So it was a perfect storm for the police. There was the Hippie movement, there was the Summer of Love, Martin Luther King, and all of these affected me terribly. We were all there. The severity of the punishment varies from state to state. The Laramie Project Cast at The Calhoun School Stonewall Uprising | American Experience | PBS The term like "authority figures" wasn't used back then, there was just "Lily Law," "Patty Pig," "Betty Badge." And if we catch you, involved with a homosexual, your parents are going to know about it first. Producers Library There were gay bars in Midtown, there were gay bars uptown, there were certain kinds of gay bars on the Upper East Side, you know really, really, really buttoned-up straight gay bars. Kanopy - Stream Classic Cinema, Indie Film and Top Documentaries They were afraid that the FBI was following them. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:We would scatter, ka-poom, every which way. And some people came out, being very dramatic, throwing their arms up in a V, you know, the victory sign. Every arrest and prosecution is a step in the education of the public to the solution of the problem. Danny Garvin:We had thought of women's rights, we had thought of black rights, all kinds of human rights, but we never thought of gay rights, and whenever we got kicked out of a bar before, we never came together. 'Cause I really realized that I was being trained as a straight person, so I could really fool these people. There may be some here today that will be homosexual in the future. Dick Leitsch:And the blocks were small enough that we could run around the block and come in behind them before they got to the next corner. We love to hear from our listeners! Other images in this film are Virginia Apuzzo: I grew up with that. New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. We didn't necessarily know where we were going yet, you know, what organizations we were going to be or how things would go, but we became something I, as a person, could all of a sudden grab onto, that I couldn't grab onto when I'd go to a subway T-room as a kid, or a 42nd street movie theater, you know, or being picked up by some dirty old man. I learned, very early, that those horrible words were about me, that I was one of those people. The very idea of being out, it was ludicrous. And it was those loudest people, the most vulnerable, the most likely to be arrested, were the ones that were doing the real fighting. American Airlines It was nonsense, it was nonsense, it was all the people there, that were reacting and opposing what was occurring. I was wearing my mother's black and white cocktail dress that was empire-waisted. Mike Wallace (Archival):The average homosexual, if there be such, is promiscuous. It's not my cup of tea. Martha Shelley:Before Stonewall, the homophile movement was essentially the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis and all of these other little gay organizations, some of which were just two people and a mimeograph machine. He brought in gay-positive materials and placed that in a setting that people could come to and feel comfortable in. But everybody knew it wasn't normal stuff and everyone was on edge and that was the worst part of it because you knew they were on edge and you knew that the first shot that was fired meant all the shots would be fired. And here they were lifting things up and fighting them and attacking them and beating them. Because that's what they were looking for, any excuse to try to bust the place. The New York Times / Redux Pictures Newly restored for the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Before Stonewall pries open the . Narrator (Archival):We arrested homosexuals who committed their lewd acts in public places. This was a highly unusual raid, going in there in the middle of the night with a full crowd, the Mafia hasn't been alerted, the Sixth Precinct hasn't been alerted. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:The Stonewall, they didn't have a liquor license and they were raided by the cops regularly and there were pay-offs to the cops, it was awful. It was as if they were identifying a thing. Raymond Castro Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:Saturday night there it was. Windows started to break. Narrator (Archival):This is a nation of laws. Richard Enman (Archival):Present laws give the adult homosexual only the choice of being, to simplify the matter, heterosexual and legal or homosexual and illegal. Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen Gay History Papers and Photographs, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations Stonewall Forever Explore the monument Watch the documentary Download the AR app About & FAQ Privacy Policy Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:A rather tough lesbian was busted in the bar and when she came out of the bar she was fighting the cops and trying to get away. [7] In 1989, it won the Festival's Plate at the Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. You know, it's just, everybody was there. The Mafia owned the jukeboxes, they owned the cigarette machines and most of the liquor was off a truck hijacking. John O'Brien:It was definitely dark, it was definitely smelly and raunchy and dirty and that's the only places that we had to meet each other, was in the very dirty, despicable places. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:There were all these articles in likeLife Magazineabout how the Village was liberal and people that were called homosexuals went there. And it was fantastic. If there's one place in the world where you can dance and feel yourself fully as a person and that's threatened with being taken away, those words are fighting words. Fred Sargeant:In the '60s, I met Craig Rodwell who was running the Oscar Wilde Bookshop. On this episode, the fight for gay rights before Stonewall. Mary Queen of the Scotch, Congo Woman, Captain Faggot, Miss Twiggy. It's a history that people feel a huge sense of ownership over. Danny Garvin:It was a chance to find love. If you came to a place like New York, you at least had the opportunity of connecting with people, and finding people who didn't care that you were gay. They really were objecting to how they were being treated. But as visibility increased, the reactions of people increased. You know. [00:00:55] Oh, my God. Maureen Jordan Martin Boyce:It was thrilling. And we were singing: "We are the Village girls, we wear our hair in curls, we wear our dungarees, above our nellie knees." I first engaged in such acts when I was 14 years old. John DiGiacomo You see these cops, like six or eight cops in drag. Before Stonewall (1984) - Plot Summary - IMDb I grew up in a very Catholic household and the conflict of issues of redemption, of is it possible that if you are this thing called homosexual, is it possible to be redeemed? Raymond Castro:We were in the back of the room, and the lights went on, so everybody stopped what they were doing, because now the police started coming in, raiding the bar. This time they said, "We're not going." David Alpert And it just seemed like, fantastic because the background was this industrial, becoming an industrial ruin, it was a masculine setting, it was a whole world. Martin Boyce:For me, there was no bar like the Stonewall, because the Stonewall was like the watering hole on the savannah. We didn't want to come on, you know, wearing fuzzy sweaters and lipstick, you know, and being freaks. John O'Brien:If a gay man is caught by the police and is identified as being involved in what they called lewd, immoral behavior, they would have their person's name, their age and many times their home address listed in the major newspapers. Former U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with gay rights activist Frank Kameny after signing a memorandum on federal benefits and non-discrimination in the Oval Office on June 17, 2009. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:TheNew York TimesI guess printed a story, but it wasn't a major story. The groundbreaking 1984 film "Before Stonewall" introduced audiences to some of the key players and places that helped spark the Greenwich Village riots. One was the 1845 statute that made it a crime in the state to masquerade. Don't fire until I fire. It was tremendous freedom. Mike Wallace (Archival):Dr. Charles Socarides is a New York psychoanalyst at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. In the trucks or around the trucks. In 1969 it was common for police officers to rough up a gay bar and ask for payoffs. First Run Features I was never seduced by an older person or anything like that. We'd say, "Here comes Lillian.". William Eskridge, Professor of Law: The 1960s were dark ages for lesbians and gay men all over America. The Chicago riots, the Human Be-in, the dope smoking, the hippies. We knew it was a gay bar, we walked past it. Patricia Yusah, Marketing and Communications To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, activists rode their motorcycles during the city's 1989 gay-pride parade. WPA Film Library, Thanks to Corbis Richard Enman (Archival):Well, let me say, first of all, what type of laws we are not after, because there has been much to-do that the Society was in favor of the legalization of marriage between homosexuals, and the adoption of children, and such as that, and that is not at all factual at all. Martha Shelley:If you were in a small town somewhere, everybody knew you and everybody knew what you did and you couldn't have a relationship with a member of your own sex, period. Based on And I just didn't understand that. You know, all of a sudden, I had brothers and sisters, you know, which I didn't have before. LGBTQ+ History Before Stonewall | Stacker Even non-gay people. Jimmy hadn't enjoyed himself so much in a long time. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community And the first gay power demonstration to my knowledge was against my story inThe Village Voiceon Wednesday. As you read, keep in mind that LGBTQ+ is a relatively new term and, while queer people have always existed, the terminology has changed frequently over the years. Danny Garvin:And the cops just charged them. That wasn't ours, it was borrowed. A medievalist. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:Those of us that were the street kids we didn't think much about the past or the future. Mayor John Lindsay, like most mayors, wanted to get re-elected. Martin Boyce:I wasn't labeled gay, just "different." Lauren Noyes. It won the Best Film Award at the Houston International Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature at Filmex, First Place at the National Educational Film Festival, and Honorable Mention at the Global Village Documentary Festival. and I didn't see anything but a forest of hands. Seymour Wishman John O'Brien:Heterosexuals, legally, had lots of sexual outlets. People standing on cars, standing on garbage cans, screaming, yelling. 1969: The Stonewall Uprising - Library of Congress Not even us. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, we did use the small hoses on the fire extinguishers. Jerry Hoose:The bar itself was a toilet. The idea was to be there first. Jerry Hoose:I mean the riot squad was used to riots. Before Stonewall (1984) - IMDb Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:All of a sudden, in the background I heard some police cars. Before Stonewall (1984) Movie Script | Subs like Script William Eskridge, Professor of Law:All throughout the 60s in New York City, the period when the New York World's Fair was attracting visitors from all over America and all over the world. It was fun to see fags. And you will be caught, don't think you won't be caught, because this is one thing you cannot get away with. A New York Police officer grabs a man by the hair as another officer clubs a. Cause we could feel a sense of love for each other that we couldn't show out on the street, because you couldn't show any affection out on the street. Narrator (Archival):This involves showing the gay man pictures of nude males and shocking him with a strong electric current. