Stonewall Riots - June 27-28, 1969 -The Day That Gay Persons Fought Back
On the evening of June 27th, 1969, New York City police did as they had done many times before, raided a known 'Gay' bar when it was full of patrons on a busy Friday night. But on this night, something unusual happened - the patrons of the Stonewall Inn refused to be arrested and taken away in paddy wagons for the 'crime' of geing gay. They fought back. Riots in front of the Stonewall Inn in the early-morning hours of June 28, 1969, quickly became an emblem of the modern-day Gay pride movement.
-The Stonewall Riot And Aftermath
-Stonewall Riot: A Gay History Video
But what's this!! 40 years later police are STILL raiding Gay bars!!!!
"Jun 29th, 2009 | FORT WORTH, Texas -- Two city officials are seeking an investigation into a police raid at a gay nightclub that ended with the arrests of several patrons and the hospitalization of a man with a head injury."
Thanks for the reminder. It's amazing to think of the progress in the past 40 years.
It's interesting to look at the moments when thing irrevocably changed.
Posted by
Unknown |
12:08 pm, June 29, 2009
On June 27, 1969, we stood for something, together. In the ensuing riots, shoulder to shoulder, we fought back against oppression. In the years that followed, this anniversary became an annual show of solidarity...the strength in our numbers, united. For a brief moment in our history, we stood together as one force, united; visible. We were everyone everywhere and no longer hiding in the shadows.
Now, it seems we have lost our way. The annual rememberance isn't a rememberance, at all, as so few still live who remember or care. Today's observance of this anniversary is marked by stripping off as much of our clothing as we can legally get away with and parading down a designated street in a hedonistic circus that would stand more as an offering to Pan than a march of visible solidarity.
I will return to the Pride March when it returns to and honors its roots.
Posted by
Master Buz Lawson |
10:40 am, June 10, 2010