![]() ![]() The uprising continued for the next five days as a spontaneous response to the outrage that had been building within the community for years due to discrimination and mistreatment. Bricks were hurled and windows were broken, with the bar eventually being set on fire. Outnumbered by 500 to 600 people, police officers were forced to barricade themselves in the bar for safety. That is when violence broke out, with the crowd advancing toward the police. After escaping repeatedly and scuffling with the officers, she shouted to the crowd, “Why don’t you guys do something?” The tipping point came when a woman in handcuffs, often identified as lesbian entertainer Stormé DeLarverie, was hit on the head with a baton when she complained that her restraints were too tight. The crowd threw beer bottles at the patrol wagon and cheered on a drag queen as she hit an officer over the head with her purse after being shoved. Chants of “Gay Power!” moved through the crowd and an edge of hostility took over. This was cheered on by the crowd, which only pumped up the crowd. The police were often forceful with the crowd, but many patrons began to make a performance in front of the police by posing and making exaggerated movements. Left: Stonewall Inn in 1969 (Photo: Diana Davies, copyright owned by New York Public Library, CC BY-SA) | Right: Stormé DeLarverie (Photo: Wikipedia) “Why don't you guys do something?” Many called friends to make them aware of what was happening and the crowd grew larger. Other patrons were free to leave, but instead of dispersing quietly, they assembled outside of the bar. My second biggest fear was that my picture would be in a newspaper or on a television report in my mother's dress!”Įventually, the police separated everyone who was dressed in clothing not conforming to their gender into another room and decided to bring everyone to the station. “My biggest fear was that I would get arrested. Maria Ritter, a transgender woman whose family still knew her as male, was at the bar and remembers her concern. Stonewall’s clientele did not show signs of cooperating-men dressed in drag refused to go with the officers and many refused to show identification. But this time, things didn’t go as planned. ![]() ![]() Officers tried to get on with the usual procedure of these raids-have everyone line up in rooms by their presenting gender and show ID. As the police had barred the doors, there was no escape. The lights were turned on and the bar’s 205 patrons were caught in the confusion. Employees have no recollection of being tipped off about a police raid, so when four plainclothes officers, two patrol officers, a detective, and a deputy inspector entered at 1:20 am and declared that they were taking hold of the bar, it was a surprise to everyone.Įarlier in the evening, four undercover officers-two men and two women-had entered the bar to gather visual evidence and once the sign was given, reinforcements entered. On Saturday, Jit was business as usual at the Stonewall Inn. This included women who weren’t wearing at least three “appropriately female” items of clothing, drag queens, and transgender men and women. ![]() Anyone who had an ID that did not match up with their presenting gender was immediately arrested. When raids did happen, people were lined up against a wall and asked to produce identification. The downside to this was that drinks were often watered down and overpriced and the staff was often mistreated. This way they could continue earning for the rest of the night. In the case that there were raids, owners were usually tipped off and they often occurred at the beginning of the night when there were few clients. They were almost all owned by members of the Mafia, who were able to pull liquor licenses and pay off the police so that their clientele could mingle in peace. None of these bars were owned by gay people. This made gay bars one of the few places of refuge where people could go out, relax, and meet other like-minded people.īut, even at the gay bar, all was not as it seemed. Still, members of the community were often harassed. Things settled down somewhat after 1965, when an early gay rights group-the Mattachine Society-campaigned the city’s new mayor to stop entrapment. Liquor licenses for gay bars were pulled and undercover officers aimed to entrap gay men so that they could be charged with solicitation. Police raids were common in the city, particularly leading up to the 1964 World’s Fair, when the mayor had concerns about the city’s image. In New York City, Greenwich Village and Harlem were the hubs of large, active gay and lesbian communities. Sweeps of city neighborhoods to rid them of gay people were routine. Law enforcement kept lists of homosexuals and their activities were tracked. ![]()
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