Stonewall Riot of 1969

Among the widely-known and accepted social movements like civil rights and women's rights, the gay rights movement has often been overlooked. Because this movement was relatively new to the United States and was not a topical issue that was discussed in the 1960s, one incident stood out in the most: The Stonewall Riot.

On June 28th 1969, eight New York City police officers walked into the Stonewall Inn to enforce laws against gay people that still existed at this time. It was illegal for gay people to dance with one another and to be served alcohol in a public place. So to enforce these regulations, the police department would regularly raid gay clubs and check each customer's identification, on top of typically arresting the employees and store manager. But on this Saturday night, the Stonewall Inn reacted differently to this act of harassment. There were approximately 200 people in the club when the officers entered the doors. When asked to pause and line themselves up against the wall, the patrons did not obey so the officers called for patrol wagons to take all 200 of them to the police station. As the air became tense and they waited, a crowd of about 150 people had gathered around Stonewall to watch. By the time the first wagon arrived, the restless crowd had grown to over 500 and began to violently attack the police. The police car was overturned and garbage cans, glass bottles, and bricks were shooting back and forth while the heavily outnumbered officers weaved through the crowd and took refuge inside the club. A parking meter was uprooted from the ground to ram the doors of Stonewall. When Tactical Police Force of New York City Police Department rushed to the scene, the club itself and the surrounding streets laid in a giant heap of mess. By 4AM, the streets were finally cleared out.

Word about the Stonewall Riot had broken through Greenwich Village and two more early morning riots followed in the next few days. Around 1,000 protesters gathered in the neighboring streets of Stonewall where the crowd expressed their rage through explosive violence.

Many consider the Stonewall Riot to be the start of the gay rights movement. Although discrimination issues have been prevalent since the beginning of the United States, it was never considered important until the advent of "gay liberation" during the 1960s. The gay rights movement have propelled in its progression since these years but there is still a long way to go even in 2017.