If anybody should find out I was gay and would tell my mother, who was in a wheelchair, it would have broken my heart and she would have thought she did something wrong. They'd go into the bathroom or any place that was private, that they could either feel them, or check them visually. We heard one, then more and more. In addition to interviews with activists and scholars, the film includes the reflections of renowned writer Allen Ginsberg. The documentary shows how homosexual people enjoyed and shared with each other. Revealing and, by turns, humorous and horrifying, this widely acclaimed film relives the emotional and political spark of today's gay rights movement - the events that . Raymond Castro:You could hear screaming outside, a lot of noise from the protesters and it was a good sound. I didn't think I could have been any prettier than that night. Jerry Hoose:I mean the riot squad was used to riots. William Eskridge, Professor of Law: The 1960s were dark ages for lesbians and gay men all over America. People could take shots at us. Jerry Hoose:The police would come by two or three times a night. Eventually something was bound to blow. Creating the First Visual History of Queer Life Before Stonewall Making a landmark documentary about LGBTQ Americans before 1969 meant digging through countless archives to find traces of. Danny Garvin:With Waverly Street coming in there, West Fourth coming in there, Seventh Avenue coming in there, Christopher Street coming in there, there was no way to contain us. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! And we were singing: "We are the Village girls, we wear our hair in curls, we wear our dungarees, above our nellie knees." Martin Boyce:For me, there was no bar like the Stonewall, because the Stonewall was like the watering hole on the savannah. What Jimmy didn't know is that Ralph was sick. It won the Best Film Award at the Houston International Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature at Filmex, First Place at the National Educational Film Festival, and Honorable Mention at the Global Village Documentary Festival. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:There were no instructions except: put them out of business. So I run down there. When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City on June 28, 1969, the street erupted into violent protests that lasted for the next six days. And Dick Leitsch, who was the head of the Mattachine Society said, "Who's in favor?" Richard Enman (Archival):Ye - well, that's yes and no. Colonial House That's it. And I had become very radicalized in that time. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:So you're outside, and you see like two people walking toward these trucks and you think, "Oh I think I'll go in there," you go in there, there's like a lot of people in there and it's all dark. America thought we were these homosexual monsters and we were so innocent, and oddly enough, we were so American. Just let's see if they can. The New York Times / Redux Pictures Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:Those of us that were the street kids we didn't think much about the past or the future. The mayor of New York City, the police commissioner, were under pressure to clean up the streets of any kind of quote unquote "weirdness." I was a man. Martin Boyce:You could be beaten, you could have your head smashed in a men's room because you were looking the wrong way. Fred Sargeant:In the '60s, I met Craig Rodwell who was running the Oscar Wilde Bookshop. There were gay bars in Midtown, there were gay bars uptown, there were certain kinds of gay bars on the Upper East Side, you know really, really, really buttoned-up straight gay bars. Tweet at us @throughlineNPR, send us an email, or leave us a voicemail at (872) 588-8805. In the Life Getting then in the car, rocking them back and forth. Because that's what they were looking for, any excuse to try to bust the place. Maureen Jordan And in a sense the Stonewall riots said, "Get off our backs, deliver on the promise." William Eskridge, Professor of Law:In states like New York, there were a whole basket of crimes that gay people could be charged with. We'll put new liquor in there, we'll put a new mirror up, we'll get a new jukebox." I would get in the back of the car and they would say, "We're going to go see faggots." Raymond Castro:Incendiary devices were being thrown in I don't think they were Molotov cocktails, but it was just fire being thrown in when the doors got open. John O'Brien:They had increased their raids in the trucks. This was in front of the police. Abstract. Homosexuals do not want that, you might find some fringe character someplace who says that that's what he wants. Martha Shelley:The riot could have been buried, it could have been a few days in the local newspaper and that was that. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:At the peak, as many as 500 people per year were arrested for the crime against nature, and between 3- and 5,000 people per year arrested for various solicitation or loitering crimes. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:The police would zero in on us because sometimes they would be in plain clothes, and sometimes they would even entrap. Geoff Kole The Chicago riots, the Human Be-in, the dope smoking, the hippies. Gay people were told we didn't have any of that. It was a 100% profit, I mean they were stealing the liquor, then watering it down, and they charging twice as much as they charged one door away at the 55. It was a way to vent my anger at being repressed. Jerry Hoose:The bar itself was a toilet. Where did you buy it? This 19-year-old serviceman left his girlfriend on the beach to go to a men's room in a park nearby where he knew that he could find a homosexual contact. And if we catch you, involved with a homosexual, your parents are going to know about it first. And a couple of 'em had pulled out their guns. The severity of the punishment varies from state to state. Available on Prime Video, Tubi TV, iTunes. Many of those activists have since died, but Marcus preserved their voices for his book, titled Making Gay History. Martin Boyce:I wasn't labeled gay, just "different." My father said, "About time you fags rioted.". Jerry Hoose:I was afraid it was over. Stonewall Uprising Program Transcript Slate: In 1969, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois. It's not my cup of tea. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:Yes, entrapment did exist, particularly in the subway system, in the bathrooms. And it would take maybe a half hour to clear the place out. Eric Marcus, Writer:It was incredibly hot. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt Original Language: English. I say, I cannot tell this without tearing up. John O'Brien:Cops got hurt. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We were looking for secret exits and one of the policewomen was able to squirm through the window and they did find a way out. Raymond Castro:New York City subways, parks, public bathrooms, you name it. Before Stonewall. How do you think that would affect him mentally, for the rest of their lives if they saw an act like that being? They were getting more ferocious. [7] In 1987, the film won Emmy Awards for Best Historical/Cultural Program and Best Research. They really were objecting to how they were being treated. This is one thing that if you don't get caught by us, you'll be caught by yourself. And that, that was a very haunting issue for me. The homosexual, bitterly aware of his rejection, responds by going underground. I just thought you had to get through this, and I thought I could get through it, but you really had to be smart about it. Hear more of the conversation and historical interviews at the audio link. Dick Leitsch:We wore suits and ties because we wanted people, in the public, who were wearing suits and ties, to identify with us. Martin Boyce:Well, in the front part of the bar would be like "A" gays, like regular gays, that didn't go in any kind of drag, didn't use the word "she," that type, but they were gay, a hundred percent gay. It was not a place that, in my life, me and my friends paid much attention to. On this episode, the fight for gay rights before Stonewall. Danny Garvin:There was more anger and more fight the second night. I mean does anyone know what that is? But it was a refuge, it was a temporary refuge from the street. They were the storm troopers. And then as you turned into the other room with the jukebox, those were the drag queens around the jukebox. There's a little door that slides open with this power-hungry nut behind that, you see this much of your eyes, and he sees that much of your face, and then he decides whether you're going to get in. And so there was this drag queen standing on the corner, so they go up and make a sexual offer and they'd get busted. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:What was so good about the Stonewall was that you could dance slow there. Daily News David Huggins Franco Sacchi, Additional Animation and Effects The Stonewall riots inspired gay Americans to fight for their rights. The windows were always cloaked. There may be some girls here who will turn lesbian. This is every year in New York City. He brought in gay-positive materials and placed that in a setting that people could come to and feel comfortable in. David Carter The first police officer that came in with our group said, "The place is under arrest. Marc Aubin John O'Brien:And deep down I believed because I was gay and couldn't speak out for my rights, was probably one of the reasons that I was so active in the Civil Rights Movement. They pushed everybody like to the back room and slowly asking for IDs. ABCNEWS VideoSource John O'Brien:I was with a group that we actually took a parking meter out of theground, three or four people, and we used it as a battering ram. One was the 1845 statute that made it a crime in the state to masquerade. I have pondered this as "Before Stonewall," my first feature documentary, is back in cinemas after 35 years. I entered the convent at 26, to pursue that question and I was convinced that I would either stay until I got an answer, or if I didn't get an answer just stay. And it's that hairpin trigger thing that makes the riot happen. Janice Flood The mob was saying, you know, "Screw you, cops, you think you can come in a bust us up? All of this stuff was just erupting like a -- as far as they were considered, like a gigantic boil on the butt of America. Giles Kotcher Doric Wilson:There was joy because the cops weren't winning. Susan Liberti Fifty years ago, a riot broke out at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village. The last time I saw him, he was a walking vegetable. Danny Garvin:People were screaming "pig," "copper." We were all there. Read a July 6, 1969excerpt fromTheNew York Daily News. Former U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with gay rights activist Frank Kameny after signing a memorandum on federal benefits and non-discrimination in the Oval Office on June 17, 2009. And I found them in the movie theatres, sitting there, next to them. (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). The events of that night have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement. Jerry Hoose:And I got to the corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street, crossed the street and there I had found Nirvana. The Laramie Project Cast at The Calhoun School Doric Wilson:In those days, the idea of walking in daylight, with a sign saying, "I'm a faggot," was horren--, nobody, nobody was ready to do that. Doric Wilson:That's what happened Stonewall night to a lot of people. Frank Kameny, co-founder of the Mattachine Society, and Shirley Willer, president of the Daughters of Bilitis, spoke to Marcus about being gay before the Stonewall riots happened and what motivated people who were involved in the movement. Transcript A gay rights march in New York in favor of the 1968 Civil Rights Act being amended to include gay rights. John O'Brien And these were meat trucks that in daytime were used by the meat industry for moving dead produce, and they really reeked, but at nighttime, that's where people went to have sex, you know, and there would be hundreds and hundreds of men having sex together in these trucks. Fred Sargeant:When it was clear that things were definitely over for the evening, we decided we needed to do something more. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:It was a bottle club which meant that I guess you went to the door and you bought a membership or something for a buck and then you went in and then you could buy drinks. Tires were slashed on police cars and it just went on all night long. Martha Shelley It was fun to see fags. Mary Queen of the Scotch, Congo Woman, Captain Faggot, Miss Twiggy. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips and personal recollections to construct an audiovisual history of the gay community before the Stonewall riots. Stonewall Forever Explore the monument Watch the documentary Download the AR app About & FAQ Privacy Policy We went, "Oh my God. Judith Kuchar Jerry Hoose:I remember I was in a paddy wagon one time on the way to jail, we were all locked up together on a chain in the paddy wagon and the paddy wagon stopped for a red light or something and one of the queens said "Oh, this is my stop." I mean you got a major incident going on down there and I didn't see any TV cameras at all. Dick Leitsch:Well, gay bars were the social centers of gay life. It was like a reward. Greg Shea, Legal You know. Narrator (Archival):This involves showing the gay man pictures of nude males and shocking him with a strong electric current. But after the uprising, polite requests for change turned into angry demands. And when you got a word, the word was homosexuality and you looked it up. There were occasions where you did see people get night-sticked, or disappear into a group of police and, you know, everybody knew that was not going to have a good end. But as we were going up 6th Avenue, it kept growing. Even non-gay people. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:Gay people who were sentenced to medical institutions because they were found to be sexual psychopaths, were subjected sometimes to sterilization, occasionally to castration, sometimes to medical procedures, such as lobotomies, which were felt by some doctors to cure homosexuality and other sexual diseases. On June 28, 1969, New York City police raided a Greenwich Village gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, setting off a three-day riot that launched the modern American gay rights movement. Newly restored for the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Before Stonewall pries open the . You needed a license even to be a beautician and that could be either denied or taken away from you. Richard Enman (Archival):Present laws give the adult homosexual only the choice of being, to simplify the matter, heterosexual and legal or homosexual and illegal. We knew it was a gay bar, we walked past it. Obama signed the memorandum to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. Narrator (Archival):This is one of the county's principal weekend gathering places for homosexuals, both male and female. Jimmy hadn't enjoyed himself so much in a long time. As you read, keep in mind that LGBTQ+ is a relatively new term and, while queer people have always existed, the terminology has changed frequently over the years. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community is a 1984 American documentary film about the LGBT community prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots. It premiered at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 27, 1985. Yvonne Ritter:I had just turned 18 on June 27, 1969. We don't know. NBC News Archives Martin Boyce:It was thrilling. Absolutely, and many people who were not lucky, felt the cops. Before Stonewall (1984) - full transcript New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. John O'Brien:And then somebody started a fire, they started with little lighters and matches. For those kisses. Dana Gaiser Eric Marcus, Writer:Before Stonewall, there was no such thing as coming out or being out. Ellen Goosenberg Stacker put together a timeline of LGBTQ+ history leading up to Stonewall, beginning with prehistoric events and ending in the late 1960s. Chris Mara It was terrifying. Mike Wallace (Archival):Dr. Charles Socarides is a New York psychoanalyst at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. Dan Bodner A Q-Ball Productions film for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE It's like, this is not right. It eats you up inside not being comfortable with yourself. Dana Kirchoff WGBH Educational Foundation And there was tear gas on Saturday night, right in front of the Stonewall. Available via license: Content may be subject to . Danny Garvin:We had thought of women's rights, we had thought of black rights, all kinds of human rights, but we never thought of gay rights, and whenever we got kicked out of a bar before, we never came together. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Teddy Awards, the film was shown at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2016. Gay bars were to gay people what churches were to blacks in the South. It meant nothing to us. Once it started, once that genie was out of the bottle, it was never going to go back in. Katrina Heilbroner William Eskridge, Professor of Law:Ed Koch who was a democratic party leader in the Greenwich Village area, was a specific leader of the local forces seeking to clean up the streets. You gotta remember, the Stonewall bar was just down the street from there. Fred Sargeant:Someone at this point had apparently gone down to the cigar stand on the corner and got lighter fluid. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:The Stonewall riots came at a central point in history. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:The Stonewall pulled in everyone from every part of gay life. If there had been a riot of that proportion in Harlem, my God, you know, there'd have been cameras everywhere. New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. Leaflets in the 60s were like the internet, today. As kids, we played King Kong. That night, the police ran from us, the lowliest of the low. And the rest of your life will be a living hell. For the first time, we weren't letting ourselves be carted off to jails, gay people were actually fighting back just the way people in the peace movement fought back. It was a horror story. I would wait until there was nobody left to be the girl and then I would be the girl. This book, and the related documentary film, use oral histories to present students with a varied view of lesbian and gay experience. [2][3] Later in 2019, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[4][5][6]. Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. For the first time the next person stood up. Eric Marcus, Writer:The Mattachine Society was the first gay rights organization, and they literally met in a space with the blinds drawn.

Difference Between Arch And Beam, Denise Roberts Nh, Articles B