ABCNEWS VideoSource Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:What they did in the Stonewall that night. John O'Brien:We had no idea we were gonna finish the march. So gay people were being strangled, shot, thrown in the river, blackmailed, fired from jobs. The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle, Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States. Gay bars were to gay people what churches were to blacks in the South. 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. It's very American to say, "You promised equality, you promised freedom." Patricia Yusah, Marketing and Communications And I knew that I was lesbian. David Huggins In the sexual area, in psychology, psychiatry. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:In states like New York, there were a whole basket of crimes that gay people could be charged with. Fred Sargeant:Things started off small, but there was an energy that began to flow through the crowd. But I gave it up about, oh I forget, some years ago, over four years ago. The Underground Lounge That night, we printed a box, we had 5,000. 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. If anybody should find out I was gay and would tell my mother, who was in a wheelchair, it would have broken my heart and she would have thought she did something wrong. We knew it was a gay bar, we walked past it. Creating the First Visual History of Queer Life Before Stonewall Making a landmark documentary about LGBTQ Americans before 1969 meant digging through countless archives to find traces of. 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. Yvonne Ritter:I did try to get out of the bar and I thought that there might be a way out through one of the bathrooms. Revealing and. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We were looking for secret exits and one of the policewomen was able to squirm through the window and they did find a way out. 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. John van Hoesen But it's serious, don't kid yourselves about it. It was terrifying. Because one out of three of you will turn queer. Stonewall Tscript | PDF | Homosexuality | Lgbt Today, that event is seen as the start of the gay civil rights movement, but gay activists and organizations were standing up to harassment and discrimination years before. Fred Sargeant:In the '60s, I met Craig Rodwell who was running the Oscar Wilde Bookshop. Marjorie Duffield Leaflets in the 60s were like the internet, today. And I just didn't understand that. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:There were gay bars all over town, not just in Greenwich Village. 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. Abstract. Daniel Pine National History Archive, LGBT Community Center Colonial House Many of those activists have since died, but Marcus preserved their voices for his book, titled Making Gay History. The homosexual, bitterly aware of his rejection, responds by going underground. All of the rules that I had grown up with, and that I had hated in my guts, other people were fighting against, and saying "No, it doesn't have to be this way.". 'Before Stonewall' Tracks the Pre-Movement Era | International Suzanne Poli Then during lunch, Ralph showed him some pornographic pictures. It said the most dreadful things, it said nothing about being a person. J. Michael Grey Martin Boyce:The day after the first riot, when it was all over, and I remember sitting, sun was soon to come, and I was sitting on the stoop, and I was exhausted and I looked at that street, it was dark enough to allow the street lamps to pick up the glitter of all the broken glass, and all the debris, and all the different colored cloth, that was in different places. Fred Sargeant:Three articles of clothing had to be of your gender or you would be in violation of that law. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:But there were little, tiny pin holes in the plywood windows, I'll call them the windows but they were plywood, and we could look out from there and every time I went over and looked out through one of those pin holes where he did, we were shocked at how big the crowd had become. Revealing and, by turns, humorous and horrifying, this widely acclaimed film relives the emotional and political spark of today's gay rights movement - the events that . The history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement. In the trucks or around the trucks. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community Raymond Castro:So finally when they started taking me out, arm in arm up to the paddy wagon, I jumped up and I put one foot on one side, one foot on the other and I sprung back, knocking the two arresting officers, knocking them to the ground. "Daybreak Express" by D.A. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt William Eskridge, Professor of Law:The federal government would fire you, school boards would fire you. It meant nothing to us. Stonewall: A riot that changed millions of lives - BBC News It's a history that people feel a huge sense of ownership over. Before Stonewall. Yvonne Ritter:"In drag," quote unquote, the downside was that you could get arrested, you could definitely get arrested if someone clocked you or someone spooked that you were not really what you appeared to be on the outside. And the Village has a lot of people with children and they were offended. The Stonewall riots, as they came to be known, marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States and around the world. And they were having a meeting at town hall and there were 400 guys who showed up, and I think a couple of women, talking about these riots, 'cause everybody was really energized and upset and angry about it. The events. Mary Queen of the Scotch, Congo Woman, Captain Faggot, Miss Twiggy. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, I had to act like I wasn't nervous. It was a horror story. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, we did use the small hoses on the fire extinguishers. 