The "Stonewall Era" corresponds with the opening of the Stonewall in January 1966 until it closed in December 1969.īy 1969, the Stonewall Inn (now a national monument) was one of the most popular gay bars in New York City.Throughout the state, homosexuality was considered a criminal offense, and it would take over a decade of organizing before "same-sex relationships" were legalized in 1980 (New York v. Pepper Hill Club Raid, Baltimore, Maryland in 1955.Coopers Do-Nut Raid, Los Angeles, California, 1959.Compton's Cafeteria Raid, San Francisco, California, 1966.Black Night Brawl, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 5, 1961.Black Cat Raid, Los Angeles, California, 1967.LGBTQIA+ histories. Some of the pre-Stonewall uprisings included: These events and the people involved have not received as much historical attention as Stonewall, but are just as central to understandings of U.S. It is important to note that there were a number of uprisings against police & state brutality, harassment and entrapment of the LGBT+ communities in the U.S. in the years before Stonewall. "The rebellion ( it was never a 'riot') lasted five inconsecutive nights ( they were not 'riots')." -STONEWALL Veterans' Association
Early publications show that the LGBTQIA+ community largely did not use the term riot until years after the fact. The reference to these events as riots was initially used by police to justify their use of force. While the events of Stonewall are often referred to as "riots," Stonewall veterans have explicitly stated that they prefer the term Stonewall uprising or rebellion. Historians have noted that the shift in activism, if Stonewall truly represented one at all, was a shift primarily for white cisgender people, as people of color and gender non-conforming people never truly had the benefit of concealing their marginalized identities. While Stonewall became well known due to the media coverage and the subsequent annual Pride traditions, it was a culmination of years of LGBTQ+ activism. It was not the first time police raided a gay bar, and it was not the first time LGBTQ+ people fought back, but the events that would unfold over the next six days would fundamentally change the discourse surrounding LGBTQ+ activism in the United States.
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Jmarks the beginning of the Stonewall Uprising, a series of events between police and LGBTQ+ protesters which stretched over six days.