Joseph Platia
Mike Russo
Donald Hazlitt
Core 390 – NY Experience
June 15, 2013
“The first night was probably the most dramatic and the most meaningful to me, because that was the night I was directly involved. My lover and I were stunned and thrilled to see our own kind talking back, berating the cops, and throwing pennies. After seeing the gratuitous bloody beatings in front of us and being called names, we began throwing bricks and cobblestones at the bar, which suddenly became the symbol of our oppression.” (Smith, “Stonewall Riots of 1969”) Warren Allen Smith was an American gay rights activist, writer, and a passionate liberal. His voice would not be spoken of today along with many others if oppression were not readily fought for during the Stonewall Riots of 1969. The Stonewall Riots took place at the Stonewall Inn, the location in which the barbaric movement for equality began. Today, the Stonewall Riots still represent a national symbol for same-sex equality rights, but more importantly, it has had a historical impact of the life and culture of New York City.
The Stonewall Inn is located on Christopher Street, in Greenwich Village, which was formally known as a heterosexual nightclub before its drastic change into a gay bar in 1966. The Genovese family, who was from mafia decent, opened the bar in hopes to attract a great deal of homosexual males to the establishment. The gatherings at the bar were quite dangerous for many reasons within the late 1960’s. The building had no liquor license at the time and the cops would be paid off each month to keep the establishment running. The Inn had no running water, no fire exits, and a plumbing system that would fail on numerous occasions. Although the sanitary environment was poor at the Stonewall Inn, men would still pay the three-dollar entrance fee to be liberated from their oppressive outside lives and could finally meet with others and connect to people of their own kind. Police raids were often frequent at the Stonewall Inn, mostly due to the bars delinquency of obtaining a regulated liquor license, but, once inside, the cops would find the establishment guilty for selling alcohol to gays, and allowing gays to dance with one another, both in which were deemed illegal at the time. In 1969, a riot would take place at the Stonewall Inn that would spark a notion of change in people, and the liberation movement for gay rights would begin.
“At 1:20 in the morning of Saturday, June 28, 1969, eight police officers arrived at the Stonewall Inn. Approximately 200 people were in the bar that night. But the raid did not go as planned, this time the patrons refused to cooperate. Instead, they pushed outside and a crowd began to grow and watch. Within minutes, about 150 people had congregated outside.” (The Historic Stonewall Inn) The spark of the riot did not happen until an hour later after a lesbian was bashed over the head by a billy-club, by a police officer, after complaining that her handcuffs were to tight. This was the last straw from the already antagonized crowd.
The riot began and the police were now outnumbered by the 600 people who filled Christopher Street in show of support for the liberation, and to defy the “pigs” of New York City. About a dozen police officers barricaded themselves in the Stonewall Inn for their own protection. The crown began throwing bricks, bottles, garbage cans, and rocks into the windows, shattering the glass and relaying a message to the city and its people. Once the Tactical Police Force of the New York City Police Department arrived, the police men trapped within the Stonewall Inn were rescued and the crowd began to dwindle in numbers as anyone seen out-on the street were being thrown in wagons and being sent to jail. By 4:00 a.m., the riot was over. Thirteen people were arrested, four cops were injured, and the Stonewall Inn had been completely destroyed due to the colossal amount of damage it endured during the riot.
Over the next couple of days, a riot would form each night by the supportive civilians to stand up against the city’s cops in support of the equality liberation and to make noise on how the people felt about the movement itself. Two days after the first riot, over 1,000 people had come and gathered to riot on Christopher Street. More damage was done, fires were being started in garbage cans, and more civilians were arrested. As the riots came to a close, the homosexual gatherers would never look back and the liberation movement for gay rights had only just begun.
“The riots of Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher St, were a turning point in the struggle for gay civil rights.” (Blue Guide, 130) The Stonewall Riots of 1969 was the single most important event that had sparked the liberation movement for gay rights. New York City is, and always will be, the home for the liberation and home to the now historical Stonewall Inn. Without the Stonewall Riots, homosexuals would have taken much longer to make noise and upraise the situation at hand. Those who felt strong about the movement before the riots stayed quiet in fear that they would be ousted by society and face punishment by the local and state officials. It wasn’t until the riots, in which the gay community began to form. Six months after the first Stonewall Riot ensued, two gay activist groups were formed to push the gay right liberation movement, but also, to give a voice to the gays of New York City.
