Stonewall: The Most Influential Event In The Gay Rights Movement?

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?

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.

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by people who were apart of the LGBT community against the police raid that happened on the morning of July 28,1969, at the Stonewall Inn, located in Manhattan, New York City. It’s believed that Sylvia Rivera, a trans woman, was the first one who rightfully threw the first brick. These events are widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the LGBT liberation movement and the current fight for LGBT rights in America.

Members of the gay community were heavily discriminated against because of their sexuality and because heterosexual people had no tolerance for them and their “lifestyle”. When the actual raid on the Stonewall Inn occurred some patrons at the bar became hostile and resisted the police. The police in turn became violent and began to threaten and even hurt some of the people in the bar that refused to show identification or have their gender checked. Both the members of the gay community and the New York police that came to raid Stonewall are to blame for the riots that broke out. The gay patrons of the bar had a right to fight against hate and discrimination, but the police could only fight back because the riots were violent towards them. In the end, the members of the gay community had more of a reason to riot than the police had to injure and arrest them during the riots.

“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;

There are certainly various points in history that can be construed as trailblazing for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. One event in particular, however, sparked awareness and a call to action that previously could never have been conceptualized in the United States. This unforgettable incident, the Stonewall riots of 1969, altered the public’s view of the gay community and arguably jumpstarted the next revolution in an entirely new civil rights movement.

During the mid 1900’s, New York City’s queer citizens were discriminated against and faced an anti-gay system. The Stonewall Uprisings were a set of raids and riots in the 1960’s that took place for six days involving thousands of people in Greenwich Village. They were the result of hundreds of years of discrimination and violence against gay and transgender people in America as well as the influence of new thinkers like the writers of the “Beat Generation” who were trying to express their individuality and unconventional thinking. Because of this movement, gay liberation and the fight for modern LGBT rights in the United States changed. Activist groups formed and were inspired to find safe places for them to express their sexual orientation

My book’s topic was the Stonewall riots in New York. The Stonewall riots were a series of impulsive, violent protests by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. They are widely considered to have established the single most significant event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for gay rights in the United States.

The 1960s and early 1970s was a period of social movements for women’s rights, African American, and gay rights. The civil rights era brought significant change of the United States through society’s defiance against government laws and injustice. The period was full of protests, riots, and parades led by civil rights leaders for black, women's, and gay rights. The social inequality of the United States brought a need for change in society and the civil rights activists of the 60s made the change happen. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his I Have a Dream speech as an activist fighting against African American segregation. Betty Friedan brought a shift in society’s views on women’s roles in society with her book, Feminist Mystique. These civil rights activists were a major part of bringing attention towards the continuous issue of inequality towards minorities in America. The civil rights movements that arose in the 1960s brought progression in societal changes in America with issues of racism, sexism, and discrimination. The era was about bringing change to the United States government and developing new societal views towards people of minorities. The Stonewall Riots fit into this large social movement with the resistance and passionate spirit of the gay community for equality and acceptance in society. The riots took place on the six nights of June 28 to July 1 in 1969 when police forces raided the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York. The first night of the raid was a great turning point to the future of the gay population. During the late 1960’s a conflict between police authorities and the LGBT community in New York brought awareness to the discrimination of the gay community and boosted gay rights movements bringing progress towards equality for LGBT people, however a full compromise was not reached as homophobic views remained in America’s society.

Although marriage has a long history it has become a major facet in the social life of the nation.50 years ago almost every state criminalized homosexual activity. The federal government would not hire people who were openly gay. Many openly gay men couldn’t even be permitted in the military. Despite the fact that there were little to none gay originations in the early 1970s a burst of gay activism unleashed the stonewall riots in Greenwich Village. (Davies)” The Stonewall riots were inspired LGBT people throughout the country to organize in support of

One of the minority groups that came into prominence during this tumultuous time were homophile activists who advocated for an assimilation of gays into society, and relied mostly on pacifist tactics. It wasn’t until the summer of 1969, in a Greenwich Village tavern, where a series of protests served as a catalyst to inspire gays to join together in the fight against inequality through more radical means; thus setting into motion the beginnings of modern American LGBT rights activism and Gay Pride.

Forty-six years after the Stonewall riot homosexuals finally have the right to marry the person they love. The most interesting person in this article is President Obama bringing up Stonewall in his Inaugural address. In that address he brought up times in history that Americans stood up for basic human rights. He mentioned Seneca Falls, Selma and Stonewall, all huge events in history we have studied about this year. He stated that, “if we are truly created equal then surly the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.” (Franke-Ruta) Each and every boy and girl that stood protesting in the riot those six days are now able to marry whom they love. It’s these events in history that have prompted others like Obama to stand up for basic rights and to make the changes needed to push our society towards freedom and

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. Such raids were not unusual in the late 1960s, an era when homosexual sex was illegal in every state but Illinois. That night, however, the street erupted into violent protests and demonstrations that lasted for the next six days. This was the background of Stonewall Uprising, a documentary telling the story of the massive police raid and the riots of Stonewall in June 1969. The Stonewall riots, as they came to be known, marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States and around the world. (Kanopy) From that moment, homosexual people started to realize that they should fight for their natural rights, spare no effort to achieve American spirit by pursuing equality and freedom and even help push the process of legalizing homosexuality.

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.

Unlike race, gender, age, ethnicity or religion, sexual orientation is not a protected characteristic under current federal civil rights law. But following the 1969 Stonewall riots of gays in Greenwich Village, a key goal of the gay and lesbian political movement has been to win civil rights protection against discrimination in employment, housing, and elsewhere. Too often, gay men and lesbians face hostility, discrimination -- and sometimes deadly violence -- solely because of their sexual orientation.