Stonewall Riots Essay

The Stonewall Riots were a series of spontaneous, violent behaviors acted out by members of the LGBTQ+ community against police aggression. These violent protests and strikes that proceeded from this event sparked a global movement that took off in the early morning of June 28th, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City. These riots served as a pivotal moment in American history, which coincided not only with equality in the black community but also for the gay community as well. With that said, the gay liberation movement was “born in the heart of New York City,” where a year later the first Gay Pride Parade was held, which demonstrated the people’s continuous fight for equality and the never-before-seen resilience that

This private club/bar brought in many gay men, which granted them a space to be themselves through dancing and “cross-dressing” (Gay Liberation and Pride). However, at the time, homosexuality was very much illegal and widely stigmatized, so routine police checks were administered almost every night at this club, where the men and women would quietly leave, without causing any uprising. However, June 28th, 1969, was the night when they decided that “enough was enough,” and with that, the people in the club fought back, throwing objects such as bottles and refusing to comply with their orders by lighting small fires. These riots continued for numerous nights but led to an unimaginable LGBTQ+ rights movement, which supported and backed up the event’s occurrence. This event served as a huge turning point for equality and a demand for recognition and respect for their

This event highlighted the violence and discrimination that this community faced throughout this period, where they were treated as inferior to society and to some as a potential “threat.” This correlates to many topics discussed in class, such as social justice, civil rights, and the continuous fight for equality in America. With that said, LGBTQ+ individuals were fighting for equal treatment as well as decriminalizing homosexuality throughout the country. These efforts and resilience were very similar to the Civil Rights Movement that took place not too long before these Stonewall riots escalated. Not only that, but this event illustrated and reminded fellow Americans of the ongoing fight for social justice as well as standing against