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Home , Julius (restaurant), Queer Nation, Stonewall Inn, Stonewall riots

The

Ganel Foust

Junior Division

Historical Paper

Paper Length: 2,437 words

The were a horrible time for LGBTQ+ people. Anyone suspected of being , or who was openly gay, were likley to be turned away at bars and fired from their jobs. Because of this most gay youth in City were living on the streets, stealing food, and sleeping on benches. One of the places they could go were gay bars owned by the mafia, mainly the

Stonewall Inn, where the eventually took place. The Stonewall Riots lasted from

June 28, 1969 to July 1, 1969 in , New York. On that momentous day queens, , , and bisexuals refused to cooperate with a , resulting in a . It was not the first time that the LGBTQ+ (or as it was known at the time GLBT) community stood up for themselves, and it won’t be the last, but it was a major turning point towards improving LGBTQ+ people's lives. But as it is with all civil rights movements, ​ protecting the LGBTQ+ community is an ongoing process and there is still in many different places all around the world.

One of the things that the riots changed were the laws. There were never laws saying

“being gay is illegal” but homosexual acts were illegal. laws began to be used in a new way, as permission to discriminate against gay people in the late 1960's. As the young gay rights ​ ​ movement began to make headway, and the social condemnation of being gay began to weaken, social conservatives began to invoke sodomy laws as a justification for discrimination. In nine states, sodomy laws were explicitly rewritten so that they only applied to gay people. Courts decided that sodomy laws could not be applied to private heterosexual conduct, leaving what amounted to same-sex only laws in effect.1 Illinois was the first state to get rid of it’s anti-sodomy laws in 1961. Additionally there were laws that would take away a business's liquor

1 “Why Sodomy Laws Matter.” American Civil Liberties Union, www.aclu.org ​ ​

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license if they publicly served someone who was homosexual, or suspected of being homosexual, because the State Liquor Authority declared it was “disorderly” or these were ​ ​ places where "unlawful practices are habitually carried on by the public”.

The era in the United States began in 1950 with the organizing of a secret society of homosexuals in . Calling themselves “Mattachine,” a small group of men and women organized the core homophile institutions: ONE, Inc.; the ; and

The and their respective magazines, ONE, Mattachine Review, and The ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Ladder. Through publishing magazines and newsletters, fighting sodomy and other ​ discriminatory laws, and unifying homosexual individuals living in America's urban centers, the homophile activists set the stage for the movement's second wave, of more identity based and - militant and Gay activism that emerged in the late 1960s.2 In 1966, members of the ​ ​ Mattachine Society in staged a “sip-in” as a against the unfair liquor laws. They visited taverns, declared themselves gay, and waited to be turned away so they could sue. They were denied service at the Greenwich Village tavern, , gaining publicity. They were called “homophile organizations” in order to emphasize their sense of community and ​ ​ deemphasize the sexual aspect of their identity that so concerned the public. These pioneering groups worked to provide awareness, education, and unification of this oppressed minority.3

Homosexuality was criminalized in most states, but it was also considered a mental illness.

Instead of taking a direct political stand Homophile groups worked to convince professionals ​ ​

2 White, Todd C. “Homophile Movement.” Wiley Online Library, American Cancer Society, 20 Apr. 2015, onlinelibrary.wiley.com 3 “Brief History of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement in the U.S.” History of Gay Rights Movement in U.S., ​ University of Kentucky.

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such as lawyers, ministers, doctors, psychologists, and journalists to adopt more positive views of homosexuals.

After the 15 seperate homophile organizations worked independently for years, in ​ February 1966 they all got together in Kansas City. By this point, many recognized the need for ​ a nationally focused organization to combat widespread discrimination. The goals of their

Kansas City meeting, which became known as the National Planning Conference of Homophile

Organizations, was to find common ground, collaborate, and organize nationally. At the two-day gathering, attendees adopted a national strategy program that established a legal defense fund and planned collaborative demonstrations for equal rights. They also signed a unified policy statement, which created an association among the groups for the first time.4

While that was happening, a member of the Mafia purchased a recently burned down building, the Stonewall Restaurant. In the mid 1960s the owned most of the gay bars in Greenwich Village. Tony Lauria, known as “Fat Tony”, a strong presence in New

York and a member of the Genovese crime family, saw a business opportunity in catering to the otherwise shunned gay population. In 1966, Tony Lauria purchased the Stonewall Restaurant. He renovated at low cost and reopened it as a gay , and he bribed New York's Sixth Police

Precinct with around $1,200 a month to turn a blind eye to the goings on at the establishment.

