, some
by gay men, others by lesbian and women feminists.
The year after the uprising at the
Stonewall, New York City held the entitled the “Christopher Street Liberation
March”, a protest by gay liberation groups.
“The
march was 51 blocks long from west of Sixth Avenue at Waverly Place, in
Greenwich Village, all the way to Sheep’s Meadow in Central Park, where
activists held a ‘Gay-in.’ Borrowing a technique that had been popularized by
the Civil Rights Movement, the ‘Gay-in’ was both a protest and a celebration.
The front page of The New York Times ran with the headline, ‘Thousands of
Homosexuals Hold A Protest Rally in Central Park.’”
This first parade has evolved, fifty years
later, into what is now known as the Pride parade, a day of celebration and
validation for the LGBTQ communities.
*
While a great deal has changed in the
United States in the last fifty years, we have so much farther to go.
We still have several states in which it is
legal to fire someone, deny housing, deny credit, education, adoption rights, and
many other topics for anyone that identifies as LGBTQ. The Equality Act, which
has passed in the U.S. House, will resolve these discriminatory practices.
While people are self-identifying at an
early age these days-some being as young as two years of age-a recent report
showed that young people are less accepting of those in the LGBTQ communities:
“The
number of Americans 18 to 34 who are comfortable interacting with LGBTQ people
slipped from 53% in 2017 to 45% in 2018 – the only age group to show a decline,
according to the annual Accelerating Acceptance report. And that is down from
63% in 2016. Driving the dilution of acceptance are young women whose overall
comfort levels plunged from 64% in 2017 to 52% in 2018, says the survey
conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD.”
We also have a “President” and Vice
President of the United States who have a record of being against the LGBTQ
communities. There is a continual litany of hatred coming from the White House
concerning housing, bathroom privileges, employment, even military service.
“Though
President Donald Trump tweeted his solidarity with LGBT Americans as PRIDE
month began, his actions speak louder than words. His administration’s new
policy on transgender military service deals a cruel blow to transgender
service members who want to serve their country openly and proudly. The policy,
which took effect last month, forbids military service by anyone who “requires
gender transition” — forcing transgender troops to hide and deny who they are
or face discharge.”
While there is hatred emanating from the
White House, it has not been in a vacuum. Hate crimes have risen exponentially
since the current “President” was elected. In cities where the “President” has
had rallies, hate crimes have risen 226%.
A part of the hate towards the LGBTQ
communities, trans women of color are being murdered at an alarming rate. Last
year, 26 transgender people were murdered. So far, 2019 has seen eleven murders
of transgender people.
*
With all of these attacks on the LGBTQ
communities, there are milestones of celebration in recent years for the LGBTQ communities.
Marriage equality became law four years ago in the United States. Same sex
couples can legally marry and have all of the legal benefits therein.
The Stonewall Inn became a national monument
in 2016, enacted by President Barack Obama.
Popular culture has also become a place
where the LGBTQ communities have been put in the spotlight. Celebrities and
sports figures continue to come out, becoming a visible validation for many
under the LGBTQ rainbow. Shows on Broadway, cable and streaming television
feature gay, non-binary and trans actors, including:
Pose
Tales from the City
Queer Eye
Instinct
The Prom Musical
World Pride is this weekend in New York
City, the very place where Pride was born. While the current version of Pride
is a celebratory event, a time of empowerment and validation for the LGBTQ
communities and their allies, we cannot forget that the first Pride was a riot.
Recently, the New York Police Department
made headlines for apologizing for the raid on the Stonewall Inn that night:
“’The
actions taken by the N.Y.P.D. were wrong — plain and simple,’ the commissioner,
James P. O’Neill, said during an event at Police Headquarters….
‘I
think it would be irresponsible to go through World Pride month, not to speak
of the events at the Stonewall Inn in June of 1969….’”
This coming Sunday night, Pride month will
end. A month of celebration and validation will be thing of the past. While we
celebrate, we should remember and honor what happened at the Stonewall Inn
fifty years ago. It is a time to think about how far we’ve come, as a people,
as a nation, and the distance we have yet to travel on the path to equality.
If you identify as LGBTQ, have a wonderful Pride.
Laugh, love, breathe in the joy, let your freak flag fly.
If you’re an ally to anyone in the
communities, you are welcome to Pride.
As a straight woman who is also queer, I
recognize that many of the rights I enjoy would not be possible without the
fight for LGBTQ civil rights that began in earnest fifty years ago.
To those who were at the Stonewall, thank
you for fighting for your rights, for our rights. You changed the country and
changed the world.
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