Stonewall Riots (1969)
NY Daily News Archive via Getty ImagesCrowds clash with police just outside the Stonewall Inn at 53 Christopher Street during the riots.
Harmon LeonThe Stonewall Inn today.
The Stonewall Riot is not only one of the most well-known riots in New York City history, it was also one of the most important events in the larger gay rights movement.
During the 1960s, the solicitation of homosexual activity was illegal in New York City. New York even had a criminal statute that allowed police to arrest people wearing less than three gender-appropriate articles of clothing. And gay bars, such as Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn, were thus hotbeds of police harassment and raids.
The police raided Stonewall Inn on the morning of June 28, 1969. Angry patrons, tired of the harassment, refused to disperse from the premises. A full-blown riot ensued – which continued in the area for the next five days as protestors clashed with cops and locals.
Many demonstrators and gay people in the area were arrested and police harassment only continued — but the riot also helped cause the creation of gay rights organizations and events that persist to this day. Thus the Stonewall Riot became a driving force for LGBTQ political activism around the world long after it ended.