The outside of the bar had a large metal sign that read ‘Stonewall Restaurant’ that Tony Lauria didn’t bother to paint over. The windows were boarded up, and the large doors had several inside locks to slow down police raids, a metal slit for the bouncers to talk to patrons through,

4 “Brief History of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement in the U.S.” History of Gay Rights Movement in U.S., ​ University of Kentucky.

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otherwise there wasn’t a way to see inside. These measures were taken in direct opposition to ​ authority and therefore helped propel the movement. (add something here that ties to my thesis)

Running gay bars was ideal for Tony Lauria. Alex Horits, author of Stonewall and the ​ Mob: The 50th Anniversary of the Gay Rights Movement, says “The Mafia didn’t pick on people ​ ​ ​ their own size, they tended to pick on the weak, especially people who couldn’t go running to the police.” It was said that Tony blackmailed several of the wealthier patrons, threatening to out them to the public, which most likely would have gotten them fired and possibly rejected by their families.

The , Blonde Frankie, had several ways of keeping unwanted patrons, (mostly undercover police) out of Stonewall. He would let faces he recognized in, but sometimes he asked them to describe the inside of the inn to gain entry. If he knew undercover police officers were trying to get inside he told them “This is a private club, for members only,” they usually would respond with “well, I’ve been here before” he would say “well, no, you haven’t”. The final defence was to turn on the bright white lights, signaling a raid.5 Dawn Hampton recalls, “I was there when they originally opened it as a dance place. People came there because they loved to dance.” and they had good reason to be excited; the building had enough privacy to allow patrons to dance, they felt safe to be themselves in a place around people that didn’t hate them for it. At the time it already broke barriers.

In honor of the sodomy laws, police would go under-cover and try to infiltrate these bars, try to get patrons alone with them, and then arrest them. That wasn’t the only time they were inside gay bars. Since gay bars were operated without a liquor license, police officers would raid

5 Carter, David. Stonewall. St Martin's Press, 2004. ​

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the premisses. During raids officers would take anyone who ‘looked of the wrong sex’ and take them into the bathrooms to confirm their biological . If they didn’t pass they were arrested.

On the evening of June 28, 1969 four undercover police officers were inside the bar hoping to gather visual evidence to close down the bar. After they had enough evidence they called for backup. At 1:20 a.m., four policemen in dark suits, two patrol officers, and Detective

Charles Smythe and Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine arrived at the 's double doors ​ ​ and announced "Police! We're taking the place!" The music was stopped and the white lights were turned on. Patrons that had never experienced a raid were confused, while others ran for windows or the back exit, but the police had blocked them off. Then patrons were forced to line up and present their ID. The raid did not go as planned. Standard procedure was to line up the patrons, check their identification, and have female police officers take customers to the bathroom to verify their sex, upon which any , drag , or transvestite, would be arrested, because wearing less than three garments that related to their biological was illegal. Anyone who was arrested that night refused to go with the officers. Men in line began to refuse to produce their identification. The police decided to take everyone present to the police station, after separating those “cross-dressing” in a room in the back of the bar. Maria Ritter, who was present that night recalled, "My biggest fear was that I would get arrested. My second biggest fear was that my picture would be in a newspaper or on a television report in my mother's dress!”6 Both patrons and police recalled that a sense of discomfort spread very quickly, spurred by police who assaulted some lesbians. While police were waiting for patrol wagons to

6 “Stonewall Riots.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Jan. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots. ​ ​ ​

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arrive, they kept those arrested inside the bar. Those who were not arrested did not leave quickly as usual. Instead, they stopped outside and a crowd began to grow and watch. Within minutes, between 100 and 150 bystanders had congregated outside, some after they were released from inside Stonewall, and some after noticing the police cars and the crowd. Although the police forcefully pushed or kicked some patrons out of the bar, some customers released by the police performed for the crowd by posing and saluting the police in an exaggerated fashion. The crowd's applause encouraged them further. When the first patrol wagon arrived, the police started to escort mafia members and employees into it, the crowd applauded. Author Edmund

White, who had been by, recalled, "Everyone's restless, angry, and high-spirited. No one has a slogan, no one even has an attitude, but something's brewing.” Rumors quickly spread that the other patrons were being beaten inside the bar, angering the crowd further. A fight broke out when a woman in handcuffs was escorted from the door of the bar to the waiting police wagon several times. She escaped repeatedly and fought with four of the police, she had been hit on the head by an officer with a for, as one witness claimed, complaining that her handcuffs were too tight. Bystanders recalled that the woman sparked the crowd to fight when she looked at bystanders and shouted, "Why don't you guys do something?". The crowd became a mob and went "berserk." It was at that moment that the scene became explosive.

