In the early morning on June 28, 1969, the police conducted a raid on a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn. Police raids on gay bars at the time were very common, and despite the outward reasoning that selling alcohol without a liquor license was illegal, the patrons knew that the real reason the police were there was because Stonewall was so prominent. However, this day was different; the gay patrons of the bar fought back, tussling with police and throwing coins, bottles, and bricks. The confrontation would eventually grow into a riot. Four nights later, another crowd gathered outside the club and clashed with police.
The riots at Stonewall would be a turning point for LGBT communities in New York, America, and the world as a whole, igniting a level of self-empowerment and anger that had never been seen before in the gay rights movement. LGBT people at the time faced violence, discrimination, loss of employment, and more, forced to stay in the closet for their own well-being. But now, they were encouraged to own their gay identity and to display it freely. Organizations like the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis were formed and signified the beginning of a stable gay rights movement, and, according to Jaffe, were influenced by the African-American civil rights movement. Greenwich Village had opened the nation’s first gay bookstore, the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop, on Mercer Street in 1967. That same year, the NY Appellate Division ruled that the State Liquor Authority couldn’t prevent bars from serving gay customers without evidence of “indecent behavior”.
Disagreements between older and younger activists in the Mattachine Society over whether gay people should want acceptance or respect led to the formation of the Gay Liberation Front, a militant group that denied the respectability politics that so dominated the MSNY. The new organization would also face divisions of its own, and the Gay Activists Alliance was formed in rejection to the GLF’s stance that required activists to join a coalition to fight for the rights of POC, straight women, and workers. Lesbians launched their own movements after facing sexism in the Gay Liberation movement (dominated by men) and homophobia from the Women’s Liberation movement (dominated by straight women); they were convinced that gay women were the only true feminists, and new organizations such as the Radicalesbians formed. Even despite the creation of all these new splinter groups, gay New Yorkers who felt excluded – such as black people, Latinas, and transvestites formed their own groups.
Despite the strides these groups made, they would have to mobilize new activists due to the rise of the AIDS crisis. The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power – or ACT UP – was one of the most successful social movements of the 80s and 90s. During this time the AIDS crisis was in full swing, and the government response to it was shameful; Ronald Reagan pandered to the religious right and never even mentioned the crisis. As a whole, American media and society was mostly indifferent to the deaths of thousands of gay men. ACT UP was unique in that it utilized culture as a form of resistance. Lampert states “numerous art and video collectives were formed within ACT UP, including the Silence = Death Project…Gran Fury, Little Elvis, GANG, ACT UP Outreach Committee, DIVA TV, Testing the Limits, and House of Color.” The art created – graphics, posters, billboards, among others – was meant to be personal and evoke deep-seated feelings of anger in those who viewed it. ACT UP was also organized into a series of caucauses; a majority caucus was formed in 1987 because African-Americans and Latinos were the demographics that represented the highest percentage of AIDS in NYC. Of course, being an organization dominated by mostly white middle-class gay men had its problems, and sometimes this presented a problem for its nonwhite, female, or poorer members. However, ACT UP also made an effort to be anti-racist in its activism as well.
While groups and organizations like the Gay Liberation Front and ACT UP may no longer exist or are very small in rank, it is important to remember the steps they took in advancing the gay rights movement and the fight against AIDS. Even to this day, young LGBT people are encouraged to learn the history of the community, to know what their predecessors fought for so that they themselves will be motivated to fight for a better future. The history of the LGBT community, not just in New York City, but in America and the world as a whole is a rich one and is full of anger, resistance, and love for each other. Their legacy is not forgotten and continues to be a source of inspiration for current-day gay rights activists.
-A.H.
