- In the 1960s, the New York City police were allowed to arrest anyone wearing less than three pieces of clothing that matched the stereotype of their assigned gender.
- Bars that sold alcohol to known or suspected LGBTQ+ people could and would be shut down.
- By 1966, the LGBT+ community was allowed to be served alcohol.
- Holding hands, kissing, or dancing with someone of the same sex was illegal.
- Many gay bars were owned by mafia and did not have liquor licenses.
- The Genovese crime family bought Stonewall Inn in 1966, renovated, and reopened as a gay bar in 1967.
- The Stonewall Inn was registered as a “bottle bar” where people brought their own alcohol because there were still laws against LGBT people being served alcohol.
- There were raids but corrupt cops would inform bars run by the Mafia so they could hide alcohol and other illegalities (ex. gay dancing)
- On June 28, 1969, there was surprise raid on the Stonewall Inn.
- 13 people were arrested for selling alcohol and not wearing enough “gender appropriate clothing.”
- Female officers brought patrons suspected of cross-dressing into the bathroom to check their biological sex and count pieces of gender appropriate clothing.
- People were beat up and physically abused.
- An officer hit a lesbian over the head and she called for onlookers to take action.
- The crowd started throwing things(ex. bottles, stones, coins) at the officers and the riot began.
- The police and their prisoners barricaded themselves into the bar, the crowd tried to set it on fire.
- Protests continued for five days, especially after “The Village Voice” published their own account.
- In 2016 President Obama declared Stonewall Inn and the surrounding area of the riots as a national monument.
How unfortunate that this is our nation's history. Well, we can't change the past, but we can change the future. Let's make sure that this never happens again.
<3 u, Heather
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