July 2021

by Tiffany Fang, Edited by Taruni Manam, Uday Lingampalli, & Neve Walker, Artwork by Juee Deshmukh (sign) & Sahithi Lingampalli (Building & Riot), Layout & Blogged by Sahithi Lingampalli

The Stonewall riots were a series of riots that fought for LGBTQ rights that occurred within days and even weeks after policemen raided Stonewall Inn, a bar in New York designated to serve alcoholic beverages, and provide a safe space for the local LGBTQ community.

The Stonewall Inn replaced an original restaurant space when it was established by the Mafia in NYC Greenwich Village in 1930. It was registered as a private bar that did not need a liquor license, and instead required patrons to bring their own alcohol.

Because of its cheap cost and large size, it became a welcoming place for all LGBTQ individuals. It became the home for LGBTQ individuals to kindle friendships, meet people and to have a place of belonging. Most of all, it was a place that provided a safe space for LGBTQ individuals to truly express themselves, while the rest of the world was against them. It “catered largely to a group of people who are not welcome in, or cannot afford, other places of homosexual social gathering…. It became a home to these kids'' (Mattachine Society Newsletter 1969).

Unfortunately, it was also often raided by the police — as most LGBTQ bars were at the time — due to the fact that homosexuality was outlawed in almost all US states. The bar often bribed and paid off the local police to prevent such raidings and was mostly successful until the summer of 1969. On June 28, 1969, the police raided the gay bar, sparking one of the most influential and significant LGBTQ moments in history.

The first official Stonewall riot began on the night of the police raiding when one lesbian, who was forced into a police car, began shouting at onlookers. Other LBTGQ witnesses began to throw items at the policemen. Angry and fed-up, hundreds of people joined in throwing objects at the policemen, quickly causing a full-blown riot, standing up and fighting for their LGBTQ rights. The fight went on until the wee hours of the morning until everything settled down.

After this first fight back for LGBTQ rights, protests erupted all over the area, now known as the Stonewall Riots. These protests, led by transgender leaders Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, became some of the most significant and groundbreaking events for the LGBTQ community. As the Stonewall continued to open every night, the police continued to raid the bar every night, but the protests also continued every day until the beginning of July.

The stonewall riots transformed the LGBTQ movement in the mid-twentieth century and was the biggest series of protests for LGBTQ rightsduring the mid 1960s. It inspired thousands of people to stand up for their identity and the rights that they deserved. The Stonewall Riots have impacted the state and support that the LGBTQ community receives today and will long be recognized and remembered as a legendary LGBTQ moment.

References

G, M. (2017, January 18). History of the Legendary Stonewall Inn. Blog. https://www.exp1.com/blog/untold-nyc-history-legendary-stonewall-inn/.

History.com Editors. (2017, May 31). Stonewall Riots. History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots.

Pruitt, S. (2019, June 13). What Happened at the Stonewall Riots? A Timeline of the 1969 Uprising. History.com. https://www.history.com/news/stonewall-riots-timeline.

Stonewall Inn Riots Sign

by Juee Deshmukh

Stonewall Inn

By Sahithi Lingampalli

LGBTQIA+ Rights Riot

by Sahithi Lingampalli