The events of that night have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement. Danny Garvin:Something snapped. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community Homo, homo was big. So I got into the subway, and on the car was somebody I recognized and he said, "I've never been so scared in my life," and I said, "Well, please let there be more than ten of us, just please let there be more than ten of us. That never happened before. Fifty years ago, a gay bar in New York City called The Stonewall Inn was raided by police, and what followed were days of rebellion where protesters and police clashed. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We only had about six people altogether from the police department knowing that you had a precinct right nearby that would send assistance. Lester Senior Housing Community, Jewish Community Housing Corporation Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:There were complaints from people who objected to the wrongful behavior of some gays who would have sex on the street. A person marching in a gay rights parade along New York's Fifth Avenue on July 7th, 1979. Because to be gay represented to me either very, super effeminate men or older men who hung out in the upper movie theatres on 42nd Street or in the subway T-rooms, who'd be masturbating. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community is a 1984 American documentary film about the LGBT community prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots. Fred Sargeant:Things started off small, but there was an energy that began to flow through the crowd. Doing things like that. You needed a license even to be a beautician and that could be either denied or taken away from you. Doric Wilson:In those days, the idea of walking in daylight, with a sign saying, "I'm a faggot," was horren--, nobody, nobody was ready to do that. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community is a 1984 American documentary film about the LGBT community prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots. Fred Sargeant:The effect of the Stonewall riot was to change the direction of the gay movement. Martin Boyce:The day after the first riot, when it was all over, and I remember sitting, sun was soon to come, and I was sitting on the stoop, and I was exhausted and I looked at that street, it was dark enough to allow the street lamps to pick up the glitter of all the broken glass, and all the debris, and all the different colored cloth, that was in different places. The Laramie Project Cast at The Calhoun School It was done in our little street talk. Queer was very big. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, activists rode their motorcycles during the city's 1989 gay-pride parade. John O'Brien:They had increased their raids in the trucks. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:Those of us that were the street kids we didn't think much about the past or the future. There was the Hippie movement, there was the Summer of Love, Martin Luther King, and all of these affected me terribly. They were just holding us almost like in a hostage situation where you don't know what's going to happen next. But it was a refuge, it was a temporary refuge from the street. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We didn't have the manpower, and the manpower for the other side was coming like it was a real war. Fred Sargeant:In the '60s, I met Craig Rodwell who was running the Oscar Wilde Bookshop. John O'Brien:I was very anti-police, had many years already of activism against the forces of law and order. Katrina Heilbroner And she was quite crazy. Transcript Aired June 9, 2020 Stonewall Uprising The Year That Changed America Film Description When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of. Scott Kardel, Project Administration hide caption. But we're going to pay dearly for this. We were winning. In 1969 it was common for police officers to rough up a gay bar and ask for payoffs. And Howard said, "Boy there's like a riot gonna happen here," and I said, "yeah." Mike Nuget Doric Wilson:That's what happened Stonewall night to a lot of people. Lauren Noyes. and someone would say, "Well, they're still fighting the police, let's go," and they went in. Virginia Apuzzo: I grew up with that. They can be anywhere. Fred Sargeant:We knew that they were serving drinks out of vats and buckets of water and believed that there had been some disease that had been passed. Mayor John Lindsay, like most mayors, wanted to get re-elected. Fred Sargeant:The tactical patrol force on the second night came in even larger numbers, and were much more brutal. In an effort to avoid being anachronistic . And all of a sudden, pandemonium broke loose. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:There were gay bars all over town, not just in Greenwich Village. Naturally, you get careless, you fall for it, and the next thing you know, you have silver bracelets on both arms. This was the first time I could actually sense, not only see them fearful, I could sense them fearful. ITN Source Stonewall Uprising Program Transcript Slate: In 1969, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois. 1969: The Stonewall Uprising - Library of Congress In 1924, the first gay rights organization is founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago. It was first released in 1984 with its American premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and its European premiere at the Berlinale, followed by a successful theatrical release in many countries and a national broadcast on PBS. Except for the few mob-owned bars that allowed some socializing, it was basically for verboten. In the trucks or around the trucks. In a spontaneous show of support and frustration, the citys gay community rioted for three nights in the streets, an event that is considered the birth of the modern Gay Rights Movement. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:It was a bottle club which meant that I guess you went to the door and you bought a membership or something for a buck and then you went in and then you could buy drinks. And the harder she fought, the more the cops were beating her up and the madder the crowd got. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:All throughout the 60s in New York City, the period when the New York World's Fair was attracting visitors from all over America and all over the world. American Airlines William Eskridge, Professor of Law:At the peak, as many as 500 people per year were arrested for the crime against nature, and between 3- and 5,000 people per year arrested for various solicitation or loitering crimes. Martin Boyce:In the early 60s, if you would go near Port Authority, there were tons of people coming in. Martin Boyce:All of a sudden, Miss New Orleans and all people around us started marching step by step and the police started moving back. They would not always just arrest, they would many times use clubs and beat. Cause we could feel a sense of love for each other that we couldn't show out on the street, because you couldn't show any affection out on the street. Suzanne Poli Raymond Castro Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:TheNew York TimesI guess printed a story, but it wasn't a major story. Just let's see if they can. by David Carter, Associate Producer and Advisor That night, the police ran from us, the lowliest of the low. In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city's LGBT community. 'Cause I really realized that I was being trained as a straight person, so I could really fool these people. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:And I keep listening and listening and listening, hoping I'm gonna hear sirens any minute and I was very freaked. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:All of a sudden, in the background I heard some police cars. Eventually something was bound to blow. There's a little door that slides open with this power-hungry nut behind that, you see this much of your eyes, and he sees that much of your face, and then he decides whether you're going to get in. TV Host (Archival):Ladies and gentlemen, the reason for using first names only forthese very, very charming contestants is that right now each one of them is breaking the law. Giles Kotcher A few of us would get dressed up in skirts and blouses and the guys would all have to wear suits and ties. And the Stonewall was part of that system. You know, all of a sudden, I had brothers and sisters, you know, which I didn't have before. We had no speakers planned for the rally in Central Park, where we had hoped to get to. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:Yes, entrapment did exist, particularly in the subway system, in the bathrooms. Your choice, you can come in with us or you can stay out here with the crowd and report your stuff from out here. I say, I cannot tell this without tearing up. Jerry Hoose:I remember I was in a paddy wagon one time on the way to jail, we were all locked up together on a chain in the paddy wagon and the paddy wagon stopped for a red light or something and one of the queens said "Oh, this is my stop." Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:It was getting worse and worse. Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution He brought in gay-positive materials and placed that in a setting that people could come to and feel comfortable in. Before Stonewall, the activists wanted to fit into society and not rock the boat. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community But after the uprising, polite requests for change turned into angry demands. I mean they were making some headway. Pamela Gaudiano William Eskridge, Professor of Law:The Stonewall riots came at a central point in history. Other images in this film are either recreations or drawn from events of the time. Over a short period of time, he will be unable to get sexually aroused to the pictures, and hopefully, he will be unable to get sexually aroused inside, in other settings as well. First you gotta get past the door. For the first time the next person stood up. It was nonsense, it was nonsense, it was all the people there, that were reacting and opposing what was occurring. Trevor, Post Production And, you know,The Village Voiceat that point started using the word "gay.". The cops were barricaded inside. John O'Brien:All of a sudden, the police faced something they had never seen before. Robin Haueter On June 28, 1969, New York City police raided a Greenwich Village gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, setting off a three-day riot that launched the modern American gay rights movement. TV Host (Archival):That's a very lovely dress too that you're wearing Simone. Jerry Hoose:The police would come by two or three times a night. A word that would be used in the 1960s for gay men and lesbians. And I raised my hand at one point and said, "Let's have a protest march." Fred Sargeant:The press did refer to it in very pejorative terms, as a night that the drag queens fought back. Danny Garvin:And the cops just charged them. Janice Flood Danny Garvin:We became a people. We assembled on Christopher Street at 6th Avenue, to march. Guest Post: What I Learned From Revisiting My 1984 Documentary "Before And the Village has a lot of people with children and they were offended. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:All of straight America, in terms of the middle class, was recoiling in horror from what was happening all around them at that time, in that summer and the summer before. But as we were going up 6th Avenue, it kept growing. Read a July 6, 1969excerpt fromTheNew York Daily News. Danny Garvin:People were screaming "pig," "copper." John O'Brien:Cops got hurt. And they were having a meeting at town hall and there were 400 guys who showed up, and I think a couple of women, talking about these riots, 'cause everybody was really energized and upset and angry about it. A Q-Ball Productions film for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Jimmy hadn't enjoyed himself so much in a long time. A year earlier, young gays, lesbians and transgender people clashed with police near a bar called The Stonewall Inn. But we went down to the trucks and there, people would have sex. This 1955 educational film warns of homosexuality, calling it "a sickness of the mind.". I told the person at the door, I said "I'm 18 tonight" and he said to me, "you little SOB," he said. I was a homosexual. Seymour Wishman kui But, that's when we knew, we were ourselves for the first time. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:And then the next night. John O'Brien:Our goal was to hurt those police. Martin Boyce Raymond Castro:You could hear screaming outside, a lot of noise from the protesters and it was a good sound. There was all these drags queens and these crazy people and everybody was carrying on. The mob was saying, you know, "Screw you, cops, you think you can come in a bust us up? Quentin Heilbroner We knew that this was a moment that we didn't want to let slip past, because it was something that we could use to bring more of the groups together. Chris Mara, Production Assistants The most infamous of those institutions was Atascadero, in California. I could never let that happen and never did. And a couple of 'em had pulled out their guns. So you couldn't have a license to practice law, you couldn't be a licensed doctor. We don't know. June 21, 2019 1:29 PM EDT. Dan Bodner And there was like this tension in the air and it just like built and built. If there had been a riot of that proportion in Harlem, my God, you know, there'd have been cameras everywhere. Meanwhile, there was crowds forming outside the Stonewall, wanting to know what was going on. Revealing and. He may appear normal, and it may be too late when you discover he is mentally ill. John O'Brien:I was a poor, young gay person. John O'Brien:Heterosexuals, legally, had lots of sexual outlets. They were getting more ferocious. National Archives and Records Administration Review: 'Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community' And so we had to create these spaces, mostly in the trucks. And I had become very radicalized in that time. Because if they weren't there fast, I was worried that there was something going on that I didn't know about and they weren't gonna come. John van Hoesen [1] To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 2019, the film was restored and re-released by First Run Features in June 2019. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:Ed Koch who was a democratic party leader in the Greenwich Village area, was a specific leader of the local forces seeking to clean up the streets. Hunted, hunted, sometimes we were hunted. Alexis Charizopolis They were the storm troopers. Mike Wallace (Archival):Dr. Charles Socarides is a New York psychoanalyst at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:The mob raised its hand and said "Oh, we'll volunteer," you know, "We'll set up some gay bars and serve over-priced, watered-down drinks to you guys." I mean it didn't stop after that. A sickness that was not visible like smallpox, but no less dangerous and contagious. The windows were always cloaked. And when you got a word, the word was homosexuality and you looked it up. The mayor of New York City, the police commissioner, were under pressure to clean up the streets of any kind of quote unquote "weirdness." The award winning film Before Stonewall pries open the closet door, setting free the dramatic story of the sometimes horrifying public and private existences experienced by gay and lesbian Americans since the 1920s. I was never seduced by an older person or anything like that. That was our world, that block. I grew up in a very Catholic household and the conflict of issues of redemption, of is it possible that if you are this thing called homosexual, is it possible to be redeemed? Tweet at us @throughlineNPR, send us an email, or leave us a voicemail at (872) 588-8805. It was tremendous freedom. Yvonne Ritter:It's like people who are, you know, black people who are used to being mistreated, and going to the back of the bus and I guess this was sort of our going to the back of the bus. Kanopy - Stream Classic Cinema, Indie Film and Top Documentaries Getting then in the car, rocking them back and forth. Prisoner (Archival):I realize that, but the thing is that for life I'll be wrecked by this record, see? They didn't know what they were walking into. The Mafia owned the jukeboxes, they owned the cigarette machines and most of the liquor was off a truck hijacking. One of the world's oldest and largest gay pride parades became a victory celebration after New York's historic decision to legalize same-sex marriage. John O'Brien:The election was in November of 1969 and this was the summer of 1969, this was June. He is not interested in, nor capable of a lasting relationship like that of a heterosexual marriage. Available via license: Content may be subject to . Jerry Hoose:The open gay people that hung out on the streets were basically the have-nothing-to-lose types, which I was. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:The moment you stepped out that door there would be hundreds facing you. Transcript A gay rights march in New York in favor of the 1968 Civil Rights Act being amended to include gay rights. Do you want them to lose all chance of a normal, happy, married life? Raymond Castro:So finally when they started taking me out, arm in arm up to the paddy wagon, I jumped up and I put one foot on one side, one foot on the other and I sprung back, knocking the two arresting officers, knocking them to the ground. BBC Worldwide Americas It was fun to see fags. Mike Wallace (Archival):Two out of three Americans look upon homosexuals with disgust, discomfort or fear. ABCNEWS VideoSource Barak Goodman More than a half-century after its release, " The Queen " serves as a powerful time capsule of queer life as it existed before the 1969 Stonewall uprising. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community They pushed everybody like to the back room and slowly asking for IDs. Danny Garvin:There was more anger and more fight the second night. Mike Wallace (Archival):The average homosexual, if there be such, is promiscuous. Danny Garvin:We had thought of women's rights, we had thought of black rights, all kinds of human rights, but we never thought of gay rights, and whenever we got kicked out of a bar before, we never came together. David Carter, Author ofStonewall:There was also vigilantism, people were using walkie-talkies to coordinate attacks on gay men. There was at least one gay bar that was run just as a hustler bar for straight gay married men. Jerry Hoose:I mean the riot squad was used to riots. As kids, we played King Kong. The homosexual, bitterly aware of his rejection, responds by going underground. Geoff Kole Joe DeCola And as awful as people might think that sounds, it's the way history has always worked. And we all relaxed. Gay people were told we didn't have any of that. And they were gay. America thought we were these homosexual monsters and we were so innocent, and oddly enough, we were so American. And the cops got that. David Huggins Slate:The Homosexual(1967), CBS Reports. Synopsis. It must have been terrifying for them. That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. Narrator (Archival):Richard Enman, president of the Mattachine Society of Florida, whose goal is to legalize homosexuality between consenting adults, was a reluctant participant in tonight's program. (158) 7.5 1 h 26 min 1985 13+. Then the cops come up and make use of what used to be called the bubble-gum machine, back then a cop car only had one light on the top that spun around. So I attempted suicide by cutting my wrists. Activists had been working for change long before Stonewall. I just thought you had to get through this, and I thought I could get through it, but you really had to be smart about it. All I knew about was that I heard that there were people down in Times Square who were gay and that's where I went to. National History Archive, LGBT Community Center There were gay bars in Midtown, there were gay bars uptown, there were certain kinds of gay bars on the Upper East Side, you know really, really, really buttoned-up straight gay bars. They'd go into the bathroom or any place that was private, that they could either feel them, or check them visually. John Scagliotti Genre: Documentary, History, Drama. I mean, I came out in Central Park and other places. The mirrors, all the bottles of liquor, the jukebox, the cigarette machines. And when she grabbed that everybody knew she couldn't do it alone so all the other queens, Congo Woman, queens like that started and they were hitting that door. And that's what it was, it was a war. But we had to follow up, we couldn't just let that be a blip that disappeared. And today we're talking about Stonewall, which were both pretty anxious about so anxious. Not even us. If you would like to read more on the topic, here's a list: Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and NPR One. First Run Features And some people came out, being very dramatic, throwing their arms up in a V, you know, the victory sign. Somehow being gay was the most terrible thing you could possibly be. Jerry Hoose:Gay people who had good jobs, who had everything in life to lose, were starting to join in. All the rules were off in the '60s. The music was great, cafes were good, you know, the coffee houses were good. Director . Raymond Castro:There were mesh garbage cans being lit up on fire and being thrown at the police. Charles Harris, Transcriptions And they started smashing their heads with clubs. These homosexuals glorify unnatural sex acts. It was narrated by author Rita Mae Brown, directed by Greta Schiller, co-directed by Robert Rosenberg, and co-produced by John Scagliotti and Rosenberg, and Schiller. The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle, Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States. TV Host (Archival):Are those your own eyelashes? The documentary shows how homosexual people enjoyed and shared with each other.
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