In the early morning of June 28, 1969, no one realized that everything was about to change for the LGBTQIA+ community. It was a time when the FBI and local authorities kept lists of known homosexuals, their friends and their favorite hangs. A time when local police performed targeted “sweeps” to rid public spaces of gay people.
Three years prior, in 1966 San Francisco, drag queens, hustlers, and trans women sitting in a cafeteria were arrested simply for the way they looked. A riot unexpectedly broke out. Patrons hurled plates, saucers, and cups to smash the cafeteria’s windows. The angry crowd returned several days later for another go at it. A new era of gay activism had begun.
Police raids on gay bars were pretty routine in the 1960s. So it wasn’t surprising that in New York City, the Stonewall Inn was on police radar. Located in Lower Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, the notorious bar was owned by the Genovese crime family. As the city’s only gay bar that allowed dancing, it was “THE” place to go for gays, lesbians, drag queens, and young men wearing bright lipstick, heavy mascara, and teased hair.
The weeks leading up to June 28,1969, were marked by frequent raids in the area and resulted in the closing of two other nearby gay clubs. But because of the Genovese Family’s weekly police payoffs, the Stonewall Inn was always “tipped off” ahead of time.
Not so on June 28,1969. At 1:20 am, four plainclothes policemen and two uniformed officers stormed the bar shouting, “Police! We’re taking the place!” Confusion immediately ensued as an estimated two hundred people were roughly rounded up. By the time the first paddy wagon arrived, close to 1,000 onlookers had congregated outside. The police squad’s aggressive actions toward the arrested patrons further incited an already revved-up crowd.
Suddenly, protestors began bombarding the police with garbage cans, bottles, rocks, and bricks. The mob lit fires, stopped and overturned cars, and even chased the police down several blocks. By sunrise, the humiliated cops had arrested only thirteen people.
But it didn’t end there. The next day, more crowds returned to see the now burned and blackened Stonewall Inn. By nightfall, thousands of protestors blocked the bar’s front door, spilling out over several adjoining blocks. A second street battle broke out and lasted until 4 am.
EPILOGUE: The Stonewall Inn only operated for a short time after the riot. By October 1969, it was up for rent. Initially, the uprising received little media coverage. But within six months, activists launched a citywide newspaper called “Gay,” followed by two other publications: “Come Out!” and “Gay Power.” Readership for the three newspapers quickly soared to between 20,000 – 25,000. In the following year, several gay activist organizations also sprung up, spawning the very first gay pride marches.
It was the dawn of the LGBTQIA+ liberation movement.
Now through June 6, the Key West Art & Historical Society is exhibiting “The Stonewall Uprising — The Start of a Movement. This powerful installation examines the who, what, and where of those June nights and explores how the Stonewall riots catalyzed a bold movement advocating equal rights for LGBTQIA+ Americans. Open daily from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm at the Custom House Museum, 281 Front St. Info: 305-850-8343; kwahs.org.