Decades later, the Stonewall Inn is commemorated for those nights and for the spark of the liberation in so many ways. As the fight for equality is still present in our community today, New York City is home to the largest populated gay area in the world all thanks to the push for acceptance and the strength in numbers, which started in the late 1960’s. Many people around the world stop by the Stonewall Inn each day to take a picture next to the historical landmark. Tears are filled in people’s eyes when they reflect on the riots, and how far we have come in just under 45 years. Young people each and every day decide to “come-out” of the closet, to represent who they are and embrace being gay as a beauty. This is only possible because of the Stonewall Inn and those brave individuals who stood up for what is right and who wanted their voice to be heard.
The Stonewall Inn will forever be engraved as a landmark to the City of New York and the development of its current culture today. People a hundred years from now will still talk about the 1969 riots and celebrate the evolving push for equality. Gay pride parades are held in the City streets of New York each year and throughout different areas of the country to celebrate what the Stonewall riots have done for its people and for the evolution of liberation for all homosexuals. Without the Stonewall Inn, Gay-American culture would not exist and not hold the presence it has in our society today.
Work Cited
Smith Naro, Warren A. "Stonewall 1969." Stonewall 1969. Smith, May 2006. Web. 11 June 2013. <http://wasm.us/stonewall.htm>.
"HISTORY." HISTORY. Stonewall Inn & Co., Mar. 2000. Web. 11 June 2013. <http://www.thestonewallinnnyc.com/StonewallInnNYC/HISTORY.html>.
Wright, Carol V. "Blue Guide New York (Fourth Edition) (Blue Guides) [Paperback]." Blue Guide New York (Fourth Edition) (Blue Guides): Carol V. Wright: 9781905131235: Amazon.com: Books. Somerset, n.d. Web. 11 June 2013. <http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Guide-Fourth-Edition-Guides/dp/1905131232>.
Mike Russo
Donald Hazlitt
Core 390 – NY Experience
June 15, 2013
“The first night was probably the most dramatic and the most meaningful to me, because that was the night I was directly involved. My lover and I were stunned and thrilled to see our own kind talking back, berating the cops, and throwing pennies. After seeing the gratuitous bloody beatings in front of us and being called names, we began throwing bricks and cobblestones at the bar, which suddenly became the symbol of our oppression.” (Smith, “Stonewall Riots of 1969”) Warren Allen Smith was an American gay rights activist, writer, and a passionate liberal. His voice would not be spoken of today along with many others if oppression were not readily fought for during the Stonewall Riots of 1969. The Stonewall Riots took place at the Stonewall Inn, the location in which the barbaric movement for equality began. Today, the Stonewall Riots still represent a national symbol for same-sex equality rights, but more importantly, it has had a historical impact of the life and culture of New York City.
The Stonewall Inn is located on Christopher Street, in Greenwich Village, which was formally known as a heterosexual nightclub before its drastic change into a gay bar in 1966. The Genovese family, who was from mafia decent, opened the bar in hopes to attract a great deal of homosexual males to the establishment. The gatherings at the bar were quite dangerous for many reasons within the late 1960’s. The building had no liquor license at the time and the cops would be paid off each month to keep the establishment running. The Inn had no running water, no fire exits, and a plumbing system that would fail on numerous occasions. Although the sanitary environment was poor at the Stonewall Inn, men would still pay the three-dollar entrance fee to be liberated from their oppressive outside lives and could finally meet with others and connect to people of their own kind. Police raids were often frequent at the Stonewall Inn, mostly due to the bars delinquency of obtaining a regulated liquor license, but, once inside, the cops would find the establishment guilty for selling alcohol to gays, and allowing gays to dance with one another, both in which were deemed illegal at the time. In 1969, a riot would take place at the Stonewall Inn that would spark a notion of change in people, and the liberation movement for gay rights would begin.