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. And we had no right to such. I say, I cannot tell this without tearing up. And that crowd between Howard Johnson's and Mama's Chik-n-Rib was like the basic crowd of the gay community at that time in the Village. Why 'Before Stonewall' Was Such a Hard Movie to Make - The Atlantic Alfredo del Rio, Archival Still and Motion Images Courtesy of Prisoner (Archival):I realize that, but the thing is that for life I'll be wrecked by this record, see? ITN Source 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. Linton Media Based on 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. The lights came on, it's like stop dancing. Cause I was from the streets. Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen Gay History Papers and Photographs, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations Before Stonewall | The New York Public Library The documentary shows how homosexual people enjoyed and shared with each other. Narrated by Rita Mae Brownan acclaimed writer whose 1973 novel Rubyfruit Jungle is a seminal lesbian text, but who is possessed of a painfully grating voiceBefore Stonewall includes vintage news footage that makes it clear that gay men and women lived full, if often difficult, lives long before their personal ambitions (however modest) Atascadero was known in gay circles as the Dachau for queers, and appropriately so. John DiGiacomo In an effort to avoid being anachronistic . The Mafia owned the jukeboxes, they owned the cigarette machines and most of the liquor was off a truck hijacking. 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. 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?" Slate:Boys Beware(1961) Public Service Announcement. There are a lot of kids here. John O'Brien:And then somebody started a fire, they started with little lighters and matches. Just making their lives miserable for once. In 1924, the first gay rights organization is founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago. For the first time the next person stood up. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:And then the next night. Pennebaker courtesy of Pennebaker Hegedus Films We'd say, "Here comes Lillian.". Gay people were never supposed to be threats to police officers. The windows were always cloaked. Virginia Apuzzo: I grew up with that. People that were involved in it like me referred to it as "The First Run." John Scagliotti They call them hotels, motels, lovers' lanes, drive-in movie theaters, etc. At least if you had press, maybe your head wouldn't get busted. We ought to know, we've arrested all of them. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community Narrator (Archival):Richard Enman, president of the Mattachine Society of Florida, whose goal is to legalize homosexuality between consenting adults, was a reluctant participant in tonight's program. Martha Shelley:The riot could have been buried, it could have been a few days in the local newspaper and that was that. Detective John Sorenson, Dade County Morals & Juvenile Squad (Archival):There may be some in this auditorium. Few photographs of the raid and the riots that followed exist. Chris Mara, Production Assistants John O'Brien:Our goal was to hurt those police. Jorge Garcia-Spitz My last name being Garvin, I'd be called Danny Gay-vin. His movements are not characteristic of a real boy. The mirrors, all the bottles of liquor, the jukebox, the cigarette machines. I didn't think I could have been any prettier than that night. Greg Shea, Legal I said, "I can go in with you?" Raymond Castro:New York City subways, parks, public bathrooms, you name it. That's what happened on June 28, but as people were released, the night took an unusual turn when protesters and police clashed. A New York Police officer grabs a man by the hair as another officer clubs a man during a confrontation in Greenwich Village after a Gay Power march in New York. Well, little did he know that what was gonna to happen later on was to make history. 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. The only faces you will see are those of the arresting officers. Glenn Fukushima Fred Sargeant:The tactical patrol force on the second night came in even larger numbers, and were much more brutal. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We only had about six people altogether from the police department knowing that you had a precinct right nearby that would send assistance. Tom Caruso It was a way to vent my anger at being repressed. If that didn't work, they would do things like aversive conditioning, you know, show you pornography and then give you an electric shock. Dick Leitsch:New York State Liquor Authority had a rule that one known homosexual at a licensed premise made the place disorderly, so nobody would set up a place where we could meet because they were afraid that the cops would come in to close it, and that's how the Mafia got into the gay bar business. We went, "Oh my God. All kinds of designers, boxers, big museum people. [7] In 1987, the film won Emmy Awards for Best Historical/Cultural Program and Best Research. hide caption. (158) 7.5 1 h 26 min 1985 13+. I have pondered this as "Before Stonewall," my first feature documentary, is back in cinemas after 35 years. There was at least one gay bar that was run just as a hustler bar for straight gay married men. The Chicago riots, the Human Be-in, the dope smoking, the hippies. It was a down at a heels kind of place, it was a lot of street kids and things like that. Michael Dolan, Technical Advisors It was fun to see fags. Jeremiah Hawkins It's like, this is not right. Is that conceivable? Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:That night I'm in my office, I looked down the street, and I could see the Stonewall sign and I started to see some activity in front. 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." The Laramie Project Cast at The Calhoun School And, it was, I knew I would go through hell, I would go through fire for that experience. 