Frank Kameny, co-founder of the Mattachine Society, and Shirley Willer, president of the Daughters of Bilitis, spoke to Marcus about being gay before the Stonewall riots happened and what motivated people who were involved in the movement. The cops were barricaded inside. Participants of the 1969 Greenwich Village uprising describe the effect that Stonewall had on their lives. by David Carter, Associate Producer and Advisor 400 Plankinton Ave. Compton's Cafeteria Raid, San Francisco, California, 1966 Coopers Do-Nut Raid, Los Angeles, California, 1959 Pepper Hill Club Raid, Baltimore, Maryland in 1955. Danny Garvin:It was a chance to find love. So you couldn't have a license to practice law, you couldn't be a licensed doctor. There was all these drags queens and these crazy people and everybody was carrying on. 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. We were thinking about survival. I hope it was. And it was those loudest people, the most vulnerable, the most likely to be arrested, were the ones that were doing the real fighting. I am not alone, there are other people that feel exactly the same way.". Gay people were told we didn't have any of that. Before Stonewall. Dick Leitsch:There were Black Panthers and there were anti-war people. It was nonsense, it was nonsense, it was all the people there, that were reacting and opposing what was occurring. Alexandra Meryash Nikolchev, On-Line Editors I just thought you had to get through this, and I thought I could get through it, but you really had to be smart about it. Is that conceivable? Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:All of straight America, in terms of the middle class, was recoiling in horror from what was happening all around them at that time, in that summer and the summer before. In the sexual area, in psychology, psychiatry. Because as the police moved back, we were conscious, all of us, of the area we were controlling and now we were in control of the area because we were surrounded the bar, we were moving in, they were moving back. 'Cause I really realized that I was being trained as a straight person, so I could really fool these people. Genre: Documentary, History, Drama. We assembled on Christopher Street at 6th Avenue, to march. Cause we could feel a sense of love for each other that we couldn't show out on the street, because you couldn't show any affection out on the street. I mean I'm talking like sardines. That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. The mayor of New York City, the police commissioner, were under pressure to clean up the streets of any kind of quote unquote "weirdness." The award-winning documentary film, Before Stonewall, which was released theatrically and broadcast on PBS television in 1984, explored the history of the lesbian and gay rights movement in the United States prior to 1969. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:Saturday night there it was. Fred Sargeant:Three articles of clothing had to be of your gender or you would be in violation of that law. I said, "I can go in with you?" A year earlier, young gays, lesbians and transgender people clashed with police near a bar called The Stonewall Inn. The groundbreaking 1984 film "Before Stonewall" introduced audiences to some of the key players and places that helped spark the Greenwich Village riots. How do you think that would affect him mentally, for the rest of their lives if they saw an act like that being? "We're not going.". We ought to know, we've arrested all of them. That night, we printed a box, we had 5,000. A lot of them had been thrown out of their families. It said the most dreadful things, it said nothing about being a person. People could take shots at us. Daniel Pine To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, activists rode their motorcycles during the city's 1989 gay-pride parade. Revealing and often humorous, this widely acclaimed film relives the emotionally-charged sparking of today's gay rights movement . Martha Babcock Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:There were gay bars all over town, not just in Greenwich Village. Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives It's very American to say, "You promised equality, you promised freedom." And I raised my hand at one point and said, "Let's have a protest march." I was wearing my mother's black and white cocktail dress that was empire-waisted. I mean I'm only 19 and this'll ruin me. TV Host (Archival):And Sonia is that your own hair? Dick Leitsch:And I remember it being a clear evening with a big black sky and the biggest white moon I ever saw. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips . David Huggins Except for the few mob-owned bars that allowed some socializing, it was basically for verboten. Jerry Hoose:I remember I was in a paddy wagon one time on the way to jail, we were all locked up together on a chain in the paddy wagon and the paddy wagon stopped for a red light or something and one of the queens said "Oh, this is my stop." 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?" 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. We don't know. Tweet at us @throughlineNPR, send us an email, or leave us a voicemail at (872) 588-8805. Richard Enman (Archival):Well, let me say, first of all, what type of laws we are not after, because there has been much to-do that the Society was in favor of the legalization of marriage between homosexuals, and the adoption of children, and such as that, and that is not at all factual at all. Windows started to break. NBC News Archives And then there were all these priests ranting in church about certain places not to go, so you kind of knew where you could go by what you were told not to do. And the harder she fought, the more the cops were beating her up and the madder the crowd got. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:And they were, they were kids. Dr. Socarides (Archival):I think the whole idea of saying "the happy homosexual" is to, uh, to create a mythology about the nature of homosexuality. 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. This is one thing that if you don't get caught by us, you'll be caught by yourself. So I got into the subway, and on the car was somebody I recognized and he said, "I've never been so scared in my life," and I said, "Well, please let there be more than ten of us, just please let there be more than ten of us. 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. Raymond Castro:Society expected you to, you know, grow up, get married, have kids, which is what a lot of people did to satisfy their parents. Well, it was a nightmare for the lesbian or gay man who was arrested and caught up in this juggernaut, but it was also a nightmare for the lesbians or gay men who lived in the closet. Noah Goldman The police weren't letting us dance. They were supposed to be weak men, limp-wristed. "You could have got us in a lot of trouble, you could have got us closed up." 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. We were going to propose something that all groups could participate in and what we ended up producing was what's now known as the gay pride march. Before Stonewall 1984 Unrated 1 h 27 m IMDb RATING 7.5 /10 1.1K YOUR RATING Rate Play trailer 2:21 1 Video 7 Photos Documentary History The history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement. [7] In 1987, the film won Emmy Awards for Best Historical/Cultural Program and Best Research. Getty Images They were getting more ferocious. John O'Brien:And then somebody started a fire, they started with little lighters and matches. This was in front of the police. Samual Murkofsky There may be some girls here who will turn lesbian. Michael Dolan, Technical Advisors That this was normal stuff. and someone would say, "Well, they're still fighting the police, let's go," and they went in. It is usually after the day at the beach that the real crime occurs. Susana Fernandes The men's room was under police surveillance. And, it was, I knew I would go through hell, I would go through fire for that experience. 