STONEWALL 40th ANNIVERSARY

TODAY WE MARK THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE STONEWALL RIOTS, THAT GAVE WAY TO OUR FIGHT FOR FREEDOM FROM THE OPPRESSIONS OF DISCRIMINATION AND THE STRENGTHS TO GAIN OUR RIGHTS THAT EVERY PERSON DESERVES. . .
THE STONEWALL RIOTS WERE A SERIES OF VIOLENT DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST A POLICE RAID THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF 28.JUNE.1969 AT A WELL KNOWN BAR FREQUENTED BY HOMOSEXUALS CALLED THE STONEWALL INN, IN THE GREENWICH VILLAGE NEIGHBORHOOD OF NEW YORK CITY. THEY ARE FREQUENTLY CITED AS THE FIRST INSTANCE IN AMERICAN HISTORY WHEN THE GAY COMMUNITY FOUGHT BACK AGAINST A GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED SYSTEM OF DISCRIMINATION AND PERSECUTION OF HOMOSEXUALS, AND THEY HAVE BECOME THE DEFINING MOMENT THAT MARKED THE START OF THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES AND EVENTUALLY AROUND THE WORLD.
VERY FEW ESTABLISHMENTS WELCOMED OPENLY GAY PEOPLE IN THE 1950s AND 1960s. THOSE THAT DID WERE OFTEN BARS, ALTHOUGH BAR OWNERS AND MANAGERS WERE RARELY GAY THEMSELVES. THE STONEWALL INN, AT THE TIME WAS OWNED BY A GROUP IN ORGANIZED CRIME. IT CATERED TO AN ASSORTMENT OF PATRONS, BUT IT WAS WELL KNOWN TO BE POPULAR WITH THE MARGINALIZED GROUP OF PEOPLE IN THE GAY COMMUNITY: TRANSVESTITES, EFFEMINATE YOUNG MEN, HUSTLERS AND HOMELESS YOUTH. POLICE RAIDS ON GAY BARS WERE ROUTINE IN THE 1960s, BUT OFFICERS QUICKLY LOST CONTROL OF THE SITUATION AT THE STONEWALL INN, AND IT ATTRACTED A CROWD THAT WAS INCITED TO RIOT. TENSIONS BETWEEN NEW YORK CITY POLICE AND GAY RESIDENTS OF GREENWICH VILLAGE ERUPTED INTO MORE PROTESTS THE NEXT EVENING, AND AGAIN SEVERAL NIGHTS LATER, WITHIN WEEKS, VILLAGE RESIDENTS QUICKLY ORGANIZED INTO ACTIVIST GROUPS TO CONCENTRATE EFFORTS OF ESTABLISHING PLACES FOR MEMBERS OF THE GAY COMMUNITY TO BE OPEN ABOUT THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION WITHOUT THE FEAR OF BEING HARASSED OR ARRESTED BY THE POLICE.
AFTER THE STONEWALL RIOTS, THE GAY COMMUNITY IN NEW YORK CITY FACED GENDER, CLASS, AND GENERATIONAL OBSTACLES TO BECOMING A COHESIVE COMMUNITY. WITHIN SIX MONTHS, TWO GAY ACTIVIST ORGANIZATIONS WERE FORMED IN NEW YORK, CONCENTRATING ON CONFRONTATIONAL TACTICS, AND THREE NEWSPAPERS WERE ESTABLISHED TO PROMOTE RIGHTS FOR GAYS. WITHIN A FEW YEARS, GAY RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS WERE FOUNDED ACROSS AMERICA AND THE WORLD. ON 28.JUNE.1970, THE FIRST GAY PRIDE MARCHES TOOK PLACE IN LOS ANGELES AND NEW YORK CITY COMMEMORATING THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE RIOTS. SIMILAR MARCHES WERE ORGANIZED IN OTHER CITIES; TODAY GAY PRIDE EVENTS ARE HELD ANNUALLY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD TOWARD THE END OF JUNE TO MARK THE STONEWALL RIOTS.