Stonewall Riot Historical Analysis

Purpose: David Carter wrote “Stonewall” to function as a complete analyzation of the riots of 1969. He wanted to create a reliable source of education over the “what,when, where, why, how?” of Stonewall. To support this, Carter states in his prologue, “how these various strands [of homophobic events] eventually came together to create a turning point for the gay rights movement is the subject of this history”(2).

This investigation assesses the New York City Stonewall Riots of 1969, concerning their influence on the rise of the modern gay rights movement, specifically regarding political emergence, social unity, and demographic shifts. The investigation will attempt to answer the following question: To what extent were the Stonewall Riots of 1969 a catalyst for the LGBT social movement in America?

Despite the incessant raiding of gay bars by police in the 1960s, Stonewall Inn was the only place that subdued the officers. Since the Stonewall Inn was the major place for male prostitutes, representative of the transgender community, drag queens, and effeminate young men, they attracted a very huge crowd that provoke

For many decades, the New York Police Department (NYPD) has practiced overzealous patrolling techniques while on the job. In fact, the culture in the police force has become so aggressive, as a result adversely harms society, but more than often, victimizes people from underrepresented communities. Police brutality dates back to the 1960’s, (e.g. Harlem Riots, Tenderloin Riots, and Stonewall Riots) an era when the civil rights movement pioneered. During this period, social justice advocates came across treacherous obstacles, as many advocates were perceived as deviant for bringing awareness on social inequality. As a prospective research assistant, I would like to be able to identify the following question: Did the civil rights movement of 1964 create an aggressive and oppressive, as well as an institutional backlash in the NYPD among minority groups? The reason why I would like to analyze this potential question is because police brutality in present day society is such a rampant issue, therefore should be a topic to closely study.

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.

The riot began while the bystanders were throwing bottles at the police officers; by being surrounded by approximately 400 people the police officers had no choice but to barricade them within the bar while waiting for reinforcement. Even though there were other protests by gay groups, the Stonewall riots was the first time gays, lesbians, and transgender individuals saw the value of uniting behind a common cause, which invoked similar context to the civil rights and feminist movement.

In today's era, one of the most progressive civil rights movements is that of the LGBT+ community. For many decades, gays, transgenders, and other queers have been under fire for who they love and who they are. On June 28th, 1969, a group of queers subjected to police brutality took a chance to stand up for themselves. Thus starting one of the most widely revered LGBT+ movements: the Stone Wall Riots. This group of courageous men and women (and those in between) were pioneers in the United States gay rights activism, and can even be considered the spark to LGBT+ rights.

The next major event was the birth of the movement, The Stonewall Riots, which was the mother of all LGBT-themed associates and groups. There have been a large number of eyewitness accounts, articles and stories of how the riot began and ended, as well as what it immediately brought about. People began to start doing “radical” acts, one man decided to begin writing his college papers in terms of having a prominent gay

It was approximately three a.m. on the twenty-eighth of June, 1969 when outside the Stonewall Inn, a monumental riot began. On Christopher Street in New York City, a police raid had just taken place in the gay bar due to the selling of liquor without a license, and arrests were made to anyone without a minimum of three articles of gender appropriate clothing on in accordance to New York law. This was one of several police raids that occurred in a gay bar in such a small amount of time, and the LGBT community made their anger very clear that morning. The event that took place as a result of these raids known as the Stonewall Riots became the catalyst for the Gay Liberation Front, and the Gay Activist Alliance, as well as many new

Everyone knows what happened at Stonewall. The story has been glorified and romanticized throughout the decades since the original riot in 1969. The public perception of the Stonewall Riots is that this three day long episode was the beginning of modern LGBTQIA organization, or, as it is commercially referred to, LGBTQIA "pride". However, another police raid occurred four years earlier at California Hall in San Francisco, California. This narrative has been trivialized into local history, while the succeeding police raid has made it into national history. The religious groups and the homophile movements tell an extremely contrasting story of the LGBTQIA community and the chronicles of the police raids they faced from the common

The LGBTQ+ community had fought for rights throughout history so that they would be able to live “normal” lives. By the end of the 1960’s the Stonewall riots created a movement that inspired people of the

The Importance of the Stonewall Riots and Their Lasting Effects on the Gay Rights Movement

It was illegal to serve LGBTQ people alcohol or for LGBTQ people to dance with one another. During a typical raid, the lights were turned on, the customers were lined up and their identification was checked. Those without identification or dressed in full drag (men as women and women as men) were arrested. On an early morning in June 1969, police officers arrived at the Stonewall Inn. There were a couple hundred persons in the bar that night, but the raid did not go as planned. This time the patrons refused to cooperate. The police decided to take everyone who was at the club to the police station, but the patrol cars had not yet arrived, so the club goers were required to wait in line. Those who were not arrested were let go, but they did not leave disperse quickly as usual. Instead, they waited outside and a crowd began to grow and watch. Within minutes, about 150 people had gathered outside. By the time the first patrol car arrived the crowd had grown to at least ten times over. A fight broke out when a lesbian in handcuffs was forced to the police car and this was the final straw for the already tense crowd. Garbage cans, bottles, rocks, bricks, and other debris were hurled at the Inn, breaking the windows and damaging the building. The Tactical Police Force of the New York City Police Department finally arrived to calm and disperse the rioters and with the larger police force they then detained anyone they

We are human beings with rights. You will not treat us this way.” The harassment had to stop. Police officers arrived and beat the crowd away, but the next night, the crowd returned even larger than the night before. With numbers reaching over one thousand, the crowd of protesters rioted outside the Stonewall Inn for hours until the police sent a riot-control squad to disperse the populace. The uproar continued for six days. Finally, the police had quit and given up. A wave of emotions hit all throughout the gay community. Feelings of hope, freedom and inspiration had entered many people that day. They had won.

Until the last half of the 20th century, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals were victims of discrimination in American society and in statutory laws, which limited their basic rights. On the night of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village, and arrested three drag queens by using excessive force. Bar patrons and spectators, tired of police oppression, stood up and fought back. This was the first major protest based on equal rights for homosexuals. The Stonewall Riots became a turning point for the homosexual community in the United States sparking the beginning of the gay rights movement, and encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual, or "LGBT," to fight for their rights.