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We were looking for secret exits and one of the policewomen was able to squirm through the window and they did find a way out. Martin Boyce:I had cousins, ten years older than me, and they had a car sometimes. Original Language: English. A gay rights march in New York in favor of the 1968 Civil Rights Act being amended to include gay rights. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community is a 1984 American documentary film about the LGBT community prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots. TV Host (Archival):Are those your own eyelashes? You know, we wanted to be part of the mainstream society. Dick Leitsch:New York State Liquor Authority had a rule that one known homosexual at a licensed premise made the place disorderly, so nobody would set up a place where we could meet because they were afraid that the cops would come in to close it, and that's how the Mafia got into the gay bar business. Slate:Activity Group Therapy (1950), Columbia University Educational Films. Just let's see if they can. And we had no right to such. Directors Greta Schiller Robert Rosenberg (co-director) Stars Rita Mae Brown Maua Adele Ajanaku (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). National Archives and Records Administration John O'Brien:The election was in November of 1969 and this was the summer of 1969, this was June. And the Stonewall was part of that system. Finally, Mayor Lindsay listened to us and he announced that there would be no more police entrapment in New York City. And it would take maybe a half hour to clear the place out. That was our world, that block. Eric Marcus, Writer:It was incredibly hot. Marc Aubin New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:The moment you stepped out that door there would be hundreds facing you. Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. People started throwing pennies. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:What was so good about the Stonewall was that you could dance slow there. Naturally, you get careless, you fall for it, and the next thing you know, you have silver bracelets on both arms. Danny Garvin:We were talking about the revolution happening and we were walking up 7th Avenue and I was thinking it was either Black Panthers or the Young Lords were going to start it and we turned the corner from 7th Avenue onto Christopher Street and we saw the paddy wagon pull up there. The history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement. The mob was saying, you know, "Screw you, cops, you think you can come in a bust us up? Leroy S. Mobley I mean does anyone know what that is? Jerry Hoose:I was chased down the street with billy clubs. One of the world's oldest and largest gay pride parades became a victory celebration after New York's historic decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Martha Shelley The music was great, cafes were good, you know, the coffee houses were good. 'Before Stonewall' Tracks the Pre-Movement Era | International Fred Sargeant:Three articles of clothing had to be of your gender or you would be in violation of that law. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:But there were little, tiny pin holes in the plywood windows, I'll call them the windows but they were plywood, and we could look out from there and every time I went over and looked out through one of those pin holes where he did, we were shocked at how big the crowd had become. Danny Garvin:With Waverly Street coming in there, West Fourth coming in there, Seventh Avenue coming in there, Christopher Street coming in there, there was no way to contain us. Eric Marcus, Writer:The Mattachine Society was the first gay rights organization, and they literally met in a space with the blinds drawn. The events. Stonewall Tscript | PDF | Homosexuality | Lgbt ABCNEWS VideoSource Doric Wilson:There was joy because the cops weren't winning. You were alone. Once it started, once that genie was out of the bottle, it was never going to go back in. John O'Brien:I was very anti-police, had many years already of activism against the forces of law and order. In addition to interviews with activists and scholars, the film includes the reflections of renowned writer Allen Ginsberg. It is usually after the day at the beach that the real crime occurs. Is that conceivable? It meant nothing to us. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:The Stonewall riots came at a central point in history. Marcus spoke with NPR's Ari Shapiro about his conversations with leaders of the gay-rights movement, as well as people who were at Stonewall when the riots broke out. Doric Wilson:That's what happened Stonewall night to a lot of people. In the Life Raymond Castro:Incendiary devices were being thrown in I don't think they were Molotov cocktails, but it was just fire being thrown in when the doors got open. Synopsis. Atascadero was known in gay circles as the Dachau for queers, and appropriately so. The award-winning documentary film, Before Stonewall, which was released theatrically and broadcast on PBS television in 1984, explored the history of the lesbian and gay rights movement in the United States prior to 1969. Alexis Charizopolis You had no place to try to find an identity. I was celebrating my birthday at the Stonewall. Today, that event is seen as the start of the gay civil rights movement, but gay activists and organizations were standing up to harassment and discrimination years before. Revisiting 'Before Stonewall' Film for the 50th Anniversary | Time It said the most dreadful things, it said nothing about being a person. Queer was very big. His movements are not characteristic of a real boy. I told the person at the door, I said "I'm 18 tonight" and he said to me, "you little SOB," he said. That's it. We were winning. Charles Harris, Transcriptions John O'Brien:In the Civil Rights Movement, we ran from the police, in the peace movement, we ran from the police. It was like a reward. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:What they did in the Stonewall that night. It was as bad as any situation that I had met in during the army, had just as much to worry about. A year earlier, young gays, lesbians and transgender people clashed with police near a bar called The Stonewall Inn. Geoff Kole But I'm wearing this police thing I'm thinking well if they break through I better take it off really quickly but they're gunna come this way and we're going to be backing up and -- who knows what'll happen. But after the uprising, polite requests for change turned into angry demands. I never saw so many gay people dancing in my life. Because its all right in the Village, but the minute we cross 14th street, if there's only ten of us, God knows what's going to happen to us.". Geordie, Liam and Theo Gude It premiered at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 27, 1985. I famously used the word "fag" in the lead sentence I said "the forces of faggotry." So you couldn't have a license to practice law, you couldn't be a licensed doctor. Quentin Heilbroner Do you want them to lose all chance of a normal, happy, married life? William Eskridge, Professor of Law:Gay people who were sentenced to medical institutions because they were found to be sexual psychopaths, were subjected sometimes to sterilization, occasionally to castration, sometimes to medical procedures, such as lobotomies, which were felt by some doctors to cure homosexuality and other sexual diseases. Dick Leitsch:Very often, they would put the cops in dresses, with makeup and they usually weren't very convincing. I mean, I came out in Central Park and other places. I mean I'm only 19 and this'll ruin me. Transcript Aired June 9, 2020 Stonewall Uprising The Year That Changed America Film Description When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of. Jay Fialkov Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:It really should have been called Stonewall uprising. It was narrated by author Rita Mae Brown, directed by Greta Schiller, co-directed by Robert Rosenberg, and co-produced by John Scagliotti and Rosenberg, and Schiller. So I attempted suicide by cutting my wrists. TV Host (Archival):That's a very lovely dress too that you're wearing Simone. Tweet at us @throughlineNPR, send us an email, or leave us a voicemail at (872) 588-8805. Getting then in the car, rocking them back and forth. It was an age of experimentation. View in iTunes. And these were meat trucks that in daytime were used by the meat industry for moving dead produce, and they really reeked, but at nighttime, that's where people went to have sex, you know, and there would be hundreds and hundreds of men having sex together in these trucks. Martin Boyce:We were like a Hydra. In 1924, the first gay rights organization is founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago. But I was just curious, I didn't want to participate because number one it was so packed. David Carter, Author ofStonewall:There was also vigilantism, people were using walkie-talkies to coordinate attacks on gay men. Alfredo del Rio, Archival Still and Motion Images Courtesy of Martin Boyce:The day after the first riot, when it was all over, and I remember sitting, sun was soon to come, and I was sitting on the stoop, and I was exhausted and I looked at that street, it was dark enough to allow the street lamps to pick up the glitter of all the broken glass, and all the debris, and all the different colored cloth, that was in different places. When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City on June 28, 1969, the street erupted into violent protests that lasted for the next six days. Martin Boyce:And I remember moving into the open space and grabbing onto two of my friends and we started singing and doing a kick line. A lot of them had been thrown out of their families. Jerry Hoose:I was afraid it was over. "Daybreak Express" by D.A. [7] In 1987, the film won Emmy Awards for Best Historical/Cultural Program and Best Research. They frequent their own clubs, and bars and coffee houses, where they can escape the disapproving eye of the society that they call straight. In the sexual area, in psychology, psychiatry. Documentary | Stonewall Forever The shop had been threatened, we would get hang-up calls, calls where people would curse at us on the phone, we'd had vandalism, windows broken, streams of profanity. [00:00:58] Well, this I mean, this is a part of my own history in this weird, inchoate sense. So anything that would set us off, we would go into action. They call them hotels, motels, lovers' lanes, drive-in movie theaters, etc. All the rules were off in the '60s. It was the only time I was in a gladiatorial sport that I stood up in. Available on Prime Video, Tubi TV, iTunes. That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. Never, never, never. We knew that this was a moment that we didn't want to let slip past, because it was something that we could use to bring more of the groups together. So I got into the subway, and on the car was somebody I recognized and he said, "I've never been so scared in my life," and I said, "Well, please let there be more than ten of us, just please let there be more than ten of us.
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