The Stonewall Inn. New York City was an incredibly popular area after the Second World War, people would travel to New York to be a part of a large community. The Stonewall Inn is located in Greenwich Village, a neighbourhood popular with the gay and lesbian community particularly during the 60's and 70's. There were many exclusively gay bars and restaurants around the Greenwich area and the Stonewall Inn was just one of them. Previously it had been a heterosexual night club and restaurant however because of the increasing homosexual community, members of the Mafia turned it into a homosexual hotspot where they illegally sold alcohol (when at the time it was illegal to sell alcohol to homosexuals under the Liquor Authority regulation). Only the Mafia really had the power and financial backing to run any gay night clubs and bars. Before the riots began, police raids were very common place and occurred almost as often as once a month. However there were not many arrests made as due to police tip offs, the managers of the bar nearly always knew when a raid was going to happen.
The AftermathThe Stonewall Riots were the first time that the LGBT community had come together in such a way. Instead of hiding away and taking the abuse that had been very common to their way of life, they spontaneously stood up together to fight back against all the injustice they have been victim too for many years. The sporadic violence that took place on the first night of the riots brought about recognition for the struggles of the LGBT community and began the start of the fight for civil rights. Though there had been LGBT groups existing since the early 1950's, this sudden recognition has given more extremist groups the opportunity to establish themselves and create momentum towards gaining equal rights. Many people chose the time after Stonewall to come out to friends, family members and colleagues and beginning to live their lives as openly gay people. The years after Stonewall was the time now known as the 'sexual revolution' that changed the homosexual subculture, with the introduction of LGBT magazines and newsletters published by both the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis. Greenwich Village in New York saw the highest amount of LGBT youth, where young LGBT people had run away from their disapproving societies and joined the ever growing gay community where they no longer needed to hide who they were.
|
The Raid.On Saturday 28 June 1969, nine police officers entered the Stonewall Inn during a regular police raid, however this time the owners were not tipped off about the raid. First the managers and employee's were arrested for selling alcohol at the bar, then the patrons at the bar were told to line up and produce ID. Some patrons were frightened and began to try and run for the doors and windows, but these were all blocked by the police. The patrons inside the bar were not being as compliant as they usually were, this time they began refusing to produce ID and not following orders from the police officers. Soon a large crowd of homosexuals from the area had begun to form outside of the bar, After seeing the rough treatment of the patrons as they were being escorted out of the bar by police officers, the crowd began to become aggressive and began to throw things at the officers. The scene became violent very quickly as objects being thrown went from pennies to beer bottles and even bricks from a near by construction site. Police grew outnumbered very quickly and many of them retreated back inside for their own safety. The violence escalated as the bar's windows were broken and flaming trash cans were thrown in, at which point the police emerged brandishing weapons threatening to shoot. More police officers arrived and arrested whoever they could get their hands on. Riots continued the next night along Christopher Street, which attracted attention from passers by and even some tourists. This time thousands of members of the LGBT community joined in the rioting as well as sympathisers. Like the previous night, fires were set and police officers who came to arrest them were attacked. The rioting ensued until 4am when the police were finally able to disperse. A series of protests and riots lasted for five days. What made the Stonewall Riots so iconic was the involvement in many LGBT youth who had travelled to New York after being shunned by their families. They refused to hide and be ashamed of their sexuality making them the perfect mob to fight back against the violent and oppressive police force.
|