June 28 - The Stonewall Riots Begin

This Day in History: 28 June 2020

 

28 June 1969

 

51 years ago, today, the Stonewall riots began. These were a series of spontaneous and violent demonstrations by the LGBT community, in response to a police raid that began in the early morning, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The event is regarded by many as history's first major protest on behalf of the LGBT community. Although the police were perhaps legally justified in raiding the club, that was serving liquor without a license, the gay community in New York had been increasingly growing weary of the police department targeting gay clubs.

 

Soon afterwards, the crowd began to throw bottles at the police, leading to the protest spilling over into the neighbouring streets. Order was not restored until some hours later. The riots were followed by many days of demonstrations in New York and was the driving force for the formation of the Gay Liberation Front, as well as other LGBT activism organisations. The next year, New York's official gay pride parade set off from Stonewall, and June was later designated as LGBT Pride Month. On the event's 50^th anniversary, in 2019, the New York Police Department formally apologised for its role in the Stonewall Riots, and for the discriminatory laws that restricted the rights of gay people.

 

Want to find out more about the Stonewall Riots? Click here for more information, or here for more details on the LGBT movement in America.