Social, Political, and Cultural Changes
Why the Stonewall Rebellion was a Pivotal Event in Gay Liberation
Before the summer of 1969, the American gay rights movement lacked visibility and faced considerable challenges. However, the activism that took place in the 1960s created a platform unlike ever before in American history. It was a decade filled with activism for social, cultural, and political change. Several human rights movements gained momentum during this time leading to significant improvements for many citizens. Had it not been for both Civil Rights and Anti-war activism, Gay Rights Liberation would not have exploded in the summer and years following the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969.[1] In the time leading up to the Stonewall Rebellion, it was not socially or politically acceptable in American culture for a person to be homosexual.[2]Gays and lesbians were forced to hide their identities in public and with friends and family. Laws were in place to support this oppression and were enforced by violent and discriminatory police officers and heterosexual citizens.[3]The events that took place at the Stonewall Inn on June 27th, 1969, was a turning point for the LGBTQ+ community. It helped bring these issues to light and spurred progress toward social acceptance and political support, making the event a vital aspect in the greater gay rights movement. The Stonewall Rebellion shifted gay liberation toward a full-scale movement, due to community organizing, police discrimination, and patriotic dissent.
On a hot New York City evening, police discrimination disrupted The Stonewall Inn, a local bar known for its gay-friendly atmosphere. It had been common throughout history to get fired, harassed, or criminalized for being gay or lesbian.[4]Part of that harassment included police raids against homosexual bars where officers would confiscate liquor and arrest both patrons and employees on premises.[5] Accustomed to the discrimination, the gay community was often compliant during bar raid arrests.[6] However, at the Stonewall Inn on June 27th, 1969, bar patrons among their community and allies decided to fight back.
Home to the gay misfits, drag queens, and houseless queer youth, The Stonewall Inn provided fun as well as community and safety.[7] On this particular Friday, the New York City Tactical Police Force commandeered Stonewall's liquor and made thirteen arrests in a routine discriminatory raid. Expelled onto Christopher Street, the bar's patrons cheered for their friends who were released while expressing concern for those who were detained.[8]Among the detained were Raymond Castro, Marilyn Fowler, and Dave Von Ronk, a well-known folk artist.[9]The crowd grew as excitement electrified their festering rage toward the unfair police practices. Somewhere between excitement and rage, a hailstorm of coins, bottles, and street objects were hurled at the officers who hid from the mob inside the establishment.[10]Dispersing a few hours later, the outraged crowds returned the following night, joining together in what was to become the next phase of the gay liberation movement.[11]
In the months and years that followed, gay organizations, activism, and periodicals began to pop up around the nation. Each borrowed foundational experience from the few gay organization that already existed as well as the patriotic rhetoric that powered the civil rights movement. Unprecedented public displays of gay love and affection spread through the streets. Where the gay community once felt silenced, they began to feel empowered.[12] Although not the first act of gay defiance, Stonewall commemorated the beginning of an exploding movement fueled by patriotic dissent.[13]Overnight, gay liberation went from small, isolated, local struggles to a large, full-scale movement.[14]
Several trends contributed to the national progress in attaining basic human rights for the gay community. The Stonewall Rebellion was a major event that transpired out of the trend of strong community organizing. Shunned by society, gays and lesbians sought each other out and formed their own private clubs and hangouts. Places where they were free to express their homosexuality with similar individuals without fear of discrimination or violence. Among them were drag queens, transgender people, and the houseless gay youth.[15]Across the nation, bars such as The Stonewall Inn provided safety and fun in the form of community. The foundation of that collective gave the Stonewall patrons the strength they needed to fight back and inspire progress.
Another way Stonewall fits into the greater gay liberation movement is the trend of police brutality and discrimination.[16] Before the 21st century, gay and lesbian bars were vulnerable to discriminatory acts of social control. Part of this control was the in ability for gay and lesbian establishments to acquire liquor licenses through traditional regulation.[17] Once cornered into unconventional methods, the police would target these bars for illegal liquor sales. These routine bar raids often included patron and employee arrests with force and/or violence.[18]Police brutality and discrimination perpetuated gay oppression, spurring the Stonewall Rebellion into fruition in 1969.