Police tried and failed to restrain the crowd. People in the patrol wagons were left unattended, so they ran. The crowd tried to overturn a patrol wagon and two police cars, some slashed tires; the commotion attracted more bystanders. Someone in the crowd declared that the bar had been raided because "they didn't pay off the cops", to which someone else yelled "Let's pay them off!" hundreds of pennies were thrown, escalating to beer bottles, and since there was a

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construction site nearby, bricks. While Police took shelter inside Stonewall, garbage cans, garbage, bottles, rocks, and bricks were hurled at the building, breaking the windows. Witnesses attest that "flame queens," , and gay "street kids,” the most outcast people in the gay community, were responsible for the first volley of projectiles, as well as the uprooting of a parking meter used as a battering ram on the doors of the Stonewall Inn. Once the windows were broken they lit garbage on fire and threw it into Stonewall.7 They eventually got the doors open, police pulled out their firearms threatening to shoot. , in the bar with the police, watched someone squirt lighter fluid into the bar; as it was lit and the police took aim, fire trucks had arrived. The onslaught lasted 45 minutes. Once reinforcements came the crowd died down.

At the end of the night 13 people were arrested, while others stayed around Christopher Park dazed at what had just happened, and the following week were continued.

A few months after the riots, a commemorative march took place in New York, and similar marches were held in cities across the U.S. On the first anniversary of the riots, thousands of people marched from Christopher Park to . It was the first LGBTQ+ in the U.S., creating a precedent for annual celebrations around the world. In addition, the Gay

Liberation Front and the Activist Alliance formed and made a prolonged push for gay rights in a more vocal way than previous groups, as well as the formation of gay rights organizations, including the , OutRage!, GLAAD, PFLAG, and Nation. In 1999 the U.S. placed the Stonewall Inn on the National Register of Historic

Places. In 2015, Gay marrige was leagalized in all 50 states. 28 countries in total have legalized

Gay marrige as well. One year later, President designated the site of the

7 Carter, David. Stonewall. St Martin's Press, 2004. ​

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Stonewall uprising a National Monument. The 7.7 acre monument included the Stonewall Inn,

Christopher Park, and the surrounding streets and sidewalks. In 2019, shortly before the 50th anniversary of the riots, New York City’s police commissioner, James P. O’Neill, issued an apology on behalf of the police department saying, “The actions taken by the N.Y.P.D. were wrong—plain and simple.”.

But, as it is with all civil rights movements, protecting the LGBTQ+ community is an ongoing process and there is still discrimination in many different places all around the world. In ​ ​ many countries you can be killed for having a romantic or sexual relationship with someone of the same gender. In 2018, 26 transgender or gender non-conforming people in the U.S. were killed due to fatal violence, the majority of whom were black transgender women.8 These victims were killed by acquaintances, partners and strangers, some of whom have been arrested and charged, while others have yet to be identified. Some of these cases involve clear anti-transgender bias. In others, the victim’s transgender status may have put them at risk in other ways, such as forcing them into unemployment, poverty, homelessness and/or survival sex work. In 2019, 56 bills were proposed that were against the LGBTQ+ community including attacks on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which protects transgender people from discrimination in health care and insurance coverage. It’s been 50 years since 1969, and pop culture has changed quite a bit, but that doesn't mean old problems have been solved. Yes, the stonewall riots have broken barriers, but there’s still work to do, people to help, and lives to change.

8 Human Rights Campaign. “Violence Against the Transgender Community in 2019.” Human Rights Campaign, 2018, www.hrc.org ​

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Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources

“NY becomes 6th state to legalize same-sex marriage,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/stonewall-and-its-impact-on-the-gay-liberation-movement. ​ -A collection of primary resources including political events, images, letters, audio recordings, ect.

