Remembering the Day that would change all our lives 40 years ago the Stonewall riots took place and a special documentary was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on June 30th (10.30pm) to remember this landmark event. If you missed this excellent documentary, just go to www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/documentaries to hear it. Back in June 1969 a police raid on the Stonewall Inn in New York resulted in a series of violent demonstrations which kick-started the international gay liberation movement. Presented by Tom Robinson, ’Stonewall: The Riots That Triggered The Gay Revolution visits the Stonewall Inn as it is now to re-imagine the riots, and examines the legacy of this historic week of disturbances. The one-hour documentary contains interviews with rioters, journalists and policeman who were there and explores what really happened and asks why, after decades of similar raids across the United States, it was Stonewall that exploded the most violently. It was a time when despite the fact homosexuality had been partially legalised in the UK two years previously, being gay in the States was still a nightmare. Homosexuality was still illegal in all but one state of this supposedly free country. Banks would refuse gay customers while entrapment and blackmail was rife. Sooner or later the community had to fight back.
Peter Tatchell talks about how the riots spurred him on to become an activist with the GLF in London. And, just three years after the riots, in 1972, US law changed to the effect that homosexuality was no longer considered a mental illness. Stonewall: The Riots That Triggered The Gay Revolution pays a visit to the newly-refurbished Stonewall Inn to ask whether revellers feel like they have reached full acceptance. While the events of 1969 helped move gay rights forward, many still struggle to discuss their sexuality openly. The programme asks if there are still lessons to be learnt from that fateful night four decades ago. As the debate on same sex marriage continues to divide US politics, how far will the battle continue? .
Gay Life Was Much Easier Under Saddam Hussein, Harrowing Radio 5 Live Documentary Finds The ability of gay people in Iraq to live relatively freely has been severely curtailed following the toppling of Saddam Hussein, a documentary on BBC Radio 5 Live has found.
In ‘Gay Life After Saddam’, Aasmah Mir finds out how life for the country's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community (LGBT) has got much worse since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Human rights campaigners claim hundreds of LGBT people have been killed or tortured while others have fled the country fearing for their safety since The programme finds out what impact the riots had on Saddam was toppled from power six years ago. Meanwhile, gay people around the world and asks, 40 years on, in the UK, gay Iraqis seeking asylum are struggling to what we still have to learn from the events of that fateful persuade authorities to let them stay. summer week in New York. Lewis Carnie, Head of Programmes, Radio 2 and 6 Music, said: "I'm proud that Through some harrowing testimonies, Aasmah hears from Stonewall is the first BBC in-depth documentary into the campaigners and those who've been persecuted to see how Stonewall Riots and delivers a remarkable look back at life has actually changed for gay Iraqis. Producer Ashley one of the most revolutionary moments in modern Byrne says: "The programme includes an interview with a history." gay Iraqi who was kidnapped and raped before fleeing the country, we hear from a young man who fled to Paris after Using archive material and new interviews with those being tortured and we get exclusive access to a so-called who were there, Stonewall: The Riots That Triggered 'safe house' harbouring vulnerable LGBT Iraqis on the The Gay Revolution provides a snapshot of the riots in outskirts of Baghdad." full swing. Many believe that the gay rights movement began the night after the Stonewall Riots yet, prior to the Ashley adds: "Some of the evidence is very difficult to riots, there was a growing resistance amongst the gay comprehend especially a form of torture involving glue and community. Previously unheard archive interviews with diarrhoea-inducing drugs." late activists Craig Rodwell and Barbara Gittings reveal the transformation of the gay power movement. Presenter Aasmah Mir also meets a London-based Iraqi whose life is under threat for the work he's doing to help gay In 1969, New York was in the middle of an election people in his homeland. Ali Hilli (a pseudonym) claims he campaign and the Mayor, John Lindsay, was calling for has had two fatwas issued against him from extremists in a clean-up of the city's bars. With ties to organised the Middle East. Co-Producer Gail Champion says: "What crime, the Stonewall Inn was an easy target. But things becomes clear throughout is that not one person, one group soon turned ugly, as customers spilled out from the or another is responsible for this persecution. It seems like Stonewall Inn onto the street, a crowd of thousands it's chaos in Iraq with the authorities struggling to keep gathered, forcing the police to retreat back into the bar, control. "What surprised me more than anything was how pursued by petrol bombs. What followed was three much life was easier for LGBT people under Saddam nights of pitched battles between the gay community Hussein." and riot police in the streets of Greenwich Village. The Gay Liberation Front formed just a month after the riots The programme can be heard on BBC Radio 5 Live on and soon became an international force. Sunday July 5th at 7pm.