Gay rights protests 1960s
By Emily Sullivan, Historian
June is Parade Month, a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and the independence of LGBTQ+ individuals to be themselves. While the COVID pandemic has forced the cancellation of most Pride events, we can still take time to demonstrate on the history of Lgbtq+ fest, and how members of the LGBTQ+ community have fought for their rights and visibility.
The Stonewall Inn. Marsha P. Johnson, a prominent activist in New York City&#;s gay community, is credited by some as one of the first people to cast a projectile during the Stonewall Riots, although Johnson personally denied the claim. Learn more about her life and legacy here. Source: Wikimedia
Pride is held in June to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising, a series of riots that began on June 28, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City&#;s Greenwich Village. Prior to the riots, American gay rights activists favored methods that emphasized nonviolence and learning process on how gay people could assimilate into American society. By the late s, the atmosphere was ripe for change. Years of Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War protes
The Stage
ss: Homophile Movement (cont’d)
Public Protest
On Sept, , Craig Rodwell, Randy Wicker, and other activists and representatives of the New York League for Sexual Freedom picketed the Whitehall Induction Center in New York City to demonstration the military’s anti-homosexual policies. This may have been homosexuals&rsquo first public object in the U.S.
Numerous protests occurred in In April, activists protested discrimination in the U.S. and Cuba against homosexuals. Their small but visible demonstrations in front of the United Nations building in New York City brought attention to their bring about. In May, the East Coast Homophile Organizations staged the first demonstration in front of the White House. Seven men, including Jack Nichols, and three women, including Judy Grahn, picketed. Wire services reported on the event. In July, demonstrators picketed the Pentagon to protest discrimination in the military. In August, demonstrators protesting anti-gay policies picketed the State Department for the first time. Then in October , the East Coast Homophile Organizatio
Barbara Gittings Helps Lead First 'Annual Reminder' Protests
Vice squads–police units devoted to “cleaning up” undesirable parts of urban life–routinely raided the bars frequented by Diverse people. Laws against people of the same sex dancing together or wearing clothing made for the opposite sex were used as justification to arrest patrons. By the s in New York Municipality, the mafia owned many of these establishments and its members would bribe officers in order to avoid fines. Sometimes the arrangement meant that patrons would be forewarned of a pending raid in time to change their clothing and stop dancing. That wasn’t true during the early morning hours of June 28 , when the NYPD raided the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village.
When they arrived at Stonewall, the police locked the doors so that no one could escape as they conducted arrests. As certain patrons were released, they connected a large crowd that had been gathering outside the bar. Those chosen for arrest started resisting the police officers with the encouragement of the jeering crowd. Violence broke out and the
The Year of Male lover Liberation
| The Right to Be Mattachine Society of New York. "Homosexuals Are Different . . ." Poster, s. NYPL, Manuscripts and Archives Division, Mattachine Society of New York Records. |