Premium Essay

Stonewall Riots Research Paper

Submitted By
Words 976
Pages 4
Just after 3 a.m. on a Saturday morning, a police raid of the Stonewall Inn–a gay club located on New York City’s Christopher Street–turns violent as patrons and local sympathizers begin rioting against the police. Although the police were legally justified in raiding the club, which was serving liquor without a license among other violations, New York’s gay community had grown frustrated of the police department targeting gay clubs, a majority of which had already been closed earlier that year. The protest that started on Christopher Street, however, spilled over onto the neighboring streets. Order was not restored until the New York’s riot police was deployed. This is what is known as ‘The Stonewall Riots’, also regarded by many as history’s …show more content…
The crowd on the street watched quietly as Stonewall’s employees were arrested by police, but when three drag queens and a lesbian were forced into the back of a cop van, the crowd began throwing bottles at the police. The officers were forced to take shelter inside the establishment, and two policemen were slightly injured before reinforcements arrived to disperse the mob, but they were not the only ones injured. One eye witness said in an interview for Leigh W. Rutledge, who wrote ‘Gay Decades’, “Young people, many of them queens, were lying on the sidewalk, bleeding from the head, face, mouth, and even the eyes. Others were nursing the bruised and often bleeding arms, legs, backs, and neck” (Harlin). Many people were lead to believe at the time that the only ones injured was the cops that came to help stop the protest. Newspaper headlines read ‘4 Policemen hurt in Village Raid’ and never mention the brutality that the police used in stopping the …show more content…
The Stonewall Inn claimed to be a “private club,” asking customers to sign in or be recognized by a bouncer. Many of the homeless, gay youths in Christopher Park would frequent the Stonewall Inn because the cover charge was affordable and granted a warm place to spend most of the night off the street. During police raids, women had to be wearing three pieces of “female clothing” to prove they were not in drag. When police raided gay bars, they would require identification cards from all patrons. Women were required to be wearing three pieces of feminine clothing or they would be arrested. Men in full drag were often arrested, along with anyone not carrying

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Stonewall Riots Research Paper

...The Stonewall Riots, which occurred on Saturday June 28th 1969 until Tuesday July 1st 1969, marked the beginning of the gay liberation movement(Misiroglu 308). The Stonewall Riots began when the police started a raid within a New York gay bar called the Stonewall Inn on 53 Christopher Street(Bronski 209). Even though the police were able to legally raid the Stonewall Inn since the bar was serving liquor without a license, the gay community reacted with rage by throwing bottles at the police, because some of the staff consisting of three drag queens and a lesbian were arrested and forced into a “paddy wagon”, and in general because of police harassment(“The Stonewall Riots”). Late Saturday evening, even though the bar was closed down, the crowds...

Words: 318 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Stonewall Riots Research Paper

...The conflict that occurred during the Stonewall Riots of 1969 inspired the gay rights movement that led to the landmark decision in the Supreme Court Case Obergefell v. Hodges. This compromise only makes the government endorse same-sex marriages, not the public. In 1969, homosexuality was considered a mental illness and engaging in homosexual acts was considered illegal. Electroshock therapy and lobotomies were often used to try and fix homosexual people. The Stonewall Inn, located in Greenwich Village in New York, was one of the many gay bars were LGBT people sought refuge. On Saturday, June 28, 1969, police raided the bar and arrested the owners for operating a bar without a liquor license. They also began arresting people who were not wearing at least 3 articles of gender-appropriate clothing, in accordance with New York law. Instead of scattering, the patrons fought back. Around 400 patrons threw bottles, threw debris, and set the bar on fire, with police officers inside, to protest the arrests. The riot continued...

Words: 565 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Stonewall Riots Research Paper

...During the 60's it was difficult to be in the LGBT+ community. In New York, and many other states, it was illegal to be gay in public, and even businesses and gay bars were frequently raided and closed. One night at The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar located in Greenwich Village, New York, a police raid turned violent. Customers at the bar stood on the street and watched as police arrested employees, and threw 3 drag queens and a lesbian into a wagon. This had happened multiple times before, and usually resulted in the patrons scattering back to their homes. This time, however, the people in the bar were tired of being treated this way so they took a stand. Instead of scattering and returning to their homes, they stood outside the bar and began shouting at the policemen who, having been accustomed to peaceful patrons and uneventful raids, were still inside the bar. The policemen barricaded themselves inside the bar and called for backup....

