Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen Gay History Papers and Photographs, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations They were just holding us almost like in a hostage situation where you don't know what's going to happen next. Slate:Perversion for Profit(1965), Citizens for Decency Through Law. 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. Because that's what they were looking for, any excuse to try to bust the place. 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. And it was fantastic. It's not my cup of tea. The Laramie Project Cast at The Calhoun School I guess they're deviates. (c) 2011 Yvonne Ritter:It's like people who are, you know, black people who are used to being mistreated, and going to the back of the bus and I guess this was sort of our going to the back of the bus. Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives 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. Participants of the 1969 Greenwich Village uprising describe the effect that Stonewall had on their lives. Leroy S. Mobley I told the person at the door, I said "I'm 18 tonight" and he said to me, "you little SOB," he said. Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. [2][3] Later in 2019, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[4][5][6]. They were getting more ferocious. Jimmy hadn't enjoyed himself so much in a long time. There may be some here today that will be homosexual in the future. John O'Brien Jerry Hoose:I mean the riot squad was used to riots. John O'Brien:In the Civil Rights Movement, we ran from the police, in the peace movement, we ran from the police. Martin Boyce:Oh, Miss New Orleans, she wouldn't be stopped. John Scagliotti And they were lucky that door was closed, they were very lucky. Ellen Goosenberg But we went down to the trucks and there, people would have sex. Dana Kirchoff 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. And the rest of your life will be a living hell. John O'Brien:The election was in November of 1969 and this was the summer of 1969, this was June. People cheer while standing in front of The Stonewall Inn as the annual Gay Pride parade passes, Sunday, June 26, 2011 in New York. Tires were slashed on police cars and it just went on all night long. Robin Haueter And I ran into Howard Smith on the street,The Village Voicewas right there. And the harder she fought, the more the cops were beating her up and the madder the crowd got. Danny Garvin:We became a people. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Our radio was cut off every time we got on the police radio. On this episode, the fight for gay rights before Stonewall. It was as if they were identifying a thing. Somehow being gay was the most terrible thing you could possibly be. There were occasions where you did see people get night-sticked, or disappear into a group of police and, you know, everybody knew that was not going to have a good end. Synopsis. For those kisses. On June 27, 1969, police raided The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York. But the . Queer was very big. Few photographs of the raid and the riots that followed exist. Dan Bodner Virginia Apuzzo:What we felt in isolation was a growing sense of outrage and fury particularly because we looked around and saw so many avenues of rebellion. Almost anything you could name. So it was a perfect storm for the police. 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? Danny Garvin:People were screaming "pig," "copper." Raymond Castro:So finally when they started taking me out, arm in arm up to the paddy wagon, I jumped up and I put one foot on one side, one foot on the other and I sprung back, knocking the two arresting officers, knocking them to the ground. The Chicago riots, the Human Be-in, the dope smoking, the hippies. 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. That never happened before. Fred Sargeant:The effect of the Stonewall riot was to change the direction of the gay movement. Doric Wilson:That's what happened Stonewall night to a lot of people. It premiered at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 27, 1985. But after the uprising, polite requests for change turned into angry demands. In 1969 it was common for police officers to rough up a gay bar and ask for payoffs. 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. [7] In 1989, it won the Festival's Plate at the Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. The very idea of being out, it was ludicrous. Slate:The Homosexuals(1967), CBS Reports. As kids, we played King Kong. Doric Wilson:When I was very young, one of the terms for gay people was twilight people, meaning that we never came out until twilight, 'til it got dark. That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. With this outpouring of courage and unity the gay liberation movement had begun. Is that conceivable? Narrator (Archival):This involves showing the gay man pictures of nude males and shocking him with a strong electric current. And I think it's both the alienation, also the oppression that people suffered. A person marching in a gay rights parade along New York's Fifth Avenue on July 7th, 1979. WGBH Educational Foundation People talk about being in and out now, there was no out, there was just in. Danny Garvin:Something snapped. Calling 'em names, telling 'em how good-looking they were, grabbing their butts. And as awful as people might think that sounds, it's the way history has always worked. In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city's LGBT community. It gives back a little of the terror they gave in my life. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:Those of us that were the street kids we didn't think much about the past or the future. Franco Sacchi, Additional Animation and Effects In 1999, producer Scagliotti directed a companion piece, After Stonewall. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:I had a column inThe Village Voicethat ran from '66 all the way through '84. The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle, Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States. Activists had been working for change long before Stonewall. Martin Boyce Stonewall Forever Explore the monument Watch the documentary Download the AR app About & FAQ Privacy Policy Dick Leitsch:Very often, they would put the cops in dresses, with makeup and they usually weren't very convincing. Pennebaker courtesy of Pennebaker Hegedus Films There's a little door that slides open with this power-hungry nut behind that, you see this much of your eyes, and he sees that much of your face, and then he decides whether you're going to get in. And the first gay power demonstration to my knowledge was against my story inThe Village Voiceon Wednesday. It must have been terrifying for them. And as I'm looking around to see what's going on, police cars, different things happening, it's getting bigger by the minute. 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. I could never let that happen and never did. Danny Garvin:Bam, bam and bash and then an opening and then whoa. ABCNEWS VideoSource I mean it didn't stop after that. It is usually after the day at the beach that the real crime occurs. "We're not going.". John O'Brien:Cops got hurt. 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." It said the most dreadful things, it said nothing about being a person. My last name being Garvin, I'd be called Danny Gay-vin. Getting then in the car, rocking them back and forth. It was terrifying. It was done in our little street talk. It's the first time I'm fully inside the Stonewall. And there was tear gas on Saturday night, right in front of the Stonewall. It was a horror story. Alexis Charizopolis 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. And it's interesting to note how many youngsters we've been seeing in these films. Like, "Joe, if you fire your gun without me saying your name and the words 'fire,' you will be walking a beat on Staten Island all alone on a lonely beach for the rest of your police career. Jerry Hoose:I was afraid it was over. We heard one, then more and more. Do you understand me?". The events. American Airlines Revisiting the newly restored "Before Stonewall" 35 years after its premiere, Rosenberg said he was once again struck by its "powerful" and "acutely relevant" narrative. They can be anywhere. The Mafia owned the jukeboxes, they owned the cigarette machines and most of the liquor was off a truck hijacking. When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City on June 28, 1969, the street erupted into violent protests that lasted for the next six days. If there had been a riot of that proportion in Harlem, my God, you know, there'd have been cameras everywhere. 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. We were all there. Alfredo del Rio, Archival Still and Motion Images Courtesy of Daniel Pine Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We told this to our men. 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. Susan Liberti Slate:Boys Beware(1961) Public Service Announcement. And when you got a word, the word was homosexuality and you looked it up. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:The Stonewall riots came at a central point in history. 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. Andy Frielingsdorf, Reenactment Actors ITN Source Virginia Apuzzo:It's very American to say, "This is not right." On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Not even us. The Underground Lounge Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, I had to act like I wasn't nervous. Absolutely, and many people who were not lucky, felt the cops. A sickness of the mind. Lilli M. Vincenz Cop (Archival):Anyone can walk into that men's room, any child can walk in there, and see what you guys were doing. Just let's see if they can. They really were objecting to how they were being treated. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:And by the time the police would come back towards Stonewall, that crowd had gone all the around Washington Place come all the way back around and were back pushing in on them from the other direction and the police would wonder, "These are the same people or different people?". Samual Murkofsky "Daybreak Express" by D.A. Martin Boyce:For me, there was no bar like the Stonewall, because the Stonewall was like the watering hole on the savannah. Martin Boyce:I wasn't labeled gay, just "different." How do you think that would affect him mentally, for the rest of their lives if they saw an act like that being? And, I did not like parading around while all of these vacationers were standing there eating ice cream and looking at us like we were critters in a zoo. There was at least one gay bar that was run just as a hustler bar for straight gay married men. And you felt bad that you were part of this, when you knew they broke the law, but what kind of law was that? Because he was homosexual. Revealing and often humorous, this widely acclaimed film relives the emotionally-charged sparking of today's gay rights movement . Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:At a certain point, it felt pretty dangerous to me but I noticed that the cop that seemed in charge, he said you know what, we have to go inside for safety. The documentary shows how homosexual people enjoyed and shared with each other. Dick Leitsch:And I remember it being a clear evening with a big black sky and the biggest white moon I ever saw. People could take shots at us. And the police were showing up. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:What they did in the Stonewall that night. 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? Linton Media We were scared. John O'Brien:They had increased their raids in the trucks. The severity of the punishment varies from state to state. We assembled on Christopher Street at 6th Avenue, to march. Before Stonewall - Trailer BuskFilms 12.6K subscribers Subscribe 14K views 10 years ago Watch the full film here (UK & IRE only): http://buskfilms.com/films/before-sto. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Teddy Awards, the film was shown at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2016. Danny Garvin:We had thought of women's rights, we had thought of black rights, all kinds of human rights, but we never thought of gay rights, and whenever we got kicked out of a bar before, we never came together. Jerry Hoose:The bar itself was a toilet. My father said, "About time you fags rioted.". A New York Police officer grabs a man by the hair as another officer clubs a. Danny Garvin:It was a chance to find love. One time, a bunch of us ran into somebody's car and locked the door and they smashed the windows in. This book, and the related documentary film, use oral histories to present students with a varied view of lesbian and gay experience. Tom Caruso Scott McPartland/Getty Images Vanessa Ezersky Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:Yes, entrapment did exist, particularly in the subway system, in the bathrooms. 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. William Eskridge, Professor of Law: The 1960s were dark ages for lesbians and gay men all over America. It was a down at a heels kind of place, it was a lot of street kids and things like that. We were winning. 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. Leaflets in the 60s were like the internet, today. Dick Leitsch:So it was mostly goofing really, basically goofing on them. 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. Noah Goldman 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. And I raised my hand at one point and said, "Let's have a protest march." The cops would hide behind the walls of the urinals. 'Cause I really realized that I was being trained as a straight person, so I could really fool these people. A medievalist. Raymond Castro:New York City subways, parks, public bathrooms, you name it. Jerry Hoose:And we were going fast. Other images in this film are 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? But I was just curious, I didn't want to participate because number one it was so packed. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:And then the next night. It was an age of experimentation. His movements are not characteristic of a real boy. 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. Even non-gay people. This 19-year-old serviceman left his girlfriend on the beach to go to a men's room in a park nearby where he knew that he could find a homosexual contact. First Run Features Martha Shelley:In those days, what they would do, these psychiatrists, is they would try to talk you into being heterosexual. Oddball Film + Video, San Francisco In an effort to avoid being anachronistic . Clever. Quentin Heilbroner The homosexual, bitterly aware of his rejection, responds by going underground. Revealing and. Not able to do anything. Raymond Castro:You could hear screaming outside, a lot of noise from the protesters and it was a good sound. Danny Garvin:We were talking about the revolution happening and we were walking up 7th Avenue and I was thinking it was either Black Panthers or the Young Lords were going to start it and we turned the corner from 7th Avenue onto Christopher Street and we saw the paddy wagon pull up there. The film brings together voices from over 50 years of the LGBTQ rights movement to explore queer activism before, during and after the Stonewall Riots. Before Stonewall. Patricia Yusah, Marketing and Communications That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. Greg Shea, Legal Homosexuality was a dishonorable discharge in those days, and you couldn't get a job afterwards. TV Host (Archival):Ladies and gentlemen, the reason for using first names only forthese very, very charming contestants is that right now each one of them is breaking the law. You knew you could ruin them for life. Danny Garvin:It was the perfect time to be in the Village. That's what happened on June 28, but as people were released, the night took an unusual turn when protesters and police clashed. The mayor of New York City, the police commissioner, were under pressure to clean up the streets of any kind of quote unquote "weirdness." Barak Goodman On June 28, 1969, New York City police raided a Greenwich Village gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, setting off a three-day riot that launched the modern American gay rights movement. John O'Brien:I was very anti-police, had many years already of activism against the forces of law and order. You were alone. Liz Davis 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. A year earlier, young gays, lesbians and transgender people clashed with police near a bar called The Stonewall Inn. We love to hear from our listeners! It meant nothing to us. Martha Shelley:We participated in demonstrations in Philadelphia at Independence Hall. That was scary, very scary. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:We would scatter, ka-poom, every which way. Virginia Apuzzo:It was free but not quite free enough for us. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We had maybe six people and by this time there were several thousand outside. I mean they were making some headway. Alexandra Meryash Nikolchev, On-Line Editors 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.". [1] To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 2019, the film was restored and re-released by First Run Features in June 2019. Susana Fernandes [7] In 1987, the film won Emmy Awards for Best Historical/Cultural Program and Best Research. TV Host (Archival):Are those your own eyelashes? Danny Garvin Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:They were sexual deviates. Glenn Fukushima It was tremendous freedom. Long before marriage equality, non-binary gender identity, and the flood of new documentaries commemorating this month's 50th anniversary of the Greenwich Village uprising that begat the gay rights movement, there was Greta Schiller's Before Stonewall.Originally released in 1984as AIDS was slowly killing off many of those bar patrons-turned-revolutionariesthe film, through the use of . Milestones in the American Gay Rights Movement. Genre: Documentary, History, Drama. David Carter, Author ofStonewall:Most raids by the New York City Police, because they were paid off by the mob, took place on a weeknight, they took place early in the evening, the place would not be crowded. I was celebrating my birthday at the Stonewall. He said, "Okay, let's go." And we were singing: "We are the Village girls, we wear our hair in curls, we wear our dungarees, above our nellie knees." "Don't fire. Getty Images They frequent their own clubs, and bars and coffee houses, where they can escape the disapproving eye of the society that they call straight. And that's what it was, it was a war. And this went on for hours. John O'Brien:All of a sudden, the police faced something they had never seen before. The first police officer that came in with our group said, "The place is under arrest. He may appear normal, and it may be too late when you discover he is mentally ill. John O'Brien:I was a poor, young gay person. Lester Senior Housing Community, Jewish Community Housing Corporation by David Carter, Associate Producer and Advisor Eventually something was bound to blow. He brought in gay-positive materials and placed that in a setting that people could come to and feel comfortable in. 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. But I'm wearing this police thing I'm thinking well if they break through I better take it off really quickly but they're gunna come this way and we're going to be backing up and -- who knows what'll happen. We ought to know, we've arrested all of them. Richard Enman (Archival):Ye - well, that's yes and no. And so Howard said, "We've got police press passes upstairs." Charles Harris, Transcriptions 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. John O'Brien:And deep down I believed because I was gay and couldn't speak out for my rights, was probably one of the reasons that I was so active in the Civil Rights Movement. Danny Garvin:He's a faggot, he's a sissy, queer. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:The police would zero in on us because sometimes they would be in plain clothes, and sometimes they would even entrap. The New York Times / Redux Pictures This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips . Before Stonewall, the activists wanted to fit into society and not rock the boat. Dick Leitsch:Mattachino in Italy were court jesters; the only people in the whole kingdom who could speak truth to the king because they did it with a smile. 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) 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. Kanopy - Stream Classic Cinema, Indie Film and Top Documentaries . They were afraid that the FBI was following them. John O'Brien:Heterosexuals, legally, had lots of sexual outlets. 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. The scenes were photographed with telescopic lenses. Martin Boyce:We were like a Hydra. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:There were all these articles in likeLife Magazineabout how the Village was liberal and people that were called homosexuals went there. Just making their lives miserable for once. We could lose our memory from the beating, we could be in wheelchairs like some were. Fred Sargeant:The press did refer to it in very pejorative terms, as a night that the drag queens fought back. And we had no right to such. Abstract. What Jimmy didn't know is that Ralph was sick. 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." Fifty years ago, a riot broke out at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village. Bettye Lane Dick Leitsch:There were Black Panthers and there were anti-war people. It eats you up inside. John O'Brien:Whenever you see the cops, you would run away from them. And Vito and I walked the rest of the whole thing with tears running down our face. Dana Gaiser You know, we wanted to be part of the mainstream society. Read a July 6, 1969excerpt fromTheNew York Daily News. I am not alone, there are other people that feel exactly the same way.". 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. And it would take maybe a half hour to clear the place out. And when she grabbed that everybody knew she couldn't do it alone so all the other queens, Congo Woman, queens like that started and they were hitting that door. The music was great, cafes were good, you know, the coffee houses were good. Eric Marcus, Writer:Before Stonewall, there was no such thing as coming out or being out. Doric Wilson Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:They started busting cans of tear gas. But, that's when we knew, we were ourselves for the first time. And the Stonewall was part of that system. This was the first time I could actually sense, not only see them fearful, I could sense them fearful. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:So you're outside, and you see like two people walking toward these trucks and you think, "Oh I think I'll go in there," you go in there, there's like a lot of people in there and it's all dark. If that didn't work, they would do things like aversive conditioning, you know, show you pornography and then give you an electric shock. It was first released in 1984 with its American premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and its European premiere at the Berlinale, followed by a successful theatrical release in many countries and a national broadcast on PBS. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:There were gay bars all over town, not just in Greenwich Village. 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. We didn't want to come on, you know, wearing fuzzy sweaters and lipstick, you know, and being freaks. And I found them in the movie theatres, sitting there, next to them. The windows were always cloaked. Doug Cramer And the police escalated their crackdown on bars because of the reelection campaign. So if any one of you, have let yourself become involved with an adult homosexual, or with another boy, and you're doing this on a regular basis, you better stop quick.

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