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. So gay people were being strangled, shot, thrown in the river, blackmailed, fired from jobs. We had been threatened bomb threats. But it was a refuge, it was a temporary refuge from the street. Doric Wilson:That's what happened Stonewall night to a lot of people. The events of that night have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement. Narrator (Archival):We arrested homosexuals who committed their lewd acts in public places. Mayor John Lindsay, like most mayors, wanted to get re-elected. Fred Sargeant:The effect of the Stonewall riot was to change the direction of the gay movement. People started throwing pennies. Homosexuality was a dishonorable discharge in those days, and you couldn't get a job afterwards. Slate:The Homosexual(1967), CBS Reports. We knew that this was a moment that we didn't want to let slip past, because it was something that we could use to bring more of the groups together. But after the uprising, polite requests for change turned into angry demands. But the before section, I really wanted people to have a sense of what it felt like to be gay, lesbian, transgender, before Stonewall and before you have this mass civil rights movement that comes after Stonewall. And once that happened, the whole house of cards that was the system of oppression of gay people started to crumble. Jeremiah Hawkins The last time I saw him, he was a walking vegetable. Fifty years ago, a riot broke out at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village. And as I'm looking around to see what's going on, police cars, different things happening, it's getting bigger by the minute. I was wearing my mother's black and white cocktail dress that was empire-waisted. Jerry Hoose:Who was gonna complain about a crackdown against gay people? I was a homosexual. All the rules were off in the '60s. Dick Leitsch:It was an invasion, I mean you felt outraged and stuff like you know what, God, this is America, what's this country come to? "Don't fire. Jerry Hoose:Gay people who had good jobs, who had everything in life to lose, were starting to join in. At least if you had press, maybe your head wouldn't get busted. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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 . Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:Gay rights, like the rights of blacks, were constantly under attack and while blacks were protected by constitutional amendments coming out of the Civil War, gays were not protected by law and certainly not the Constitution. Doric Wilson:There was joy because the cops weren't winning. I was celebrating my birthday at the Stonewall. Danny Garvin:Something snapped. Eric Marcus, Writer:The Mattachine Society was the first gay rights organization, and they literally met in a space with the blinds drawn. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:We would scatter, ka-poom, every which way. John O'Brien:We had no idea we were gonna finish the march. Virginia Apuzzo: I grew up with that. We don't know. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:It was getting worse and worse. It's like, this is not right. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:They started busting cans of tear gas. In an effort to avoid being anachronistic . TV Host (Archival):That's a very lovely dress too that you're wearing Simone. So it was a perfect storm for the police. 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. Dick Leitsch:Very often, they would put the cops in dresses, with makeup and they usually weren't very convincing. She was awarded the first ever Emmy Award for Research for her groundbreaking work on Before Stonewall. 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. I famously used the word "fag" in the lead sentence I said "the forces of faggotry." Raymond Castro:Incendiary devices were being thrown in I don't think they were Molotov cocktails, but it was just fire being thrown in when the doors got open.
Before Stonewall | The New York Public Library ABCNEWS VideoSource Paul Bosche hide caption. But that's only partially true. 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. And they wore dark police uniforms and riot helmets and they had billy clubs and they had big plastic shields, like Roman army, and they actually formed a phalanx, and just marched down Christopher Street and kind of pushed us in front of them. We were all there. Tweet at us @throughlineNPR, send us an email, or leave us a voicemail at (872) 588-8805. Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. John O'Brien kui A gay rights march in New York in favor of the 1968 Civil Rights Act being amended to include gay rights. People talk about being in and out now, there was no out, there was just in. Homo, homo was big. Jerry Hoose:I was afraid it was over. Judy Laster Liz Davis Doug Cramer When you exit, have some identification and it'll be over in a short time." There were gay bars in Midtown, there were gay bars uptown, there were certain kinds of gay bars on the Upper East Side, you know really, really, really buttoned-up straight gay bars. Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn has undergone several transformations in the decades since it was the focal point of a three-day riot in 1969. As president of the Mattachine Society in New York, I tried to negotiate with the police and the mayor. 