There’s More to Pride Than Rainbows and Glitter
June is widely recognized as Pride Month, a time to celebrate LGBTQ+ identities and achievements. Yet, many people—both inside and outside the community—may not fully understand its origins. Pride began as a commemoration of the Stonewall riots, a pivotal moment in June 1969 that ignited the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. Despite its significance, misconceptions and a lack of awareness about Stonewall persist, highlighting the importance of remembering and educating others about this historic event.
The Stonewall Inn: The Mob, the Law, and the Birthplace of a Movement
The Stonewall riots of June 1969 are often regarded as the turning point in the LGBTQ+ rights movement, but the story of the Stonewall Inn begins years earlier, steeped in mob dealings and discriminatory laws. In the 1960s, being gay in New York City wasn't just stigmatized—it was criminalized. Serving alcohol to gay patrons was illegal, and raids on gay bars were a common occurrence, leaving many outed individuals to face devastating consequences, from losing their jobs to becoming ostracized by their communities.
To navigate these oppressive conditions, the Mafia saw a lucrative opportunity. By operating gay bars as private bottle clubs, they skirted liquor laws, evading some police scrutiny with strategic bribes. The Genovese crime family, one of New York’s five infamous mafia families, came to dominate gay nightlife in Greenwich Village, including acquiring the Stonewall Inn in 1966. Despite its shoddy conditions—watered-down drinks, unsanitary glassware, and a lack of fire exits—Stonewall became a safe haven where LGBTQ+ individuals could dance, socialize, and express themselves openly, something nearly impossible elsewhere at the time.
This arrangement between the Mafia and the gay community, though exploitative, allowed places like the Stonewall Inn to exist. However, the exploitation was blatant; patrons were charged exorbitant prices for subpar drinks, and the bar even served as a venue for darker activities like extortion and trafficking. Nevertheless, for marginalized communities, Stonewall represented a rare, albeit imperfect, refuge.
The police raids on these establishments were often prearranged, with officers tipping off the Mafia to minimize damage. However, this uneasy truce was not foolproof, and on June 28, 1969, when the NYPD raided the Stonewall Inn, tensions boiled over. What followed was a spontaneous uprising against decades of systemic oppression, marking the beginning of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
The Spark That Ignited a Movement
In the early hours of June 28, 1969, frustration boiled over at the Stonewall Inn when police raided the establishment, targeting it for serving bootleg liquor and violating laws that criminalized LGBTQ+ existence. Compared to previous raids, police did not tip off the owners ahead of time, which added to tensions.
The raid quickly escalated as officers manhandled patrons, arrested 13 individuals, and subjected suspected “cross-dressers” to humiliating gender checks by female officers. For many, this raid was the final straw after years of systemic oppression and discrimination. The crowd outside the bar, which grew as word spread, refused to stand down. Bottles were thrown, shouts filled the air, and a full-scale rebellion erupted, lasting several nights.
The Crowd Fights Back
Tensions reached a breaking point when an officer struck a lesbian over the head as he forced her into custody, prompting her to call out to the onlookers. The crowd responded with fury, throwing coins, bottles, and other objects at the police.
The moment ignited several days of protests and clashes, marking the start of a new chapter in the LGBTQ+ rights movement. While the uprising is widely recognized as a collective act of defiance, much of its history remains shrouded in ambiguity.
One prominent figure often associated with the events is Marsha P. Johnson, a Black transgender activist. For decades, she has been credited with throwing the “first brick” at Stonewall, sparking the rebellion. However, this claim has been the subject of debate.
Some reports suggest Johnson wasn’t present at the bar during the initial raid, arriving later in the night. Her own statements corroborate this timeline, and conflicting accounts about her actions—whether she threw a brick, a shot glass, or anything at all—add to the uncertainty. As Gayle E. Pitman highlights in The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets, the narratives surrounding Johnson’s role may have been exaggerated, misremembered, or downplayed due to biases within and outside the LGBTQ+ community.
Regardless of the specifics, Johnson’s later activism, particularly her work alongside Sylvia Rivera to support homeless LGBTQ+ youth, solidified her legacy as a vital figure in the movement. The hazy details of Stonewall underscore the broader reality: marginalized communities often face historical erasure, making it even more critical to preserve and examine their stories.
The Stonewall Uprising Takes Shape
With crowds swelling to hundreds of people, the energy shifted from frustration to defiance. Protesters slashed tires, hurled coins, bottles, and bricks, and shouted slurs at the police, targeting the corruption and harassment that had plagued their lives for years. Overwhelmed by the sheer size and anger of the crowd, police officers barricaded themselves inside the Stonewall Inn.
Demonstrators yanked a parking meter from the ground and used it as a makeshift battering ram to try to break into the building. Eventually, the NYPD’s Tactical Patrol Force (TPF), a riot squad known for handling anti-war protests and civil rights demonstrations, was called in to regain control. Dressed in full riot gear, the TPF advanced on the crowd with aggressive tactics.
But the protesters refused to retreat. In an iconic moment of defiance, a group of drag queens and other protesters formed a kick line, mocking the officers to the tune of a vaudeville song, a display of resilience that momentarily disoriented the police.
The Media Takes Notice: Reporting on the First Night of Stonewall
By 4 a.m., the streets had been cleared, but the uprising was far from over with activist Craig Rodwell taking swift action. He contacted major media outlets, including The New York Times, The New York Post, and The New York Daily News, to ensure the events were reported. While coverage from these outlets brought visibility to the unrest, the portrayal was limited and, at times, dismissive of the LGBTQ+ community’s perspective.