Harlin, Ken. “The Stonewall Riot and Its Aftermath.” Stonewall 25: Cases 1-2, Starr East Asian ​ ​ Library, Columbia University, www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/exhibitions/sw25/case1.html. ​ -An archive of documents mainly newspaper journals

Office of the Press Secretary. “Presidential Proclamation -- Establishment of the Stonewall National Monument.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and ​ ​ Records Administration, 24 June 2016, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/24/presidential-proclamation-es tablishment-stonewall-national-monument

-Official documentation of Barack Obama declaring Greenwich Village as a national monument.

“The Stage.” Edited by Elaine Engst et al., 25 Years of Political Influence: The Records of the ​ Human Rights Campaign, 2006, ​ https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/HRC/exhibition/stage/stage_6.html. ​ -A summary of the Homophile movement, and the human rights campaign and its organizations.

“TRANS HISTORY, LINKED.” Digital Transgender Archive, www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/. ​ ​ ​ ​ -An arcive of transgender focused documents, and events.

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“Stonewall Riot Transformed Gay Rights Effort 25 Years Ago.” Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, California) Sunday, June 19, 1994 pg. 50

-An article summarizing the riots.

“New York City Gets Gay Lib Monument.” The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) Wednesday, June 24, 1992 pg. 8

-An article about the statue placed in Christopher park in memory of the Stonewall Riots.

“Early Returns Show Gay Rights Support.” Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, California) Wednesday, November 9, 1994 pg. 10

-An article with information about the votes on current gay rights.

“Stonewall: the Tea Party of Gay Rights.” The Salina Journal (Salina, Kansas) Saturday, July 2, 1994 pg. 4

-An article discussing Stonewall with interviews from several patrons of the bar that night.

“Stonewall Inn to be Auctioned.” The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) Thursday, March 22, 1979 pg. 25

-An ad for the Stonewall Inn, explaining the damage, but not the riots that caused the damage.

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times (Corpus Christi, Texas) Monday June 30, 1969 pg. 24

-A brief re-telling of what happened during the protests after the original riot.

“ Draw Thousands of Marchers in U.S.” The Salina Journal (Salina, Kansas) Monday, June 26, 1989 pg. 5

-An article about a 1989 .

“Thousands March in Gay Parades” The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, California) Monday, July 25, 1979 pg. 3

-re-telling of a 1979 Pride Parade

“Gingrich’s Sister, 400,000 in Gay Pride Parade.” Ukiah Daily Journal (Ukiah, California) Monday, June 19, 1995 pg. 9

-An article about a 1995 pride parade. Secondary Sources

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Carter, David. Stonewall. St Martin's Press, 2004. ​ ​ -book about the life of homosexuals before an after the riots including, gay street youth, drag queens, the Homophile Movement and it’s organizations, and the riots.

Human Rights Campaign. “Violence Against the Transgender Community in 2019.” Human ​ Rights Campaign, 2018, ​ www.hrc.org/resources/violence-against-the-transgender-community-in-2019. ​ -A list of transgender people have been murdered in 2018 and the satistics of why these people are being killed.

“STONEWALL 1: Hamilton-Hall.” Hamilton, www.hamiltonhall.info/stonewall-1. ​ ​ ​ ​ -A brief history of the inn itself including the mafia, the patrons, and how the inn ran.

National Center for Transgender Equality. “The Discrimination Administration.” 28 Jan. 2020, transequality.org/the-discrimination-administration.White, Todd C. “Homophile Movement.” Wiley Online Library, American Cancer Society, 20 Apr. 2015, ​ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs213.

-a list of laws passed against LGBTQ+ peoples in from 2017-2020.

White, Todd C. “Homophile Movement.” Wiley Online Library, American Cancer Society, 20 Apr. ​ ​ 2015, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs213.

-a summary of the homophile movement, and what they’ve accomplished

“Trump Administration Plan to Roll Back Health Care Nondiscrimination Regulation: Frequently Asked Questions.” National Center for Transgender Equality, 29 Apr. 2019, ​ ​ transequality.org/HCRL-FAQ.

-A article about the effects of the Health Care Nondiscrimination Regulation

Human Rights Campaign. “Transgender Military Service.” Human Rights Campaign, ​ ​ www.hrc.org/resources/transgender-military-service. ​ -This article discusses transgender veterans and the Trump-Pence Transgender Military Ban. ​ Grudo, Gideon. “The Stonewall Riots: What Really Happened, What Didn't, and What Became Myth.” , The Daily Beast Company, 16 June 2019, ​ ​ www.thedailybeast.com/the-stonewall-riots-what-really-happened-what-didnt-and-what-became- myth. ​ -A general summary of the Stonewall Riots with several interviews

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University of Kentucky. “Brief History of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement in the U.S.” History of Gay Rights Movement in U.S., University of Kentucky, ​ www.uky.edu/~lbarr2/gws250spring11_files/Page1186.htm. ​ -A timeline of events in the Gay Rights movement.

