“DON’T CALL IT A RIOT”

Written by: Nicole Gostek

PUBLISHED IN INCOMMON MAGAZINE VOL. 3

It was just shy of daybreak on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. Sounds of cheering and laughter billowed out from a local inn onto the street. It was a shabby New York dive bar—with diluted drinks, no running water and no liquor license; but none of this mattered to the patrons of the Stonewall Inn. While there was nothing distinctively special about this place from an outsider’s perspective, it was a sanctuary. All were welcome. The homeless, downtrodden, and misunderstood. This was a place where they all could gather and unabashedly be themselves with no care of what was going on in the outside world. 

In 1969, being gay was broadly illegal. Considered by most to be immoral, many laws were passed to try to outlaw such activities that were against the normal realm of thinking. These laws included – no public dancing between individuals of the same sex, no dressing in drag, and no congregating at what was recognized as a gay bar. This made it hard for people to leave their homes without feeling persecuted – for no reason other than being themselves.

Seeing that there were a group of social outcasts with nowhere to go, organized crime families in New York saw this as a business opportunity and began to open many of the city’s gay bars and nightclubs. Because of the laws in place at this time, it made it difficult to conduct a business that was catering to the LGBT community. Bars that were found serving alcohol to gay customers were often ostracized by such organizations as the State Liquor Authority. They were considered by the SLA to be “disorderly houses.” Because of this, the SLA would refuse to issue liquor licenses to these establishments. While most places ended up being forced to close their doors, others were frequently raided.

There had been an influx of these police raids on gay bars in New York City during the late 1960s – with police looking for any excuse to shut these businesses down. The Stonewall Inn was no exception to these raids. On June 28th of 1969, the police began to storm in with force, determined to shut Stonewall down. There is still a lot of speculation surrounding why this particular raid took place that night. It could have been due to the Stonewall Inn’s lack of a liquor license, or maybe the Mafia owners of the bar were behind on their payments to the city’s dirty cops. While these are all viable explanations, the overwhelming majority believe, without question, that this was meant to serve as an attack on the LGBT community.

The staff and attendees of the Stonewall Inn were caught completely off guard by this intrusion, and many didn’t have time to flee or hide. The police stormed the bar and ordered everyone to stand against the wall and to be prepared to show their proof of identification. For those whose visible gender identity didn’t align with what was classified on their driver’s license, this meant arrest.

What once was a place of freedom and joy had become stripped of its safety and charisma in a matter of moments. The few who managed to escape were lingering outside to see what would become of their friends. As word began to spread throughout the city, other members of the community began to join in with the crowd that waited outside the bar. They believed that by standing by in solidarity, looking through the large glass window of the Stonewall Inn, they were showing their support for those being berated and arrested inside. Before long, the crowd out front greatly outnumbered the police that were present.

The patrons of the Stonewall Inn had collectively reached their boiling point and it became clear that it was time to fight back. Soon, the “riots” had begun. Protestors began to throw anything they could get their hands on—loose change, liquor bottles and even cobblestone from the street. Feeling empowered by their peers, the detainees managed to escape custody and join the fight.

Police began to become uneasy and barricaded themselves within the Stonewall Inn, while some protestors began to set the place aflame. It was shortly after this that reinforcements showed up and managed to settle down the crowd and forced everyone to disperse. But nothing was going to keep them quiet for long.

What was intended to be an innocent night out celebrating life, had turned into an altruistic attempt at an equal rights movement. 

Once the dust had settled days later, protestors were motivated to gather and march for their rights down the very street that was once tainted by heartache and fear. From these marches, an annual tradition was born, and the first official Pride Parades were held in 1970 across the country; one year after the events that took place at Stonewall.

50 years later and the Stonewall Inn still operates as a beacon of hope for those who feel marginalized or unseen. What took place at Stonewall was nothing short of a civil rights triumph and catapulted the gay rights movement into what it is today. I would be remiss to mention that this movement was started in large part by trans women of color. While many were afraid to push the envelope at this time, they were courageous enough to take the first initial stand for gay rights.

It is our responsibility to make sure these events are never forgotten and are placed at the forefront any time the history of the LGBT community is called into question.

While the events that took place at Stonewall on June 28th may be remembered as a “riot” by most… to those who were there, they prefer to remember it lovingly, as it truly was – an uprising.