Words: 1115 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Exploring the 60s

...how we could open this container and what is needed to do so, we finally managed to open this capsule. Inside this capsule we found five extremely secured items that conveniently came with brief explanations of what they are and of what time they came from. The Five items consisted of; (1) One small compact, of which held some sort of medicated pills. (2) A plate that is labeled “VIN Plate” and has writing to describe what was considered a VIN plate to a vehicle. (3) Three small, flat and round shaped items that appear to be disks or albums. (4) A picture that was protected in a sealed packet of a man and a woman in a car. This picture labeled, “Day of JFK assassination”. (5) A piece of brown colored paper with the writing and labeling of “Never forget Stonewall Riots - - 1969”. Here is a summary of the five items that was found in the capsule each having a distinctive history. This will be an unofficial documented record of these five items, where they came from and the history behind each item. There is a...

Words: 2680 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Dont Ask, Dont Tell 8 Page

...Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy DeVry University Online During a time of need and desperation, when another person jumped to your aid and helped you out, did you stop to think about what their sexual preference was and if so would it have mattered to you? Well if you are in one of the United States Military branches, it is almost guaranteed to have come up and it has caused enough of an issue, commotion and publicity that the President of the United States had to step in and put into place a policy for what is the beginning of a giant human rights and equality motion in history. Even in this new century, who you choose to have sex with or love, still appears to be an issue for many people. Some even know that this person may one day save your life and have your back and it’s still an issue for some. The struggles of discrimination and inequality were all too frequent in the lives of homosexuals who were serving or trying to serve in the United States Military started to catch attention with the media and caught the attention by many who had voices to make a difference for equality. During the civil rights movement in the 1960’s, homosexuality wasn’t a right that was openly fought for. Albeit that today, most people view the right to love whom they choose as a civil, and human right. Many people believe that a relationship should be between a man and a woman and therefore the rights of the homosexual community were not fought over in any of the early civil rights movements...

Words: 3782 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

The Stonewall Riots: The Gay Liberation Movement

...It is widely agreed among historians that the Gay Liberation Movement was only slightly successfully in obtaining social equality, and almost entirely unsuccessful in obtaining political equality for the 1970’s and 1980’s. These advancements came almost entirely from the style of protest that was adopted during the time period by gay activist, and it's resonation with the American people. Following the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the Gay Liberation Movement adopted the style of protesting that had become popular during towards the end of World War II in GermanyThese ideas were popularized by Oscar Wilde, who had discovered them from a pamphlet titled The Early Homosexual Rights Movements. These new forms of revolution were based around peaceful...

Words: 2081 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

The Contemporary Use of Power

...Leadership and the use of Power to Achieve Social Change Daniel William Chappell Dallas Baptist University Leadership and the Use of Power to Achieve Social Change Introduction The United States changed forever on November 4, 2008. Anyone watching a television on this important evening knew that everything had changed. Barak Hussein Obama had just been elected the 45th President of the United States of America, and he represented the first African American to ever win this office. To many the election was a fulfillment of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream for social and political equality for African Americans. Still others, including the newly elected President, reached back to Lincoln. President Obama would also, invoke the founding fathers, giving credit to the social experiment that democracy is and thus hinting to the efforts of Washington and others. The days that followed the Obama election would be filled with symbolism leading to the concert on the steps of the Lincoln memorial, and the day of service, called by the President, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the day before inauguration. The election of President Obama seemed to have brought full circle the experiment of democracy. The dreams of the founding fathers were present, the echo of Lincoln’s consequential Presidency were present, and certainly the dreams and speeches of Dr. King were front and center in this cultural moment. Yet the cultural moment represented so much more than a continuum...