History.com Editors. “Stonewall Riots.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 31 May 2017, ​ ​ www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots. ​ -A summary of the Stonewall Riots

Parsons, Vic, et al. “Feature: How the Stonewall Riots Started the LGBT Rights Movement.” PinkNews, 28 June 2013, ​ www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/06/28/feature-how-the-stonewall-riots-started-the-gay-rights-moveme nt/. ​ -A summary of the Stonewall Riots and how it started the gay rights movement

“State Same-Sex Marriage State Laws Map.” Governing, ​ ​ www.governing.com/gov-data/same-sex-marriage-civil-unions-doma-laws-by-state.html. ​ -a list of states that have legalized same-sex marriage.

Grabianowski, Ed. “How the Stonewall Riots Worked.” HowStuffWorks, 4 May 2017, ​ ​ history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/stonewall-riots5.htm.

-A summary of the Stonewall Riots.

Norman, Derek M., and Michael Gold. “Stonewall Riot Apology: Police Actions Were 'Wrong,' Commissioner Admits.” , The New York Times, 6 June 2019, ​ ​ www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/nyregion/stonewall-riots-nypd.html. ​ -An article about James O’Neill apologizing on behalf of the NYPD of their actions at Stonewall. ​ The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Stonewall Riots.” Encyclopædia Britannica, ​ ​ Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 21 June 2019, www.britannica.com/event/Stonewall-riots. ​ ​ -Summary of the Stonewall Riots

Fried, Ronald K. “How the Mafia Muscled in and Controlled the Stonewall Inn.” The Daily Beast, ​ ​ The Daily Beast Company, 30 June 2019, www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-mafia-muscled-in-and-controlled-the-stonewall-inn. ​ -An article about the Genovise crime family and why they owned the Stonewall Inn.

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Cantwell, Christopher D., et al. “The Homophile Movement.” Making History, 2017, ​ ​ info.umkc.edu/makinghistory/the-homophile-movement/.

-A record of the Homophile movement, it’s organizations, and how it help the LGBTQ+ community

“Why Did the Mafia Own the Bar?” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, ​ ​ www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/stonewall-why-did-mafia-own-bar/. ​ -An explanation of why and how the mafia owned the Stonewall Inn.

David Nakamura, Juliet Eilperin. “With Stonewall, Obama Designates First National Monument to Gay Rights Movement.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 28 Apr. 2019, ​ ​ www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/24/with-stonewall-obama-designates-fi rst-national-momument-to-gay-rights-movement/. ​ -An article about Barack Obama declaring Greenwich Village as a national monument.

Trotta, Daniel. “ Veterans Still Astounded 50 Years after Making History.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 17 June 2019, ​ www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lgbt-stonewall-veterans/stonewall-uprising-veterans-still-astoun ded-50-years-after-making-history-idUSKCN1TI0Y5. ​ -a summary of the Stonewall Riot, with a documentary interviewing a gay activist that was there the night of the riot, and his work as a gay activist.

“Why Sodomy Laws Matter.” American Civil Liberties Union, ​ ​ www.aclu.org/other/why-sodomy-laws-matter. ​ -an article explaining sodonimy laws and how they were used against homosexual people.

History.com Editors. “Gay Rights.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 June 2017, ​ ​ www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/history-of-gay-rights#section_5. ​ -a explination of gay rights throughout the years and how its impacted people.

McDarrah, Fred W. “: Four Other Significant LGBT Rights Sites.” National ​ Geographic, 24 June 2016, ​ www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/06/stonewall-national-monument--rights-equality/. ​ -Gay rights protests before the Stonewall Riots.

Jackson, Sharyn. “Before Stonewall.” , 17 June 2008, ​ ​ www.villagevoice.com/2008/06/17/before-stonewall/. ​

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-An article all about the homophile movement, gay activists, and protests that happened before the Stonewall Riots.

“Stonewall Riots.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Jan. 2019, ​ ​ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots.

-A summary of the riots, the aftermath of the riots and how they affected people.

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