Gay liberation and pride spread through New York and across the nation because of these two historically significant trends. Before the Stonewall Rebellion, a mere fifty gay liberation organizations existed across the United States. Over eight hundred appeared in just four years after the event. Community converged with police brutality in a symphony of protest and rage causing liberation to swell. Unable to carry liberation on its own, these organizations studied, partook, and supported other movements such as The Black Panther Party, Civil Rights, South Vietnam’sNational Liberation Front, among others. Their involvement with other human rights campaigns elevated their cause. Because of the Civil Rights Movement, patriotic dissent began to characterize the gay community’s direct-action protest.[19]It was not until the 21st century that The Supreme Court and Congress would begin to repeal discriminatory laws such as Lawrence v. Texas in 2003. The Supreme Court’s decision to rule that "laws criminalizing homosexual sex are unconstitutional," and other major lawful changes, emerged from these trends.[20]
Community organizing, police discrimination, and patriotic dissent all played essential roles in the greater gay rights movement. Organizations such as The Mattachine Society and The Daughters of Bilitis surfaced in the 1950s to protect and improve the rights of gay people.[21] [22]These networks helped lay the foundation of the movement in cities with larger known gay populations such as New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. In the following decade, "gay liberation in New York was particularly vibrant because of the political culture of the city and the history of the homophile movement." The activist momentum in New York led to significant coverage of the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969. Due to their aggressive efforts to gain media contacts and appear in mainstream press coverage, the Stonewall Riots became a pivotal moment that emerged from these efforts and inspired full-scale momentum for gay rights.[23]After which, gay rights activists set out to radicalize the movement by adopting the protest strategy from both the civil rights and anti-war movements. Through local efforts, they stood against societal norms, advocated for rights, and cultivated a sense of unity on a national level. Community organizing provided the platform for collective action, gay power, and pride.[24]
Police brutality is another significant contributor to the Stonewall Riots that spurred cultural change. Facing frequent police discrimination, gay and lesbian people often remained obedient and silent when experiencing brutality.[25]However, on June 27th, 1969, the gay community had had enough when the New York City Tactical Police Force raided the Stonewall Inn. The Rebellion that ensued was the moment when prejudice and political activism together ignited a fire for social change. Often seen “as the first act of lesbian and gay resistance ever,” Stonewall was hardly the only example of violence toward the community. Other events, such as the New Year’s Ball Raid in 1965 and the Black Cat Raid in 1967, both exhibited corrupt law enforcement action against LGBTQ+ individuals. However, it is the collective memory of these brutalities, local media coverage of the Rebellion, and the foundation laid by community organizing that allowed this historical event to change the direction of the gay rights movement.[26]The Rebellion brought issues of police brutality to light, inspiring the end of complacency and the beginning of a larger fight.[27]
Following the Stonewall Rebellion, patriotic dissent played a significant role in the greater gay rights movement. Hundreds of gay rights groups spread throughout the nation in just four years after the riots. Due to the efforts of the civil rights and anti-war movements in the 1950s and 1960s, these new gay rights organizations discovered the power of patriotic dissent. They sought to constitute evidence that their fight for human rights was not in opposition to patriotic values, but rather that they had the right to live and express themselves freely under American law. It was the foundations that other movements laid that paved the way for gay liberation progress. “For progressives, appeals rooted in the national creed have proved an effective means of generating tangible pressure for social and political change.” Activists forged “meaningful alliances with other radical causes, offering support” as they championed coming out and demanded “homosexuals be afforded the equal protection of the laws and the benefits of first-class citizenship.” By declaring that they also had the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” patriotic dissent catapulted the movement into its next phase of liberation.[28]
Gay liberation progressed in social, political, and cultural ways due to the Stonewall Rebellion of 1969. With the goal of advocating for the rights and equality for LGBTQ+ individuals, community organizing set the stage by providing a platform for gays and lesbians to connect, share experiences, and collectively address oppressive issues. Sparking outrage, police brutality mobilized the gay community into a more bold and collective action. In addition, the groundwork of patriotic dissent laid by other large-scale movements, such as Civil Rights and Anti-war, contributed to the success of changing laws and societal attitudes towards the gay community. These trends, tactics, and events raised awareness and fostered solidarity that ultimately contributed to the growth and success of the gay liberation movement.