Words: 8168 - Pages: 33

Premium Essay

Stereotypes In The Media Essay

...feature actual scientific, psychological, and technological studies that backed up claims of homosexuality as an illness, claimed the TIME in a 1963 article, entitled, “Growth of Overt Homosexuality in City Provokes Wide Concern” (Alwood 49). These individuals were even linked to crime and promiscuity, and thus idealized not only as ill, but also as horny criminals, especially during the Stonewall Riots, because according to Kay Tobin, “editors of this essay are intellectually dishonest, motivated by prejudice, and guilty of deliberate omission and distortion” (360). According to Polly Thistlethwaite, in 1958, the state even deemed that “homophile publications were, yes, ‘more than cheap pornography,’” and thus were legalized, despite this microaggressive disclaimer (461). These instances even occurred unintentionally due to reporters’ lack of awareness and knowledge of the LGBTQ community and events that surround it, merely because of its poor media coverage. Because of this ignorance, reporters are often hesitant to report on these issues because they simply, do not know how. According to research by Joseph P. Bernt and Marilyn S. Greenwald, these straight, cisgender reporters are often hyperconsciousness to avoid offending the LGBTQ community, and are hesitant to put themselves in uncomfortable, reporting situations (108). When queer bodies were occasionally permitted to represent themselves, along with their community, within the platform of the media, then these opportunities...

Words: 1395 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Sexual Orientation Paper

...the purpose of this paper, I have focused on the gay and lesbian community and how they have been discriminated for decades. I will also take a look at some common stereotypes and myths that have impacted this group and what actions they, and others, have taken to deal with such discrimination. I believe it is important to note that a lot of this research was gathered quite some time ago, even though the articles were published within the last ten years. The research shows that although there is still a significant amount of...

Words: 1838 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Change in Dealing with Discrimination Regarding Homosexuality: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof & All Mothers Are Working Mothers

...Sometimes it is the culture of a certain society that discourages homosexuality and sometimes it is the religion that forbids people from adopting same sex relationships. Either ways, this attitude of the society towards the homosexuals forces many people to suppress their homosexual identity and lead an unwanted life. Yet there are few people who rise above this suppression and become successful in observing their lives according to their freewill. A better picture of this situation can be drawn from the comparison of societies’ attitude towards the homosexuality and the counter response of protagonists regarding it in Tennessee Willaiams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) and Sangita Rayamajhi’s All Mothers are Working Mothers (2005). This paper thus aims to compare the societies’ responses towards the homosexual lifestyle of Brick and Shiela and show that although the settings of these two plays are different, the societies in which these plays are set displayed similar discriminative approach towards the protagonists’ homosexual identities. However, due to the increasing acceptability of homosexuality around the world overtime, the counter responses that these protagonists displayed were different. Set in the context of 1950’s Mississippi, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof introduces the issue of homosexuality through the character of Brick. It represents a disturbed time in the history when being homosexual were considered as security risk in the USA (Shackelford). Homosexuality was...

Words: 2847 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Conflict Analysis and Resolution

... Dr. Walter Schicho Table of Contents Dedication ……………………………………………………………………. iii Acknowledgment …………………………………………………………….. iv List of Acronyms …………………………………………………………….. v List of Tables and figures …………………………………………………….. vii Abstract in English …………………………………………………………… viii Abstract in German …………………………………………………………... ix Chapter One: Introduction ………………………………………………… 1 1.1. Introduction …………………………………………………………… 1 1.2. Problem statement …………………………………………………….. 2 1.3. Aim and objectives of the research …………………………………… 4 1.4. Research questions and hypotheses …………………………………... 7 Chapter Two: Literature review and theoretical framework ……………. 8 2.1. Literature review ……………………………………………………… 8 2.2. Transition to democracy and ethnic conflicts in Africa ………………. 12 2.3. Definition of concepts ………………………………………………… 16 2.4. Theoretical framework for analysis of ethnic conflicts ……………….. 18 2.4. Research methodology ………………………………………………... 21 2.5. Significance of the research …………………………………………... 23 Chapter Three: Background to the struggle for democracy and ethnic conflicts in Kenya……………………………………………………………. 24 3.1. A short retrospect in to Kenya’s colonial period ……………………... 24 3.2. Independence movements and the majimbo debate …………………... 25 3.3. The Kenyatta era (1963 -1978)………………………………………... 28 3.4. Moi era and Kenya as a de jure one party state (1978-1991) ………… 34 3.5. Domestic struggle and call for democracy ……………………………. 38 3.6. Global shifts and the inevitable...

