Stonewall Uprising

Setting the scene

The Stonewall Uprising began in the early hours of June 28, 1969, when patrons of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, New York, resisted a police raid. Police raids on gay bars were routine—homosexuality was illegal in most states, and bars operated under Mafia control paying police bribes. On this night, patrons, led by transgender women of color like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, fought back, throwing bottles and coins.

What happened

The confrontation escalated into three nights of riots involving hundreds of LGBTQ people battling police. The crowd chanted 'gay power' and resisted arrest. The uprising was spontaneous, not organized, but it tapped into anger at years of harassment, job discrimination, and police abuse. News coverage spread word of the resistance.

Why it still matters

Stonewall is considered the beginning of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. Within weeks, the Gay Liberation Front formed, and within a year, the first Pride marches were held in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago on the anniversary. Stonewall shifted the movement from assimilationist organizations like the Mattachine Society to radical liberation. The uprising demonstrated that LGBTQ people would no longer accept second-class status. June 28 is now commemorated worldwide as the start of Pride, and the Stonewall Inn is a National Monument.

Background

Gay liberation organizing accelerated.