“At 1:20 in the morning of Saturday, June 28, 1969, eight police officers arrived at the Stonewall Inn. Approximately 200 people were in the bar that night. But the raid did not go as planned, this time the patrons refused to cooperate. Instead, they pushed outside and a crowd began to grow and watch. Within minutes, about 150 people had congregated outside.” (The Historic Stonewall Inn) The spark of the riot did not happen until an hour later after a lesbian was bashed over the head by a billy-club, by a police officer, after complaining that her handcuffs were to tight. This was the last straw from the already antagonized crowd.
The riot began and the police were now outnumbered by the 600 people who filled Christopher Street in show of support for the liberation, and to defy the “pigs” of New York City. About a dozen police officers barricaded themselves in the Stonewall Inn for their own protection. The crown began throwing bricks, bottles, garbage cans, and rocks into the windows, shattering the glass and relaying a message to the city and its people. Once the Tactical Police Force of the New York City Police Department arrived, the police men trapped within the Stonewall Inn were rescued and the crowd began to dwindle in numbers as anyone seen out-on the street were being thrown in wagons and being sent to jail. By 4:00 a.m., the riot was over. Thirteen people were arrested, four cops were injured, and the Stonewall Inn had been completely destroyed due to the colossal amount of damage it endured during the riot.
Over the next couple of days, a riot would form each night by the supportive civilians to stand up against the city’s cops in support of the equality liberation and to make noise on how the people felt about the movement itself. Two days after the first riot, over 1,000 people had come and gathered to riot on Christopher Street. More damage was done, fires were being started in garbage cans, and more civilians were arrested. As the riots came to a close, the homosexual gatherers would never look back and the liberation movement for gay rights had only just begun.
“The riots of Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher St, were a turning point in the struggle for gay civil rights.” (Blue Guide, 130) The Stonewall Riots of 1969 was the single most important event that had sparked the liberation movement for gay rights. New York City is, and always will be, the home for the liberation and home to the now historical Stonewall Inn. Without the Stonewall Riots, homosexuals would have taken much longer to make noise and upraise the situation at hand. Those who felt strong about the movement before the riots stayed quiet in fear that they would be ousted by society and face punishment by the local and state officials. It wasn’t until the riots, in which the gay community began to form. Six months after the first Stonewall Riot ensued, two gay activist groups were formed to push the gay right liberation movement, but also, to give a voice to the gays of New York City.
Decades later, the Stonewall Inn is commemorated for those nights and for the spark of the liberation in so many ways. As the fight for equality is still present in our community today, New York City is home to the largest populated gay area in the world all thanks to the push for acceptance and the strength in numbers, which started in the late 1960’s. Many people around the world stop by the Stonewall Inn each day to take a picture next to the historical landmark. Tears are filled in people’s eyes when they reflect on the riots, and how far we have come in just under 45 years. Young people each and every day decide to “come-out” of the closet, to represent who they are and embrace being gay as a beauty. This is only possible because of the Stonewall Inn and those brave individuals who stood up for what is right and who wanted their voice to be heard.
The Stonewall Inn will forever be engraved as a landmark to the City of New York and the development of its current culture today. People a hundred years from now will still talk about the 1969 riots and celebrate the evolving push for equality. Gay pride parades are held in the City streets of New York each year and throughout different areas of the country to celebrate what the Stonewall riots have done for its people and for the evolution of liberation for all homosexuals. Without the Stonewall Inn, Gay-American culture would not exist and not hold the presence it has in our society today.
Work Cited
Smith Naro, Warren A. "Stonewall 1969." Stonewall 1969. Smith, May 2006. Web. 11 June 2013. <http://wasm.us/stonewall.htm>.
"HISTORY." HISTORY. Stonewall Inn & Co., Mar. 2000. Web. 11 June 2013. <http://www.thestonewallinnnyc.com/StonewallInnNYC/HISTORY.html>.
Wright, Carol V. "Blue Guide New York (Fourth Edition) (Blue Guides) [Paperback]." Blue Guide New York (Fourth Edition) (Blue Guides): Carol V. Wright: 9781905131235: Amazon.com: Books. Somerset, n.d. Web. 11 June 2013. <http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Guide-Fourth-Edition-Guides/dp/1905131232>.