The Stonewall Riots

[bcohen7719]

A brief recap...

 

BC

 

[video=youtube;cfUzcIEhEWE]

[+ beethoven]

Amen! Whether it's Gettysburg, Bunker Hill, or Iwo Jima, we should always remember what others have sacrificed for us. As President Obama said in his Inaugural Address, "Seneca Falls, Selma, and Stonewall....."

[+ azdr0710]

thanks, BC.....44 years ago day before yesterday

 

for those interested, here's the PBS "American Experience" page on this...including a link to the entire documentary....well-done production

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/stonewall/

[bigvalboy]

Thank You BC....once again a brilliant video that all of us need to watch, so that we are reminded of those in our community that stood up and said "Enough!!". I am feeling very grateful this Sunday morning to those patrons of Stonewall that started all of this, and for those that have been fighting for decades to right so many wrongs....

 

I was reminded recently about some friends who went to City Hall in San Fran back in the 70's to be married, and city officials threatened to call the police on them. We have come so far, but much work still needs to be done.

[foxy]

Should be required viewing for everyone, gay and straight.

[seeker630]

Thanks for sharing.

 

I did find it a bit jarring/distracting when they said (at about 2:10) that Stonewall was owned by the Mafia and they showed what appears to be a snapshot of AL Pacino from The Godfather altered to appear 'authentic'. Or is that legitimate photo of a real-life mobster who happened to resemble Pacino?

[Jscott]

Amen... I'm reading a terrific history entitled "Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution" by David Carter. Not quite as well-written as Gay New York or Martin Duberman's works, but essential and literate reportage.

[+ purplekow]

I watched the film and had an unusual occurence. In the crowd at one of the demonstrations, I saw one of my good friends from high school protesting. I graduated in 1969 and after that summer I rarely saw this friend. Sometime in the late 1980s I looked him up and we had a few meals together. He came out to me on our first encounter. After those meals, life took us in different directions and i did not contact him for several years and i did not hear from him. As i later discovered, he had died of AIDS about 4 months after our last dinner together.

 

He never mentioned being ill and he never mentioned being a Stonewall protester.

 

While progress is being made, equality will only come to the LGBT community when each of us end our silence.

[Jscott]

Thanks for sharing.

 

I did find it a bit jarring/distracting when they said (at about 2:10) that Stonewall was owned by the Mafia and they showed what appears to be a snapshot of AL Pacino from The Godfather altered to appear 'authentic'. Or is that legitimate photo of a real-life mobster who happened to resemble Pacino?

 

I think that may have been a random photo of Bugsy Siegel, who wasn't involved with gay bars in NYC or Vegas, as far as I know. Certainly resembles him (he was a looker, much handsomer than Pacino IMHO)

[trilingual]

When I first moved to New York in 1967 I lived on Greenwich Avenue, virtually around the corner from the Stonewall. I remember when it opened -- at the time it was the talk of the town (or at least the neighborhood) because you could actually DANCE there. This was at the tail end of the years of terror in New York, when the police and the ABC made sure gay places were closed almost as soon as they opened, and while they WERE open you couldn't touch, you couldn't kiss, you couldn't dance, nada, without fear of being busted. (Completely unlike my hometown of Kansas City, which I thought was too provincial for words until I saw what was happening in New York. None of those activities were illegal or unusual in K.C.) Anyway, the Stonewall was pretty much a dump, but you could dance and it was close so I was there often. Everyone knew it was run by the mob, as were virtually all of N.Y.'s gay bars in those days. After a while we all assumed it must belong to some really big, well-connected mafioso because it didn't close after three months and, in fact, it just seemed to keep going and going, which was unheard of in N.Y. in those days! Eventually I moved up to Morningside Heights to be closer to school, but I drove a cab at night to make some money. I often would take a break down at my former apartment in the Village and visit with my ex-roommates. Somehow I missed the actual riot, but the following night I stopped in at my old place and my friends (who knew I was gay) asked if I'd heard about the riot the night before? I hadn't -- if it was reported in the Times it must have been buried somewhere I didn't see the story, and there was no mention that I recall on the TV news. The talk on the street, though, was that there would be a bigger and better riot that night (it was Saturday, as I recall) so we went down Christopher Street to see what was happening. It was still somewhat early in the evening and merchants were boarding up their windows while a lot of police seemed to be milling around somewhat aimlessly. Nothing seemed to be happening, though, so we took off and I went back to driving my hack. I cruised back through the neighborhood several times later in the evening to see if anything had changed, but if there were any demonstrations that night they must have been small and brief. Not so strange, actually, because in those days most mainstream gays wouldn't risk getting caught in a gay riot! If there hadn't been a bunch of drag queens at Stonewall the night before not very much would have happened, most likely, when the cops raided it. The "straight-acting" gays would probably have just hidden their faces and let themselves get taken away by the police while other cops shut the place down.