1.Simon Hall, “The American Gay Rights Movement andPatriotic Protest,” Journal of theHistory of Sexuality 19, no. 3 (2010): 12,https://doi.org/10.1353/sex.2010.0011.
2.Barbara Gittings and Kay Lahusen, interview by MarcStein, Philadelphia, February 2, 1993,http://www.outhistory.org/exhibits/show/50th-ann/interviews.
3.“Stonewall and Beyond: Lesbian and Gay Culture,”online edition of a Columbia University Libraries exhibition held from May 25to September 17, 1994,http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/exhibitions/sw25/case1.html.
4.Gittings and Lahusen, interview.
5.Garance Franke-Ruta, “An Amazing 1969 Account of theStonewall Uprising,” The Atlantic,January 24, 2013,https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.soomopublishing.com/courses/USHistory2/Dick_Leitsch_Account_of_Stonewall.docx.
7.Franke-Ruta, “An Amazing 1969 Account.”
9.Jonathan Ned Katz, ed., “Stonewall Riot PoliceReports,”http://www.outhistory.org/exhibits/show/stonewall-riot-police-reports.
12.Hall, “The American Gay Rights Movement,” 11.
13.Elizabeth A. Armstrong and Suzanna M. Crage,“Movements and Memory: The Making of the Stonewall Myth,” American Sociological Review 71, no. 5 (October 1, 2006): 3,https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240607100502.
14.Hall, “The American Gay Rights Movement,” 11.
15.Franke-Ruta, “An Amazing 1969 Account.”
17.Franke-Ruta, “An Amazing 1969 Account.”
19.Hall, “The American Gay Rights Movement,” 11.
20.David J. Trowbridge, A History of the United States: 1865 to Present, 3rd ed.(Asheville, NC: Soomo Learning, 2017; Boston, MA: Flat World Knowledge, 2012),5.22.
21.Franke-Ruta, “An Amazing 1969 Account.”
22.Gittings and Lahusen, interview.
24.Armstrong and Crage, “Movements and Memory,” 1.
26.Armstrong and Crage, “Movements and Memory,” 14.
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References:
Armstrong,Elizabeth A., and Suzanna M. Crage. “Movements and Memory: The Making of theStonewall Myth.” American SociologicalReview 71, no. 5 (October 1, 2006): 724–51.https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240607100502.
Franke-Ruta,Garance. “An Amazing 1969 Account of the Stonewall Uprising.” The Atlantic, January 24, 2013.https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.soomopublishing.com/courses/USHistory2/Dick_Leitsch_Account_of_Stonewall.docx.
Gittings,Barbara, and Kay Lahusen. Interview by Marc Stein. Philadelphia, February 2,1993. http://www.outhistory.org/exhibits/show/50th-ann/interviews.
Hall, Simon. “TheAmerican Gay Rights Movement and Patriotic Protest.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 19, no. 3 (2010): 536–62.https://doi.org/10.1353/sex.2010.0011.
Katz, JonathanNed, ed. “Stonewall Riot Police Reports.”http://www.outhistory.org/exhibits/show/stonewall-riot-police-reports.
“Stonewall andBeyond: Lesbian and Gay Culture.” Online edition of a Columbia UniversityLibraries exhibition held from May 25 to September 17, 1994. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/exhibitions/sw25/case1.html.
Trowbridge, DavidJ. A History of the United States: 1865to Present. 3rd ed. Asheville, NC: Soomo Learning, 2017. First published2012 by Flat World Knowledge (Boston).
