Today is the 37th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion (ok, I'm a day late; I messed up on the one-post-per-24-hours rule. Apologies).
What was Stonewall and why is it important to remember?
June 28, 1969. Around 1:30 in the morning, police raid a well known New York gay club, the Stonewall Inn. At the time, this was still a somewhat common practice.
Around 1:20 in the morning, eight officers (only one in uniform) entered the club, with plans to arrrest segments of the crowd. Stories differ, as they always do, about what happened next. But they all describe escalating tensions, eventually leading to fists, flying bottles, and the like.
The crowd began to organize, tried to light the bar afire, and began fighting the police. The scene swelled to 2000 people swinging against 400 police officers. Only 13 arrests were made, and 4 officers hurt.
The next night the crowd returned. Not as high in numbers, or quite as violent, but still they congregated and made their presence known. A third day of rebellion took place a few days later, with 1000 people coming out in solidarity and support (and also for the general melee of rioting).
Stonewall began a lightning rod for the gay liberation movement. It brought the scene, and the unjust laws and police enforcement, into a more mainstream view. It also gave the community a sense of solidarity within itself. Years of frustration boiled up and over at the Stonewall Inn, and the feeling was a universal one for the disenfranchised. It was 1969; the civil rights movement had just fully flexed its muscle and black power was coming into vogue, feminism was taking off, the anti-war movement and radicalism in general saw a swell it had not know in decades. Social upheaval was in the air.
Stonewall is still strongly remembered in the gay community, but it should not be lost on the public at large. It represents, like so many instances of American history, that paradox of social progress. We love to believe we have moved fully forward, that the brave new world of the great society is NOW. But in doing so we close our eyes to those we have left out of this American Dream. We keep the blinders on.
Stonewall was a rebellion born out of violent repression of one group of people over another. That is endearing, in a strange American kind of way. But it represents much more than an instance of repression or a surge of anger. It was a call to action, particularly to those who chose to remain in silent collusion. Stonewall was the birth of a movement, and the (rainbow) flag of gay liberation is one that cannot be put down.