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) It was as if they were identifying a thing. We heard one, then more and more. The lights came on, it's like stop dancing. Producers Library Newly restored for the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Before Stonewall pries open the . Original Language: English. The last time I saw him, he was a walking vegetable. I grew up in a very Catholic household and the conflict of issues of redemption, of is it possible that if you are this thing called homosexual, is it possible to be redeemed? David Carter, Author ofStonewall:There was also vigilantism, people were using walkie-talkies to coordinate attacks on gay men. And that's what it was, it was a war. The New York Times / Redux Pictures He brought in gay-positive materials and placed that in a setting that people could come to and feel comfortable in. Dan Bodner He said, "Okay, let's go." 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.". Colonial House But everybody knew it wasn't normal stuff and everyone was on edge and that was the worst part of it because you knew they were on edge and you knew that the first shot that was fired meant all the shots would be fired. Transcript Enlarge this image To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, activists rode their motorcycles during the city's 1989 gay-pride parade. There are a lot of kids here. And they started smashing their heads with clubs. Scott Kardel, Project Administration They were not used to a bunch of drag queens doing a Rockettes kick line and sort of like giving them all the finger in a way. Fred Sargeant:The effect of the Stonewall riot was to change the direction of the gay movement. Danny Garvin:There was more anger and more fight the second night. So it was a perfect storm for the police. Chris Mara Barak Goodman Every arrest and prosecution is a step in the education of the public to the solution of the problem. National Archives and Records Administration Trevor, Post Production John O'Brien:It was definitely dark, it was definitely smelly and raunchy and dirty and that's the only places that we had to meet each other, was in the very dirty, despicable places. A New York Police officer grabs a man by the hair as another officer clubs a. Do you want them to lose all chance of a normal, happy, married life? Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:And then the next night. Raymond Castro:There were mesh garbage cans being lit up on fire and being thrown at the police. Suzanne Poli Liz Davis In 1969 it was common for police officers to rough up a gay bar and ask for payoffs. It was narrated by author Rita Mae Brown, directed by Greta Schiller, co-directed by Robert Rosenberg, and co-produced by John Scagliotti and Rosenberg, and Schiller. John O'Brien:I knew that the words that were being said to put down people, was about me. 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. (c) 2011 I had never seen anything like that. It was a leaflet that attacked the relationship of the police and the Mafia and the bars that we needed to see ended. Jimmy knew he shouldn't be interested but, well, he was curious. 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 medical experimentation in Atascadero included administering, to gay people, a drug that simulated the experience of drowning; in other words, a pharmacological example of waterboarding. You gotta remember, the Stonewall bar was just down the street from there. Danny Garvin:Everybody would just freeze or clam up. I would get in the back of the car and they would say, "We're going to go see faggots." This time they said, "We're not going." That never happened before. That was scary, very scary. Martin Boyce:It was another great step forward in the story of human rights, that's what it was. And I ran into Howard Smith on the street,The Village Voicewas right there. Marjorie Duffield 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. All rights reserved. That's what happened on June 28, but as people were released, the night took an unusual turn when protesters and police clashed. A word that would be used in the 1960s for gay men and lesbians. Leaflets in the 60s were like the internet, today. If you came to a place like New York, you at least had the opportunity of connecting with people, and finding people who didn't care that you were gay. If there's one place in the world where you can dance and feel yourself fully as a person and that's threatened with being taken away, those words are fighting words. 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. Also, through this fight, the "LGBT" was born. And Dick Leitsch, who was the head of the Mattachine Society said, "Who's in favor?" When we got dressed for that night, we had cocktails and we put the makeup on. This book, and the related documentary film, use oral histories to present students with a varied view of lesbian and gay experience. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:If someone was dressed as a woman, you had to have a female police officer go in with her. 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. John DiGiacomo Raymond Castro Virginia Apuzzo:It was free but not quite free enough for us. 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. Tires were slashed on police cars and it just went on all night long. And I had become very radicalized in that time. kui The homosexual, bitterly aware of his rejection, responds by going underground. 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. Dick Leitsch:Well, gay bars were the social centers of gay life. My father said, "About time you fags rioted.". Andy Frielingsdorf, Reenactment Actors A person marching in a gay rights parade along New York's Fifth Avenue on July 7th, 1979. William Eskridge, Professor of Law: The 1960s were dark ages for lesbians and gay men all over America. First Run Features The documentary shows how homosexual people enjoyed and shared with each other. It gives back a little of the terror they gave in my life. Alan Lechner And when you got a word, the word was homosexuality and you looked it up. First you gotta get past the door. My last name being Garvin, I'd be called Danny Gay-vin. Fred Sargeant:We knew that they were serving drinks out of vats and buckets of water and believed that there had been some disease that had been passed. And the rest of your life will be a living hell. It was a way to vent my anger at being repressed. Everyone from the street kids who were white and black kids from the South. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:As much as I don't like to say it, there's a place for violence. Narrator (Archival):Sure enough, the following day, when Jimmy finished playing ball, well, the man was there waiting. Giles Kotcher The Catholic Church, be damned to hell. Doric Wilson:Somebody that I knew that was older than me, his family had him sent off where they go up and damage the frontal part of the brain. Narrator (Archival):We arrested homosexuals who committed their lewd acts in public places.
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