History of the Stonewall Riots

In the 1960s solicitation of same-sex relations was illegal in New York City, and so even bars known to serve LGBTQ+ individuals were often penalized or shut down, any gathering of homosexuals being deemed “disorderly”. While in the mid 1960’s these LGBTQ+ bars were permitted to serve alcohol, engaging in any same-sex hand holding, kissing, or dancing was illegal in public, so the police would regularly harass and raid these establishments. Many also chose to operate without licenses for this reason as well.

One of these bars, operated by the Mafia (seeing an opportunity to profit by catering to gay clientele) was the Stonewall Inn. The Stonewall Inn was run as a “private bottle bar” where patrons in theory brought their own liquor to consume. The family running the bar bribed police to ignore the various activities that occurred within the club. (Including that it was not in fact a “private bottle bar.”)

This lack of police intervention however meant the club also lacked a fire exit, had no running water behind the bar to wash glasses, lacked clean and maintained restroom facilities, and offered drinks that were heavily watered down. Not to mention, seeing the chance to profit, the Mafia would reportedly blackmail wealthier patrons who wished to keep their sexuality a secret.

Even with all these problems, the Stonewall Inn still attracted many LGBTQ+ people, it was a large establishment, inexpensive to enter, they allowed dancing and it was welcoming to drag queens who were not as well received at other establishments catering to LGBTQ+ clientele. It even became a sort of home for runaway and homeless gay youth.

While raids were still a reality, the Stonewall Inn being run by a Mafia family with some corrupt cops on their side would typically be tipped off before any such raid on the establishment and so could hide away anything that would be incriminating. But there was no such tip before the raid on the morning of June 28, 1969.

With a warrant in hand police officers entered the club, arrested 13 people including those violating the state’s “gender appropriate clothing statute”, roughed up patrons, and of course discovered bootlegged alcohol. But on this particular morning, you may say that the frustration and anger of the community fed up with constant police harassment, boiled over. Patrons and those who lived near the Stonewall Inn, hung around outside rather than dispersing, growing more and more agitated and upset seeing the events unfold. At one point an officer hit a lesbian over the head while forcing her into the police vehicle, she shouted out to onlookers, calling on them to act. So the crowd began to throw whatever they could at officers, bottles, stones, pennies, and within minutes what we now know as the Stonewall Riot had begun. Over the course of the following five days the protests intensified and continued, galvanizing the community.

Although the gay rights movement had started long before, this one event became a catalyst that propelled it forward. One year after the initial Stonewall Riot, thousands of people marched in the streets of Manhattan starting at the Stonewall Inn and down to Central Park, a march which became America’s first “gay pride parade.”

So, while for many today pride parades are a celebration, they are also a protest to the unfair treatment of LGBTQ+ people, linking back to a police riot on an LGBTQ+ club, and a community that was ultimately fed up.

Source:
https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots#the-stonewall-inn