Durg the era of 1969’s Stonewall Rts, police raids agast LGBTQ tablishments were mon. But when Stonewall patrons fought back, the morn gay rights movement was lnched. On Stonewall’s 50th anniversary, Judy Woodff gets perspective om Reverend Emma Chatt, activist and journalist Gee Johnson, The Anti-Vlence Project’s Beverly Tillery and Mark Segal of Philalphia Gay News.
Contents:
HOW THE STONEWALL RTS CHANGED THE COURSE OF THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
The Stonewall rts explod New York's Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969, and served as the talyst for the morn gay rights movement. * how did the lgbtq rights movement change after stonewall *
Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar the Wt Village of Manhattan — and of the uprisg sparked.
While not the first monstratn ma by the LGBTQ muny agast police crackdowns, that seri of late night scuffl on June 28, 1969, on Christopher Street have e to be seen as the symbolic start of the gay-liberatn movement the Uned Stat. The group clud three dividuals who were eher volved directly wh the Stonewall uprisg or other early gay liberatn iativ, and four younger people who are workg to improve their rpective muni today.
Patrons of the Stonewall Inn were rigned to police raids on gay bars. But on June 28, 1969, they risted a rebelln that changed history. * how did the lgbtq rights movement change after stonewall *
Of the Stonewall generatn is thor and retired profsor Karla Jay, an early member of the Women’s Liberatn Movement and Gay Liberatn Front (GLF) who was prent at the send night of Stonewall; Ellen Broidy, another member of the GLF and the -founr of the first annual Gay Pri March 1970; and Mark Segal, a journalist and activist who was a GLF member, publisher of the Philalphia Gay News and currently an advote for affordable senr hog. New York's Stonewall rts of 1969 saw members of the LGBTQ muny clash wh police what's wily known as the talyst for the morn gay rights Stonewall rts put gay rights on the map — but when the first shot glass was thrown, nobody volved knew they were gog to alter the urse of history. It was one of the only plac for New York’s gay muny to socialize and tly be themselv.
The market, they knew, was there: at the time, New York Cy had the largt gay populatn the Uned Stat. So the mob beme the fancial backer of New York’s unrground gay scene, fundg the 181 Club, the Howdy Club, and The Stonewall Inn.
The crime fay’s volvement allowed the fledglg gay bars to sistep the biggt obstacle their path: law enforcement. The Stonewall Inn was a sanctuary for drag queens, who were not always weled even at other gay bars.
* how did the lgbtq rights movement change after stonewall *
Stormé DeLarverie, known as the Rosa Parks of the gay muny, brought tensns to a boilg pot.
New York’s gay muny uld ed do somethg — after all, the crowd vastly outnumbered the police. In realy, trans women of lor, butch lbians, drag queens, homels queer people, sex workers, gay, bi, and pansexual people were the rts’ heart and soul.
Johnson, Joseph Ratanski, and Sylvia Rivera the 1973 NYC Gay Pri Para photographed by Gary LeGlt.
NYC vlence now wily seen as spark of gay rights movement; panelists at memoratn see progrs years sce, but also "alarmg" backlash * how did the lgbtq rights movement change after stonewall *
The statistics for erasure of queer characters are particularly bleak: after analyzg seven years of film and 4, 610 speakg characters, there were only 19 gay characters reprented and zero transgenr characters. Nearly 85 percent of the gay characters appearg on the big screen were whe. When New York Cy police raid the popular gay bar the early hours of June 28, 1969, the crowd of patrons fought back, sparkg rts that ntued on and off over six days.
Though the gay rights movement predat 1969, the Stonewall Uprisg talyzed the morn LGBTQ rights movement. “We were out there public, ” says Martha Shelley, a foundg member of the Gay Liberatn Front, about the perd followg the uprisg. “We weren’t pleadg for acceptance, which is what the old gay groups had done...