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. That night, the police ran from us, the lowliest of the low. Raymond Castro:We were in the back of the room, and the lights went on, so everybody stopped what they were doing, because now the police started coming in, raiding the bar. Because its all right in the Village, but the minute we cross 14th street, if there's only ten of us, God knows what's going to happen to us.". Never, never, never. And there was tear gas on Saturday night, right in front of the Stonewall. That was scary, very scary. John O'Brien:I knew that the words that were being said to put down people, was about me. We ought to know, we've arrested all of them. They can be anywhere. It eats you up inside not being comfortable with yourself. And so there was this drag queen standing on the corner, so they go up and make a sexual offer and they'd get busted. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:There were all these articles in likeLife Magazineabout how the Village was liberal and people that were called homosexuals went there. We'd say, "Here comes Lillian.". Historic Films He brought in gay-positive materials and placed that in a setting that people could come to and feel comfortable in. That this was normal stuff. Daniel Pine 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. His movements are not characteristic of a real boy. Windows started to break. Once it started, once that genie was out of the bottle, it was never going to go back in. Martin Boyce:Oh, Miss New Orleans, she wouldn't be stopped. The police weren't letting us dance. They put some people on the street right in front ofThe Village Voiceprotesting the use of the word fag in my story. Martin Boyce:I heard about the trucks, which to me was fascinated me, you know, it had an imagination thing that was like Marseilles, how can it only be a few blocks away? And it was those loudest people, the most vulnerable, the most likely to be arrested, were the ones that were doing the real fighting. Doric Wilson:And I looked back and there were about 2,000 people behind us, and that's when I knew it had happened. 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." For the first time, we weren't letting ourselves be carted off to jails, gay people were actually fighting back just the way people in the peace movement fought back. Absolutely, and many people who were not lucky, felt the cops. 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. And the cops got that. 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. Ellen Goosenberg Because one out of three of you will turn queer. This was a highly unusual raid, going in there in the middle of the night with a full crowd, the Mafia hasn't been alerted, the Sixth Precinct hasn't been alerted. Corbis Because if you don't have extremes, you don't get any moderation. It was nonsense, it was nonsense, it was all the people there, that were reacting and opposing what was occurring. The New York State Liquor Authority refused to issue liquor licenses to many gay bars, and several popular establishments had licenses suspended or revoked for "indecent conduct.". I actually thought, as all of them did, that we were going to be killed. And there was like this tension in the air and it just like built and built. Scott McPartland/Getty Images And that, that was a very haunting issue for me. As you read, keep in mind that LGBTQ+ is a relatively new term and, while queer people have always existed, the terminology has changed frequently over the years. 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. We heard one, then more and more. Martha Shelley Raymond Castro:I'd go in there and I would look and I would just cringe because, you know, people would start touching me, and "Hello, what are you doing there if you don't want to be touched?" David Carter, Author ofStonewall:There was also vigilantism, people were using walkie-talkies to coordinate attacks on gay men.
Don't fire until I fire. Jerry Hoose:And I got to the corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street, crossed the street and there I had found Nirvana. We'll put new liquor in there, we'll put a new mirror up, we'll get a new jukebox." Before Stonewall pries open the closet door, setting free dramatic stories from the early 1900's onwards of public and private existence as experienced by LGBT Americans. And this went on for hours. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:It really should have been called Stonewall uprising. This was ours, here's where the Stonewall was, here's our Mecca. Director . They were getting more ferocious. Charles Harris, Transcriptions Danny Garvin:There was more anger and more fight the second night. He said, "Okay, let's go." There was all these drags queens and these crazy people and everybody was carrying on. Original Language: English. Fred Sargeant:The tactical patrol force on the second night came in even larger numbers, and were much more brutal. A person marching in a gay rights parade along New York's Fifth Avenue on July 7th, 1979. For the first time the next person stood up. Quentin Heilbroner Narrator (Archival):This is one of the county's principal weekend gathering places for homosexuals, both male and female. Eric Marcus has spent years interviewing people who were there that night, as well as those who were pushing for gay rights before Stonewall. The scenes were photographed with telescopic lenses. Eventually something was bound to blow. But we had to follow up, we couldn't just let that be a blip that disappeared. John O'Brien:Cops got hurt. Just let's see if they can. Raymond Castro:You could hear screaming outside, a lot of noise from the protesters and it was a good sound. Martin Boyce:We were like a Hydra. And I hadn't had enough sleep, so I was in a somewhat feverish state, and I thought, "We have to do something, we have to do something," and I thought, "We have to have a protest march of our own." And the police were showing up. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:And I keep listening and listening and listening, hoping I'm gonna hear sirens any minute and I was very freaked. We went, "Oh my God. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:What was so good about the Stonewall was that you could dance slow there. It is usually after the day at the beach that the real crime occurs. 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. Colonial House Slate:The Homosexuals(1967), CBS Reports. Some of the pre-Stonewall uprisings included: Black Cat Raid, Los Angeles, California, 1967 Black Night Brawl, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 5, 1961. That never happened before. Narrator (Archival):Note how Albert delicately pats his hair, and adjusts his collar. What Jimmy didn't know is that Ralph was sick. This was the first time I could actually sense, not only see them fearful, I could sense them fearful. And gay people were standing around outside and the mood on the street was, "They think that they could disperse us last night and keep us from doing what we want to do, being on the street saying I'm gay and I'm proud? They didn't know what they were walking into. Her most recent film, Bones of Contention, premiered in the 2016 Berlin International 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. John O'Brien:If a gay man is caught by the police and is identified as being involved in what they called lewd, immoral behavior, they would have their person's name, their age and many times their home address listed in the major newspapers. The idea was to be there first. Vanessa Ezersky You know, we wanted to be part of the mainstream society. We assembled on Christopher Street at 6th Avenue, to march. Linton Media Fred Sargeant:When it was clear that things were definitely over for the evening, we decided we needed to do something more. And, it was, I knew I would go through hell, I would go through fire for that experience. On June 27, 1969, police raided The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York. First you gotta get past the door. 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. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:The police would zero in on us because sometimes they would be in plain clothes, and sometimes they would even entrap. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:I had a column inThe Village Voicethat ran from '66 all the way through '84. Noah Goldman It was as if they were identifying a thing. 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. Prisoner (Archival):I realize that, but the thing is that for life I'll be wrecked by this record, see? The cops would hide behind the walls of the urinals. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, we did use the small hoses on the fire extinguishers. Leroy S. Mobley And some people came out, being very dramatic, throwing their arms up in a V, you know, the victory sign. Before Stonewall. But I had only stuck my head in once at the Stonewall. Dana Gaiser You were alone. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:The Stonewall, they didn't have a liquor license and they were raided by the cops regularly and there were pay-offs to the cops, it was awful. I have pondered this as "Before Stonewall," my first feature documentary, is back in cinemas after 35 years. The Stonewall had reopened. "You could have got us in a lot of trouble, you could have got us closed up." Sophie Cabott Black John O'Brien:They had increased their raids in the trucks. I mean it didn't stop after that. Doric Wilson:And we were about 100, 120 people and there were people lining the sidewalks ahead of us to watch us go by, gay people, mainly. Martin Boyce:In the early 60s, if you would go near Port Authority, there were tons of people coming in. Gay people were told we didn't have any of that. I was in the Navy when I was 17 and it was there that I discovered that I was gay. Martin Boyce:Mind you socks didn't count, so it was underwear, and undershirt, now the next thing was going to ruin the outfit. 1984 documentary film by Greta Schiller and Robert Rosenberg, "Berlinale 2016: Panorama Celebrates Teddy Award's 30th Anniversary and Announces First Titles in Programme", "Guest Post: What I Learned From Revisiting My 1984 Documentary 'Before Stonewall', "See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks", "Complete National Film Registry Listing", "Before Stonewall - Independent Historical Film", Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community (Newly Restored), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Before_Stonewall&oldid=1134540821, Documentary films about United States history, Historiography of LGBT in the United States, United States National Film Registry films, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 January 2023, at 05:30. They really were objecting to how they were being treated. I didn't think I could have been any prettier than that night. Newly restored for the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Before Stonewall pries open the . That night, we printed a box, we had 5,000. It meant nothing to us. We were winning. Jerry Hoose:The police would come by two or three times a night. And if we catch you, involved with a homosexual, your parents are going to know about it first. Dick Leitsch:And that's when you started seeing like, bodies laying on the sidewalk, people bleeding from the head. It must have been terrifying for them. We knew it was a gay bar, we walked past it. Robin Haueter Alan Lechner Jay Fialkov
Before Stonewall (1984) Movie Script | Subs like Script