Civil Rights In The 1950's

“This was the Rosa Parks moment, the time that gay people stood up and said no. And once that happened, the whole house of cards that was the system of oppression of gay people started to crumble”. (The Stonewall Uprising) Homosexuals were tired of being made fun of and discriminated for their way of life. “Something snapped. It's like, this is not right”. (The Stonewall Uprising) People were sick of the treatment, the weird looks, the removal of work, the feeling of someone refusing to be next to them, and the constant advice to change or they will end up ruining their lives. So, on June 28th, 1969, around 11:00 at night, in Greenwich Village, New York City, gay people decided to do something. The decided to say no, we aren’t doing this;

If I were to ask you what was the Stonewall riots and when did they take place, could you tell me? Well, no need because that is the exact reason why I’m writing this paper. In order to better inform you, my peers of what happened, where they took place, and why they are so important to American history. The 1960’s were not a welcoming time for those who fell into the LGBT community, ally or not. So those in the community who were affected came together and turned Inns into a place of refuge. Therefore, the Stonewall Riots were an important event in American History because it brought to the attention of the people; social injustices, police corruption, and sparked a social movement for peace and rights for all.

Even though the Stonewall Riots happened 49 years ago, the boom of influence it made is still ringing in the ears of humanity today. 49 years prior, the victims of discrimination were asking for change, and today, activists for the LGBTQ+ community are still asking for change, but in a new and more inclusive

The conflict was between the police of New York City and Gay Right actives outside of the Stonewall Inn, a bar were the gay rights movement was born. In 1969, homosexual relationships was illegal in New York City. The gay bars were where gay men and lesbians could socialize in safe place away from the public harassment, but many of those bars were subject to regular police harassment. A gathering location for many young gay men, lesbians, and transgender individual was Stonewall Inn, in Greenwich Village, which was an establishment which would run without a liquor

The 1960’s was a decade of great change in America, from civil rights for African Americans to equal rights for women, the American people were rising up and discovering that their voice in the political discourse was just as important as those they elected to office. One other such group that awakened and challenged the existing status quo that kept them silent and scared were the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities across the country. From the first large-scale associations of LGBT individuals that formed in San Francisco in the 1950’s to the political and social groups that came to be following the Stonewall Riots of 1969, they would speak out and not allow themselves to be kept down anymore. The aim of this paper is to establish the events and opinions that led up to the uprising at the Stonewall Inn such as perceived and real discrimination by police, medical professionals, and society itself, what actually happened at Stonewall, and how they sparked the modern LGBT movement in the United States over the next half century to the present day.

In 1894, the US Supreme Court gave legal consent to state laws segregating black people and white people with its decision concerning the Plessey v Ferguson case. The decision stated that black and white should be separate but equal, meaning the same standard of facilities for both. In reality it legally enforced a state of affairs that assured that blacks would never be equal, and couldn’t get equal treatment, status or opportunity in their own country. During the Second World War, the black American Gi’s realised that they were fighting for a democracy abroad, which they did not have at home.

The Stonewall Inn was a bar located New York that catered to the LGBT population, regular patrons included gay men, drag queens, and transgender women; all from various ethnic backgrounds. As a visible hub for the queer community, the Stonewall Inn was frequently raided by police due to the political climate and negative attitudes towards homosexuality. On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn was raided and rather than accept the harassment by police, a group of customers took a stand and a riot broke out. This riot led to other demonstrations and protests by LGBT groups demanding civil rights. The Stonewall riots are considered the catalyst of the gay liberation movement and annual pride marches take place around the world to commemorate the

The American South in the 1960 's and Ancient Thebes both had a rigid social and legal system that did not effectively and legitimately represent the majority of its citizens. In both eras, an antihero rose up to defy the establish system. Dr. King, in the 1960 's, protested unjust laws and was jailed and viewed as an antagonist. Similarly, in Ancient Thebes, Antigone is sentenced to death for doing what she believes is right, regardless of the law. If Dr. King failed, he stood to lose, in addition to his life, his reputation as someone who wanted true change for all African Americans. Furthermore, future generations of colored people would have to endure the same injustice that he was protesting against. Also, if his nonviolent ways failed there were people ready to take the civil rights movement in a violent direction. If Antigone 's defiance had failed, her brother will never find peace in the afterlife, and Thebes will never find unity and solace after its civil war. Additionally, she too could lose her life for her outward defiance. Therefore, both Dr. King 's nonviolent resistance, along with writing his letter from Birmingham Jail, and Antigone 's violation of Kreon 's edict are justified by what they stood to lose if they did not take their respective actions.

I found it extremely interesting that most of the individuals that fought for black rights in the 50's were veterans who thought coming back from the war they would find less discrimination back home but that was not the case. Many soldiers that they had taken a step back coming home from the war and being segregated again after the autonomy they had during the war. Groups assembled in order to readdress and fight against the Jim Crow laws you talked about that reinforced discrimination. The South pressed for the right to vote while the North focused on equality of opportunity. Equality of opportunity meant eliminating discrimination in the job market, institution, and housing for example in order for them to prosper.The right to vote for

The Stonewall Riots highlighted a key issue in the late 1960s American society. Homosexuality was often seen as an illness and a sin to most people. For example, in April 1952 homosexuality was deemed a sociopathic mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association (CNN). This idea was heightened in American society because it was being taught that being gay was one of the worst things an American can be; showing videos such as “Boys Beware”. This all changed after the conflict at the Stonewall Inn; located in New York on Christopher Street. The Stonewall Inn was the place where gays and lesbians would flock to, to feel accepted for once in their lives as many of them ran away or were disowned by their own families. Even though Stonewall was a place of freedom, it was also a place for fear as the police would constantly raid the bar to make sure that alcohol was not being served to gays, as the New York State Liquor Authority deemed it illegal to serve homosexuals. Lasting only three days, the riots were able to help start the transformation of American society to become what it is today. The lack of a formal compromise between the nation and the LGBT community was an advantage for the effects of Stonewall to spread as the conflict was able to bring a wave of acceptance and pushed many of history's gay role models to feel inspired to stand up.

At dawn on June 28, 1969 police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village, New York. The raids were common in that decade, in which homosexuality was illegal in every state except Illinois. That night, however, violent demonstrations and street protests that lasted for most of the week broke. The Stonewall riots, as they became known, marked a before and after in the movements for gay civil rights in the United States and the world.

Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, the Stonewall Inn attracted runaways and drag queens, most of whom were African American or Hispanic. The bar didn’t have a liquor license and was rumored to be tied to

Black Americans were discriminated against on a daily basis creating all sorts of difficulties in life, so the Civil Rights movements in the 1950s sparked optimism in many Black Americans.

Today, we stand at a precipice threatening a definitive split between Blacks and Jews, and Jews of Color and Jews. The recent platform of Black Lives Matters denounces Israel as an apartheid state. A respect for the history of Black political thought demands we not forget Israel and Jews (of all races) remain a vulnerable minority.

At this point in history, any place that could produce a profit, but no one was willing to open up was run by the Mafia. The Mafia ran nearly every gay bar in New York and they sure made a nice profit off of them too, but the bars weren’t all that nice. Stonewall was located in Greenwich village, a city that could be compared to the bad parts of Milwaukee. The bar itself was described as “a two story structure with a sand painted brick and opaque glass facade,...a mecca for the homosecular element in the village who wanted nothing but a private little place where they could congregate, drink, and do whatever little girls do when they get together” in The New York Daily News. They served watered down drinks and washed their glasses in a tub since there were no proper sinks, but that didn’t matter to them; they had a place to be who they were, and that’s all they wanted. However, other people wanted different things.