 

Still, all this happened around the corner from where I lived, in a bar I often frequented, and, but for the grace of God, I could have been there that Friday night when the raid happened and the riot broke out! Now I realize that I've seen (and been part of) much of the trajectory of the LGBT rights movement, from the first gay rights parades to the marches in Washington, the fight against the Briggs Initiative in California, the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic, and all the rest! It's been an interesting experience, to say the least! And I have to admit that until very recently I didn't really believe that we'd see marriage in our lifetimes. Naturally, I'm overjoyed that I did live to see it happen and to get married myself! MLK Jr. was right: the arc of history is long, but it DOES bend toward justice. I've lived to see it happen!

[+ Cash4Trash]

I happened to be walking down Christopher Street with a friend heading to another bar and found myself in the middle of the riots. I was there for the paddy wagon incident and for the drag queens doing chorus kicks at the cops.

It was a fight against all the years of oppression and a joyous celebration. Finally we were fighting back. I did return for the other 2 nights of protests. Read the history - there are true heroes like Craig Rodwell and Sylvia Rivera, these,

among many others galvanized the community and orchestrated the movement.

 

I also participated in the first gay pride parade here in New York. Figured since my family knew and my work in theater would not be affected I had nothing to lose, I should be the one to get my ass into the street. Didn't lead or organize anything

but did lend my body to the cause. Because of my activism I do expect all politically minded escorts to give me a 10% discount.

[+ Charlie]

My partner and I also lived within walking distance of the Stonewall at the time, but for some reason we went to bed early that night, and didn't learn what had happened till the next morning. Although I had been actively involved in the gay rights movement for several years before that, I missed the first battle of the revolution, because it didn't take place where I expected, and it took me several days to realize this was not an isolated skirmish but the beginning of the real war. The SCOTUS decisions this week are a great way to celebrate the anniversary, but the armistice has not been signed yet, so we have to keep fighting.

[+ FreshFluff]

The American Experience documentary posted by Azdr is especially interesting. It contains some interesting clips from the 1967 Mike Wallace documentary, The Homosexuals. Probably the most interesting is an interview with a guy named Inman, who was president of the Mattachine society of Florida, who was advocating for the repeal of laws against homosexual acts. It starts at 44:44, but here's a transcript of the key part.

 

Mike Wallace:What kind of laws are you after?

 

Inman: Well, let me say first of all what kind of laws we are NOT after. Because there's been much to-do that the Society's in favor of [inman smiles] the legalization of marriage between homosexuals and the adoption of children and such, and that is not factual at all. Homosexuals do not want that. You might some fringe character someplace that says that's what he wants..

 

Mike Wallace: Are you a homosexual?

 

Inman: Ye--Well, that's yes and no. I was a homosexual first engaged in such acts when I was 14 years old.[…] But I gave it up--oh, I forget--some years ago, over four years ago. It's not my cup of tea.

 

http://www.datejesus.com/youve-come-a-long-way-baby.jpg

[Irtwo]

Completely unlike my hometown of Kansas City, which I thought was too provincial for words until I saw what was happening in New York. None of those activities were illegal or unusual in K.C.

 

I find that interesting, KC was more open-minded than NYC regarding gays.

[Guest verymarried]

Thank you to those of you who were at Stonewall and part of the movement through the years.