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. Transcript Aired June 9, 2020 Stonewall Uprising The Year That Changed America Film Description When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of. Genre: Documentary, History, Drama. Other images in this film are either recreations or drawn from events of the time. And I found them in the movie theatres, sitting there, next to them. We didn't want to come on, you know, wearing fuzzy sweaters and lipstick, you know, and being freaks. They could be judges, lawyers. There may be some here today that will be homosexual in the future. That this was normal stuff. Before Stonewall - Rotten Tomatoes David Alpert American Airlines This time they said, "We're not going." And it was those loudest people, the most vulnerable, the most likely to be arrested, were the ones that were doing the real fighting. You know, it's just, everybody was there. Read a July 6, 1969excerpt fromTheNew York Daily News. This is every year in New York City. 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. Dick Leitsch:You read about Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams and Gore Vidal and all these actors and stuff, Liberace and all these people running around doing all these things and then you came to New York and you found out, well maybe they're doing them but, you know, us middle-class homosexuals, we're getting busted all the time, every time we have a place to go, it gets raided. As president of the Mattachine Society in New York, I tried to negotiate with the police and the mayor. Evan Eames It's the first time I'm fully inside the Stonewall. That wasn't ours, it was borrowed. You needed a license even to be a beautician and that could be either denied or taken away from you. And so we had to create these spaces, mostly in the trucks. Martha Babcock Sophie Cabott Black But after the uprising, polite requests for change turned into angry demands. Somehow being gay was the most terrible thing you could possibly be. Alexandra Meryash Nikolchev, On-Line Editors Danny Garvin:It was a chance to find love. It was not a place that, in my life, me and my friends paid much attention to. But I'm wearing this police thing I'm thinking well if they break through I better take it off really quickly but they're gunna come this way and we're going to be backing up and -- who knows what'll happen. A few of us would get dressed up in skirts and blouses and the guys would all have to wear suits and ties. When you exit, have some identification and it'll be over in a short time." And it would take maybe a half hour to clear the place out. [7] In 1989, it won the Festival's Plate at the Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Judy Laster I told the person at the door, I said "I'm 18 tonight" and he said to me, "you little SOB," he said. "You could have got us in a lot of trouble, you could have got us closed up." And these were meat trucks that in daytime were used by the meat industry for moving dead produce, and they really reeked, but at nighttime, that's where people went to have sex, you know, and there would be hundreds and hundreds of men having sex together in these trucks. I went in there and they took bats and just busted that place up. Like, "Joe, if you fire your gun without me saying your name and the words 'fire,' you will be walking a beat on Staten Island all alone on a lonely beach for the rest of your police career. Jerry Hoose:I was afraid it was over. John O'Brien:I was with a group that we actually took a parking meter out of theground, three or four people, and we used it as a battering ram. And today we're talking about Stonewall, which were both pretty anxious about so anxious. With this outpouring of courage and unity the gay liberation movement had begun. Eric Marcus, Writer:It was incredibly hot. But that's only partially true. 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 . You know, Howard's concern was and my concern was that if all hell broke loose, they'd just start busting heads. So anything that would set us off, we would go into action. Pamela Gaudiano Noah Goldman Hear more of the conversation and historical interviews at the audio link. One of the world's oldest and largest gay pride parades became a victory celebration after New York's historic decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Then the cops come up and make use of what used to be called the bubble-gum machine, back then a cop car only had one light on the top that spun around. "BEFORE STONEWALL" - MetroFocus Martha Shelley Gay bars were always on side streets out of the way in neighborhoods that nobody would go into. Producers Library That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. This produced an enormous amount of anger within the lesbian and gay community in New York City and in other parts of America. Before Stonewall streaming: where to watch online? - JustWatch It was done in our little street talk. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Our radio was cut off every time we got on the police radio. Martha Shelley:Before Stonewall, the homophile movement was essentially the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis and all of these other little gay organizations, some of which were just two people and a mimeograph machine. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:It was always hands up, what do you want? TV Host (Archival):Ladies and gentlemen, the reason for using first names only forthese very, very charming contestants is that right now each one of them is breaking the law. Martha Shelley:In those days, what they would do, these psychiatrists, is they would try to talk you into being heterosexual. Do you want them to lose all chance of a normal, happy, married life? Fred Sargeant It premiered at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 27, 1985. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community (Newly This, to a homosexual, is no choice at all. And I had become very radicalized in that time. It was like a reward. Ed Koch, mayorof New York City from1978 to 1989, discussesgay civil rights in New York in the 1960s.