Words: 37621 - Pages: 151

Premium Essay

Lgbt

...What Is LGBT? LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and along with heterosexual they describe people's sexual orientation or gender identity. These terms are explained in more detail here. Lesbian A lesbian woman is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to women. Many lesbians prefer to be called lesbian rather than gay. Gay A gay man is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to men. The word gay can be used to refer generally to lesbian, gay and bisexual people but many women prefer to be called lesbian. Most gay people don't like to be referred to as homosexual because of the negative historical associations with the word and because the word gay better reflects their identity. Bisexual A bisexual person is someone who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to people of both sexes. Transgender or Trans Is an umbrella term used to describe people whose gender identity (internal feeling of being male, female or transgender) and/or gender expression, differs from that usually associated with their birth sex. Not everyone whose appearance or behaviour is gender-atypical will identify as a transgender person. Many transgender people live part-time or full-time in another gender. Transgender people can identify as transsexual, transvestite or another gender identity. Gender Identity One's gender identity refers to whether one feels male, female or transgender (regardless of one's biological...

Words: 19540 - Pages: 79

Premium Essay

Pols Final Exam Review

...Federal Government Exam 1 Review: The first exam will consist of questions generated from the following review sheet. Make sure you understand each of these topics before proceeding to the test. The exam will be timed so you will not have the ability to peruse your notes or retake the exam. The exam itself will consist of 30 multiple choice questions and you will have 35 minutes to complete the exam. Federalism: The Basic elements of a Federal system of government (i.e. how is it structured/how power is shared) • Layers of gov • Equal power • Distinct powers Powers of the federal government: delegated powers, implied powers (necessary and proper clause), and concurrent powers. • Delegated Powers: (expressed/enumerated powers) powers given to the federal government directly by the constitution. Some most important delegated powers are: the authority to tax, regulated interstate commerce, authority to declare war, and grants the president role of commander and chief of the military • Implied Powers: Powers not expressed in the constitution, but that can be inferred. “Necessary and proper clause” • Concurrent powers: powers shared by both levels of government. Ex: Taxes, roads, elections, commerce, establishing courts and a judicial system • Reserved powers: powers not assigned by the constitution to the national government but left to the states or the people. Guaranteed by the 10th amendment. Include “police power”-health and public...

Words: 37488 - Pages: 150

Premium Essay

Business

...Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, admits that she often finds herself in the kitchen reading soup-can labels—or anything—in order to prolong the moments before taking pen in hand. John C. Calhoun, vice president under Andrew Jackson, insisted he had to plow his fields before he could write, and Joseph Conrad, author of Lord Jim and other novels, is said to have cried on occasion from the sheer dread of sitting down to compose his stories. To spare you as much hand-wringing as possible, this chapter presents some practical suggestions on how to begin writing your short essay. Although all writers must find the methods that work best for them, you may find some of the following ideas helpful. But no matter how you actually begin putting words on paper, it is absolutely essential to maintain two basic ideas concerning your writing task. Before you write a single sentence, you should always remind yourself that 1. You have some valuable ideas to tell your reader, and 2. More than anything, you want to communicate those ideas to your reader. These reminders may seem obvious to you, but without a solid commitment to your own opinions as well as to your reader, your prose will be lifeless and boring. If you don’t care about your subject, you can’t very well expect anyone else to. Have confidence that your ideas are worthwhile and that your reader genuinely...

Words: 234754 - Pages: 940

Free Essay

Blink - the Power of Thinking Without Thinking

...ALSO BY MALCOLM GLADWELL The Tipping Point To my parents, Joyce and Graham Gladwell Introduction The Statue That Didn’t Look Right In September of 1983, an art dealer by the name of Gianfranco Becchina approached the J. Paul Getty Museum in California. He had in his possession, he said, a marble statue dating from the sixth century BC. It was what is known as a kouros—a sculpture of a nude male youth standing with his left leg forward and his arms at his sides. There are only about two hundred kouroi in existence, and most have been recovered badly damaged or in fragments from grave sites or archeological digs. But this one was almost perfectly preserved. It stood close to seven feet tall. It had a kind of light-colored glow that set it apart from other ancient works. It was an extraordinary find. Becchina’s asking price was just under $10 million. The Getty moved cautiously. It took the kouros on loan and began a thorough investigation. Was the statue consistent with other known kouroi? The answer appeared to be yes. The style of the sculpture seemed reminiscent of the Anavyssos kouros in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, meaning that it seemed to fit with a particular time and place. Where and when had the statue been found? No one knew precisely, but Becchina gave the Getty’s legal department a sheaf of documents relating to its more recent history. The kouros, the records stated, had been in the private collection of a Swiss physician named Lauffenberger...

Words: 74585 - Pages: 299