Your choice, you can come in with us or you can stay out here with the crowd and report your stuff from out here. We had no speakers planned for the rally in Central Park, where we had hoped to get to. Before Stonewall pries open the closet door, setting free dramatic stories from the early 1900's onwards of public and private existence as experienced by LGBT Americans. Martha Shelley:The riot could have been buried, it could have been a few days in the local newspaper and that was that. Martin Boyce:There were these two black, like, banjee guys, and they were saying, "What's goin' on man?" ", Martin Boyce:People in the neighborhood, the most unlikely people were starting to support it. Danny Garvin:Everybody would just freeze or clam up. Samual Murkofsky Because if they weren't there fast, I was worried that there was something going on that I didn't know about and they weren't gonna come. Martin Boyce:It was thrilling. We knew that this was a moment that we didn't want to let slip past, because it was something that we could use to bring more of the groups together. John DiGiacomo That's it. Jerry Hoose:The police would come by two or three times a night. Fred Sargeant:The press did refer to it in very pejorative terms, as a night that the drag queens fought back. Doric Wilson Raymond Castro:If that light goes on, you know to stop whatever you're doing, and separate. Danny Garvin:It was the perfect time to be in the Village. Eric Marcus, Writer:Before Stonewall, there was no such thing as coming out or being out. David Huggins It gives back a little of the terror they gave in my life. We don't know. More than a half-century after its release, " The Queen " serves as a powerful time capsule of queer life as it existed before the 1969 Stonewall uprising. The ones that came close you could see their faces in rage. The Stonewall riots inspired gay Americans to fight for their rights. His movements are not characteristic of a real boy. And there was like this tension in the air and it just like built and built. It was as bad as any situation that I had met in during the army, had just as much to worry about. In 1999, producer Scagliotti directed a companion piece, After Stonewall. It was a real good sound to know that, you know, you had a lot of people out there pulling for you. Over a short period of time, he will be unable to get sexually aroused to the pictures, and hopefully, he will be unable to get sexually aroused inside, in other settings as well. Yvonne Ritter:I had just turned 18 on June 27, 1969. Martha Shelley:If you were in a small town somewhere, everybody knew you and everybody knew what you did and you couldn't have a relationship with a member of your own sex, period. 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. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:All of straight America, in terms of the middle class, was recoiling in horror from what was happening all around them at that time, in that summer and the summer before. They were not used to a bunch of drag queens doing a Rockettes kick line and sort of like giving them all the finger in a way. He said, "Okay, let's go." 1984 documentary film by Greta Schiller and Robert Rosenberg, "Berlinale 2016: Panorama Celebrates Teddy Award's 30th Anniversary and Announces First Titles in Programme", "Guest Post: What I Learned From Revisiting My 1984 Documentary 'Before Stonewall', "See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks", "Complete National Film Registry Listing", "Before Stonewall - Independent Historical Film", Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community (Newly Restored), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Before_Stonewall&oldid=1134540821, Documentary films about United States history, Historiography of LGBT in the United States, United States National Film Registry films, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 January 2023, at 05:30. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, we did use the small hoses on the fire extinguishers. And once that happened, the whole house of cards that was the system of oppression of gay people started to crumble. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:And by the time the police would come back towards Stonewall, that crowd had gone all the around Washington Place come all the way back around and were back pushing in on them from the other direction and the police would wonder, "These are the same people or different people?". A sickness of the mind. Jeremiah Hawkins Directors Greta Schiller Robert Rosenberg (co-director) Stars Rita Mae Brown Maua Adele Ajanaku And we had no right to such. We'll put new liquor in there, we'll put a new mirror up, we'll get a new jukebox." Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:The mob raised its hand and said "Oh, we'll volunteer," you know, "We'll set up some gay bars and serve over-priced, watered-down drinks to you guys." A gay rights march in New York in favor of the 1968 Civil Rights Act being amended to include gay rights. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:As much as I don't like to say it, there's a place for violence. Eventually something was bound to blow. Nobody. But everybody knew it wasn't normal stuff and everyone was on edge and that was the worst part of it because you knew they were on edge and you knew that the first shot that was fired meant all the shots would be fired. Doing things like that. I mean they were making some headway. Mike Wallace (Archival):Dr. Charles Socarides is a New York psychoanalyst at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. And the Village has a lot of people with children and they were offended. Homosexuals do not want that, you might find some fringe character someplace who says that that's what he wants. Gay bars were always on side streets out of the way in neighborhoods that nobody would go into. Calling 'em names, telling 'em how good-looking they were, grabbing their butts. Ellen Goosenberg Just let's see if they can. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We didn't have the manpower, and the manpower for the other side was coming like it was a real war. Louis Mandelbaum But that's only partially true. A lot of them had been thrown out of their families. Geordie, Liam and Theo Gude I said, "I can go in with you?" John O'Brien:There was one street called Christopher Street, where actually I could sit and talk to other gay people beyond just having sex. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips . Oh, tell me about your anxiety. 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. And when she grabbed that everybody knew she couldn't do it alone so all the other queens, Congo Woman, queens like that started and they were hitting that door. Director . hide caption. 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. But it's serious, don't kid yourselves about it. John O'Brien:We had no idea we were gonna finish the march. It was done in our little street talk. They were just holding us almost like in a hostage situation where you don't know what's going to happen next. We did use humor to cover pain, frustration, anger. The newly restored 1984 documentary "Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community," re-released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the seminal Stonewall riots, remains a . 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. And the first gay power demonstration to my knowledge was against my story inThe Village Voiceon Wednesday. Slate:Boys Beware(1961) Public Service Announcement. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. I never saw so many gay people dancing in my life. Doric Wilson:And we were about 100, 120 people and there were people lining the sidewalks ahead of us to watch us go by, gay people, mainly. WGBH Educational Foundation 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. Not able to do anything. But you live with it, you know, you're used to this, after the third time it happened, or, the third time you heard about it, that's the way the world is. Because as the police moved back, we were conscious, all of us, of the area we were controlling and now we were in control of the area because we were surrounded the bar, we were moving in, they were moving back. Doric Wilson:That's what happened Stonewall night to a lot of people. And it would take maybe a half hour to clear the place out. The events of that night have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement. It premiered at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 27, 1985. 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. 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. Martin Boyce:All of a sudden, Miss New Orleans and all people around us started marching step by step and the police started moving back. There may be some here today that will be homosexual in the future. In the Life Eric Marcus has spent years interviewing people who were there that night, as well as those who were pushing for gay rights before Stonewall. BBC Worldwide Americas Martin Boyce:And I remember moving into the open space and grabbing onto two of my friends and we started singing and doing a kick line. And they wore dark police uniforms and riot helmets and they had billy clubs and they had big plastic shields, like Roman army, and they actually formed a phalanx, and just marched down Christopher Street and kind of pushed us in front of them. Jay Fialkov I mean I'm talking like sardines. This book, and the related documentary film, use oral histories to present students with a varied view of lesbian and gay experience. Synopsis. That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. Gay people were not powerful enough politically to prevent the clampdown and so you had a series of escalating skirmishes in 1969. Because that's what they were looking for, any excuse to try to bust the place. Jerry Hoose:I was chased down the street with billy clubs. Before Stonewall was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival. The events. Jimmy hadn't enjoyed himself so much in a long time. Leaflets in the 60s were like the internet, today. We assembled on Christopher Street at 6th Avenue, to march. I met this guy and I broke down crying in his arms. Transcript A gay rights march in New York in favor of the 1968 Civil Rights Act being amended to include gay rights. [1] To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 2019, the film was restored and re-released by First Run Features in June 2019. Jerry Hoose:I mean the riot squad was used to riots. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:There were all these articles in likeLife Magazineabout how the Village was liberal and people that were called homosexuals went there. Virginia Apuzzo:It was free but not quite free enough for us. Jerry Hoose:The open gay people that hung out on the streets were basically the have-nothing-to-lose types, which I was. View in iTunes. First Run Features In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city's LGBT community. Martha Shelley You know. Slate:Perversion for Profit(1965), Citizens for Decency Through Law. John O'Brien:They went for the head wounds, it wasn't just the back wounds and the leg wounds. Stonewall Forever Explore the monument Watch the documentary Download the AR app About & FAQ Privacy Policy This was the first time I could actually sense, not only see them fearful, I could sense them fearful. Dick Leitsch:Well, gay bars were the social centers of gay life. Fred Sargeant:Someone at this point had apparently gone down to the cigar stand on the corner and got lighter fluid. It was tremendous freedom. That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. Lauren Noyes. The New York Times / Redux Pictures Milestones in the American Gay Rights Movement. We ought to know, we've arrested all of them. It was as if an artist had arranged it, it was beautiful, it was like mica, it was like the streets we fought on were strewn with diamonds. Doric Wilson:Somebody that I knew that was older than me, his family had him sent off where they go up and damage the frontal part of the brain. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, activists rode their motorcycles during the city's 1989 gay-pride parade. We were all there. I wanted to kill those cops for the anger I had in me. Before Stonewall 1984 Directed by Greta Schiller, Robert Rosenberg Synopsis 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. You know, we wanted to be part of the mainstream society. And it was those loudest people, the most vulnerable, the most likely to be arrested, were the ones that were doing the real fighting. It must have been terrifying for them. Available via license: Content may be subject to . There was no going back now, there was no going back, there was no, we had discovered a power that we weren't even aware that we had. And that, that was a very haunting issue for me. And all of a sudden, pandemonium broke loose. But we had to follow up, we couldn't just let that be a blip that disappeared. Narrator (Archival):Do you want your son enticed into the world of homosexuals, or your daughter lured into lesbianism? Frank Simon's documentary follows the drag contestants of 1967's Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant, capturing plenty of on- and offstage drama along the way. But I had only stuck my head in once at the Stonewall. What finally made sense to me was the first time I kissed a woman and I thought, "Oh, this is what it's about." William Eskridge, Professor of Law: The 1960s were dark ages for lesbians and gay men all over America. They raided the Checkerboard, which was a very popular gay bar, a week before the Stonewall. Tweet at us @throughlineNPR, send us an email, or leave us a voicemail at (872) 588-8805. Danny Garvin:Bam, bam and bash and then an opening and then whoa. Martha Shelley:We participated in demonstrations in Philadelphia at Independence Hall. 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. Prisoner (Archival):I realize that, but the thing is that for life I'll be wrecked by this record, see? Before Stonewall. Revisiting the newly restored "Before Stonewall" 35 years after its premiere, Rosenberg said he was once again struck by its "powerful" and "acutely relevant" narrative. We were scared. Because one out of three of you will turn queer. Getting then in the car, rocking them back and forth. I was a man. Then during lunch, Ralph showed him some pornographic pictures. Martin Boyce:For me, there was no bar like the Stonewall, because the Stonewall was like the watering hole on the savannah. Homosexuality was a dishonorable discharge in those days, and you couldn't get a job afterwards. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt The history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement. I hope it was. I mean does anyone know what that is? Oddball Film + Video, San Francisco Jimmy knew he shouldn't be interested but, well, he was curious. Mafia house beer? It was right in the center of where we all were. "Don't fire. And they were lucky that door was closed, they were very lucky. Many of those activists have since died, but Marcus preserved their voices for his book, titled Making Gay History. It eats you up inside. Martin Boyce 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. People talk about being in and out now, there was no out, there was just in. It was not a place that, in my life, me and my friends paid much attention to. Almost anything you could name. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:There were gay bars all over town, not just in Greenwich Village. It was a leaflet that attacked the relationship of the police and the Mafia and the bars that we needed to see ended. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:They started busting cans of tear gas. Even non-gay people. It was like a reward. Frank Kameny You know, it's just, everybody was there. Martin Boyce:I wasn't labeled gay, just "different." Martin Boyce:It was another great step forward in the story of human rights, that's what it was. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:Gay rights, like the rights of blacks, were constantly under attack and while blacks were protected by constitutional amendments coming out of the Civil War, gays were not protected by law and certainly not the Constitution. And if we catch you, involved with a homosexual, your parents are going to know about it first. Gay people were never supposed to be threats to police officers. 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. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:I had been in some gay bars either for a story or gay friends would say, "Oh we're going to go in for a drink there, come on in, are you too uptight to go in?" And then there were all these priests ranting in church about certain places not to go, so you kind of knew where you could go by what you were told not to do. And I raised my hand at one point and said, "Let's have a protest march." Everyone from the street kids who were white and black kids from the South. In a spontaneous show of support and frustration, the citys gay community rioted for three nights in the streets, an event that is considered the birth of the modern Gay Rights Movement. I was wearing my mother's black and white cocktail dress that was empire-waisted. Audience Member (Archival):I was wondering if you think that there are any quote "happy homosexuals" for whom homosexuality would be, in a way, their best adjustment in life? 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. It said the most dreadful things, it said nothing about being a person. Absolutely, and many people who were not lucky, felt the cops. Dick Leitsch:We wore suits and ties because we wanted people, in the public, who were wearing suits and ties, to identify with us. Her most recent film, Bones of Contention, premiered in the 2016 Berlin International And it was fantastic. I really thought that, you know, we did it. Jerry Hoose:Who was gonna complain about a crackdown against gay people? Pennebaker courtesy of Pennebaker Hegedus Films We'd say, "Here comes Lillian.". Few photographs of the raid and the riots that followed exist. This was a highly unusual raid, going in there in the middle of the night with a full crowd, the Mafia hasn't been alerted, the Sixth Precinct hasn't been alerted. People started throwing pennies. The idea was to be there first. Raymond Castro 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. And she was quite crazy. I was proud. Martha Shelley:When I was growing up in the '50s, I was supposed to get married to some guy, produce, you know, the usual 2.3 children, and I could look at a guy and say, "Well, objectively he's good looking," but I didn't feel anything, just didn't make any sense to me. A New York Police officer grabs a man by the hair as another officer clubs a.
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