The following day, The New York Times published a brief article summarizing the police raid and subsequent riot. The piece lacked interviews or direct quotes from participants, instead presenting the events from an external and clinical viewpoint:
“Hundreds of young men went on a rampage in Greenwich Village shortly after 3 a.m. yesterday after a force of plainclothes men raided a bar that the police said was well known for its homosexual clientele. Thirteen persons were arrested and four policemen injured. The police estimated that 200 young men had been expelled from the bar. The crowd grew close to 400 during the melee, which lasted about 45 minutes, they said.”
Later that Saturday, as daylight illuminated the aftermath, the Stonewall Inn bore visible scars from the chaos. Burn marks and debris were stark reminders of the previous night’s defiance. Graffiti covered the walls, transforming the space into a canvas for the voices of a marginalized community. Messages like "Drag Power," "They Invaded Our Rights," "Support Gay Power," and "Legalize Gay Bars" declared a clear call for justice and change. Among the accusations of police misconduct, one bold phrase defiantly announced the bar’s resilience: “We are open.”
The media’s initial coverage may have been limited in scope, but the events at Stonewall captured public attention, igniting broader conversations about LGBTQ+ rights and police brutality. The uprising marked a turning point, as the community's demands for visibility and equality echoed beyond Greenwich Village, sparking the modern Pride movement.
A Second Night of Resistance
On the night of June 28, 1969, the demonstrations resumed with an even larger crowd. Thousands gathered, including those who had participated the first night, curious onlookers, tourists, and even police provocateurs looking to stir up conflict. The intensity of the protests escalated, as did the determination of the LGBTQ+ community to make their voices heard.
Amid the chaos, Marsha P. Johnson reportedly played a role in the evening's defiance. Accounts describe Johnson climbing a lamppost and dropping a heavy bag onto a police car, shattering its windshield.
The atmosphere was charged, with fires burning in garbage cans throughout Greenwich Village as the unrest spread. Police presence was significantly increased, with officers from multiple precincts attempting to contain the situation. However, the TPF was once again called in after 2 a.m. to manage the escalating tension.
The scene was chaotic and dynamic. Protesters used creative and bold tactics and actively fought back when officers apprehended individuals. Eyewitnesses noted that the crowd was particularly protective of those who were more visibly queer, described as "sissies" or "swishes," often intervening to free them from police custody.
The conflict continued well into the early hours, with the same blend of resilience and defiance that characterized the first night. These events not only solidified the Stonewall uprising as a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history but also demonstrated the community's unity and willingness to fight for their rights in the face of violence and oppression.
The Aftermath and Calls for Change
While the momentum of the Stonewall riots slowed due to rain on Monday and Tuesday following the initial nights of unrest, the fight for LGBTQ+ rights persisted in other forms. Activists like Craig Rodwell and his partner Fred Sargent seized this moment to organize and push for systemic change. They distributed leaflets urging the LGBTQ+ community to take ownership of their own spaces, boycott mafia-run establishments, and demand accountability from the mayor’s office regarding police corruption and discrimination.
One leaflet delivered a powerful message: “Get the mafia and cops out of gay bars,” reflecting a broader frustration with the systemic exploitation and harassment faced by the community. The sentiment was echoed in graffiti scrawled on the boarded-up Stonewall Inn, where an anonymous activist wrote, “Gay prohibition corrupts cops, feeds mafia,” replacing the S’s with dollar signs to underscore the financial motives fueling the oppression.
The riots and surrounding activity continued until July 3, 1969, leaving a lasting mark on the LGBTQ+ rights movement. This pivotal week in history not only challenged the power dynamics between the queer community, law enforcement, and organized crime but also laid the groundwork for future activism, self-determination, and the push for Pride as a movement of liberation and celebration.
Stonewall’s Legacy: A Catalyst for LGBTQ+ Activism
The Stonewall riots became a powerful symbol of resistance against the social and political discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ individuals, inspiring decades of solidarity and activism. Groups like the Gay Liberation Front, the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, and PFLAG trace their roots to the momentum sparked by Stonewall. While the uprising wasn’t the beginning of the gay rights movement, it served as a transformative moment, igniting a new era of political activism and visibility.
One year after the riots, on June 28, 1970, thousands of people marched from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park in what was called Christopher Street Liberation Day, marking the first Pride parade in the United States. The event was a bold declaration of identity, with participants chanting, “Say it loud, gay is proud.” Similar marches were held in Los Angeles and Chicago that same day.
In the years that followed, Pride marches expanded to other cities across the United States and internationally, reaching cities like London, Paris, and Stockholm by 1971. By 1972, cities including Atlanta, Detroit, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., were hosting their own Pride events. Today, Pride parades in June honor the legacy of Stonewall and celebrate the progress made while acknowledging the work still left to do.
The Stonewall Inn itself remains an enduring symbol of this legacy. Continuing to operate as a gay bar, it was recognized in 2016 by President Barack Obama as a national monument for its significant role in LGBTQ+ history and the fight for equality.
The Continuing Journey of Pride: A Legacy of Stonewall
While there are different perspectives on how Pride should be celebrated today, it’s essential to honor its roots and acknowledge the ongoing challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community. In recent years, the community has faced renewed challenges, including a surge in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, particularly targeting transgender individuals, highlighting the importance of continuing to advocate for rights and equality.
Pride remains not just a celebration of identity but also a call to action—a chance to stand up, speak out, and invest in a future of inclusivity and justice. The work is difficult and often painful, as the fight for recognition and equality confronts deep-seated prejudice. Yet, this ongoing effort is about more than the present; it is about creating a world where future generations can live with love, acceptance, and dignity.
The spirit of Stonewall reminds us that every step forward, no matter how challenging, is part of a greater journey toward equality and pride in who we are as individuals and as a community.
And remember: every day is all we have, so you've got to make your own happiness.
For more information on this topic, listen to Episode 63. The Stonewall Riots.
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