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Grace Kovacs
Scott Hays
English
09 September 2021
Stonewall
The state of acceptance for homosexuality and the lgbtq+ community has come so far in
The United States, that a lot of young people forget the horrors that gay people of the past had to
endure to push for this point in time. There have been many lgbtq+ rights and liberation groups
before June of 1969, but the Stonewall riots sparked the
gay revolution and inspired people to fight. These
photos are literal representations for what this
movement intended to do and what it meant to the
participants and supporters.
In image 1, one of the men at a Stonewall
protest is holding up an American flag while another participant holds up a sign expressing how
they plan to break through their oppression. This symbolises how America is supposed to be “the
land of the free'' where “all men are created equal”, yet people of the queer community were
hardly treated as people. They couldn’t even be served at establishments nor could they be seen
together without getting harassed and ridiculed. Image 2 is another photo of people at a
Stonewall inspired protest. In this one, a line of men hold up a sign reading “Remember
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Stonewall was a riot.” This sign provokes people to remember that these people didn’t always
have rights and couldn’t always freely love who they
love or be who they are. They had to raise hell in
order to get at least a little bit of rights and continue to
fight for more. In both photos, the people standing
united in groups symbolizes the sense of community
and solidarity within this movement. These photos put into perspective how long queer
Americans have been struggling to gain equality and respect. The lgbtq+ still combat
homophobia within the laws of the government and society. To this day, each struggle the
community has had to endure, they have overcome as a community.
There were gay bars and other safe spaces that permitted gay and transgender people but
they were heavily restricted and often raided by cops. It was illegal to serve alcohol to queer
people and for them to dance together. A lot of bars would warn their guests of upcoming raids
and demand them to stop dancing and drinking if they didn’t want to get caught, but it wasn’t
always successful. That’s why the Stonewall Inn became so popular.
Thanks to the mafia, queer people in New York had a safe space to be themselves without
so many run ins with the police. However, a visit to the Stonewall Inn was rather pricey due to its
protection provided by the mafia. Unfortunately on June 28th of 1969, the police got a warrant to
raid the inn at about two in the morning. Unaware at the time, that was the best thing they could
have done for the gay liberation movement to come.
All of the guests were escorted outside of the inn to be arrested, but one of the women
dressed in masculine clothing who is speculated to be the lesbian activist, Storme DeLarverie,
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complained of her handcuffs being too tight and encouraged the crowd to do something. That's
when the crowd started throwing anything from pennies, bottles and bricks at the police officers.
They were angry and tired of the constant harassment and attacks on who they were and knew
that nothing would have been done if they didn’t go to these measures and truly riot for their
rights as human beings.
Marsha P. Johnson is a gay liberation activist and the first drag queen to show up to the
Stonewall Inn with her close friend, Sylvia Rivera, after they started allowing more than just gay
men to enter. She is the face of the Stonewall movement and is said to be the one who threw the
first brick, but she admits to not getting there until well after the riot began. However, Marsha P
Johnson and Sylvia Rivera have greatly impacted and contributed to many gay liberation riots,
protests, and organizations. They even founded their own organization called the Street
Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). This organization supports street activism for the
lgbtq+ and other radical politics. They also provided houses for homeless queer youth and sex
workers with no where else to go. Unfortunately, Johnson’s body was found lifeless in the
Hudson River at the age of forty-six, shortly after a pride parade in 1992. The police ruled it a
suicide due to her history with mental illness. Friends and people who knew her claimed that she
wasn’t suicidal and pointed out a large wound behind her head. She was very obviously
murdered and the cops did nothing about it. It was devastating to see someone who’s done so
much for the community be brutally murdered with no justice. Her contributions are everlasting
and she will always be remembered for her work.
Long since the Stonewall riots, the lgbtq+ community continues to gain civil rights and
become steps closer to equality. About a year after the riots, the first pride parade was hosted on
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June 28th, 1970 and is known today as Christopher Street Liberation Day. To this day, pride
parades and events continue to be hosted and June has been officially declared as pride month by
three United States presidents. Pride month is a time to recognize and celebrate the progress thats
been accomplished to achieve the current state of gay liberation. It’s also a time to unite with
other members of the lgbtq+ and be proud of their queerness as opposed to being scared and
shameful.
The progression for the lgbtq+ community’s rights hasn't always been a straight path, no
pun intended. Progress was stunted when the Aids pandemic hit. This illness was used to further
dehuamize queer people and people claimed that the illness was punishment for thir sins. Back in
the day they called Hiv and Aids, Grid, which meant “gay-related immune defficiancy.” They
later proved that anyone of all sexualities were capable of catching “Grid” so they renamed it
Aids, “acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.”
Aids didn’t discourage the passion in this movement. Those who survived continue to
fight for freedom of oppression and the community have come a long way. Homosexuality’s
diagnosis as an illness has been abolished, travel bans relating to sexuality and identity have been
lifted, laws preventing queer marriages have been eradicated and queer people are even getting
decent representation in the media. The photos previously shown are representations of what it
was like for queer people not too long ago, and are also representations of what can be achieved
when working together. Members of the lgbtq+ in America no longer have to resort to riotting
for their rights. The fight continues, but the accomplishments made thus far are ones to be proud
of.
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Works Cited
Holland, Brynn. “How the Mob Helped Establish NYC’s Gay Bar Scene.” HISTORY, 25 June
2020, www.history.com/news/how-the-mob-helped-establish-nycs-gay-bar-scene.
“NYCdata | Disasters.” Www.Baruch.Cuny.Edu,
www.baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/disasters/riots-stonewall.html. Accessed 16 Sept. 2021.
History.com Editors. “Stonewall Riots.” HISTORY, 25 June 2021,
www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots.
Pruitt, Sarah. “What Happened at the Stonewall Riots? A Timeline of the 1969 Uprising.”
HISTORY, 29 June 2021, www.history.com/news/stonewall-riots-timeline.
Wikipedia contributors. “Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries.” Wikipedia, 3 June 2021,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Transvestite_Action_Revolutionaries.
Wikipedia contributors. “Marsha P. Johnson.” Wikipedia, 14 Sept. 2021,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsha_P._Johnson.
White, Arisa. “From Midnight Raids To Same-Sex Marriage: What's Changed In The 50 Years
Since Stonewall.” Refinery29, 31 May 2019,