Created by James
The older I get the more interested I have become in the history of the gay movement and wanting to understand how we have got to where we are today. This pennant is a nod to the past and to an event which could be argued was the most important in the history of the gay movement in the U.S. if not the world.
The Stonewall riots began on June 28th 1969 and were a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ+ community in response to a police raid at the Stonewall inn. The Inn, on Christopher Street in New York’s Greenwich Village, was a popular meeting place for the gay community and police raids were common. On the night of June 27th and in the early hours of June 28th 1969, police raided the bar, throwing patrons and staff onto the streets and arresting others. Unlike in passed raids where patrons and staff were compliant, this time patrons and onlookers fought back against the police. This resistance was fuelled by years of frustration and discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ people. This initial resistance quickly escalated into a riot. The riots and protests lasted several days and finally ended on July the 3rd 1969. They became a major news item in the US and sparked national attention.
The riots were the catalyst for the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement and the inspiration for gay rights organisations including the Gay Liberation Front and the Human Rights Campaign and many more. In the following year, 1970, the first gay pride marches took place in the U.S. in four U.S. cities including New York to mark the anniversary of the riots. This has now become a worldwide event and June has become “Pride Month”. The Stonewall Inn itself was added to the register of historic places in 1999 and later designated as a National Monument in 2016 in recognition of the historical significance of the events.
In the UK we have a gay rights organisation named after the Stonewall Inn. Founded in 1989, Stonewall UK works to combat inequality and homophobia with offices in England, Wales and Scotland. Many books have been written about the Stonewall riots, many with anecdotal evidence from people who were actually there. I have found these to be readily available in my local library and in a well-known High Street bookstore and are well worth a read.
