Danny Garvin:It was the perfect time to be in the Village. Over a short period of time, he will be unable to get sexually aroused to the pictures, and hopefully, he will be unable to get sexually aroused inside, in other settings as well. 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. Martha Shelley:I don't know if you remember the Joan Baez song, "It isn't nice to block the doorway, it isn't nice to go to jail, there're nicer ways to do it but the nice ways always fail." There was all these drags queens and these crazy people and everybody was carrying on. What Jimmy didn't know is that Ralph was sick. Just let's see if they can. 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. There may be some here today that will be homosexual in the future. Liz Davis And today we're talking about Stonewall, which were both pretty anxious about so anxious. Jay Fialkov Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:We would scatter, ka-poom, every which way. It said the most dreadful things, it said nothing about being a person. You gotta remember, the Stonewall bar was just down the street from there. Dan Bodner Eric Marcus, Recreation Still Photography This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips . Don't fire until I fire. Martha Shelley:The riot could have been buried, it could have been a few days in the local newspaper and that was that. I was a man. Few photographs of the raid and the riots that followed exist. Remember everything. They call them hotels, motels, lovers' lanes, drive-in movie theaters, etc. Narrator (Archival):This involves showing the gay man pictures of nude males and shocking him with a strong electric current. A New York Police officer grabs a man by the hair as another officer clubs a. But as visibility increased, the reactions of people increased. Virginia Apuzzo:It was free but not quite free enough for us. If you would like to read more on the topic, here's a list: Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and NPR One. Eric Marcus has spent years interviewing people who were there that night, as well as those who were pushing for gay rights before Stonewall. Dick Leitsch:You read about Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams and Gore Vidal and all these actors and stuff, Liberace and all these people running around doing all these things and then you came to New York and you found out, well maybe they're doing them but, you know, us middle-class homosexuals, we're getting busted all the time, every time we have a place to go, it gets raided. Marc Aubin And I had become very radicalized in that time. Franco Sacchi, Additional Animation and Effects Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:Saturday night there it was. The idea was to be there first. And they started smashing their heads with clubs. That's what happened on June 28, but as people were released, the night took an unusual turn when protesters and police clashed. Fred Sargeant:The press did refer to it in very pejorative terms, as a night that the drag queens fought back. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We had maybe six people and by this time there were several thousand outside. People started throwing pennies. Synopsis. But everybody knew it wasn't normal stuff and everyone was on edge and that was the worst part of it because you knew they were on edge and you knew that the first shot that was fired meant all the shots would be fired. 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. 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. I mean they were making some headway. I never saw so many gay people dancing in my life. There are a lot of kids here. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:They started busting cans of tear gas. Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives Jerry Hoose:I was afraid it was over. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:But there were little, tiny pin holes in the plywood windows, I'll call them the windows but they were plywood, and we could look out from there and every time I went over and looked out through one of those pin holes where he did, we were shocked at how big the crowd had become. I was never seduced by an older person or anything like that. Producers Library Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:The moment you stepped out that door there would be hundreds facing you. Danny Garvin:Everybody would just freeze or clam up. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:In states like New York, there were a whole basket of crimes that gay people could be charged with. So you couldn't have a license to practice law, you couldn't be a licensed doctor. Mafia house beer? NBC News Archives Daniel Pine That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. John O'Brien:They had increased their raids in the trucks. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:This was the Rosa Parks moment, the time that gay people stood up and said no. Lauren Noyes. And the people coming out weren't going along with it so easily. These homosexuals glorify unnatural sex acts. 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. Danny Garvin:With Waverly Street coming in there, West Fourth coming in there, Seventh Avenue coming in there, Christopher Street coming in there, there was no way to contain us. Jerry Hoose:I was chased down the street with billy clubs. The mob was saying, you know, "Screw you, cops, you think you can come in a bust us up? Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:And then the next night. 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. I am not alone, there are other people that feel exactly the same way.". It was as bad as any situation that I had met in during the army, had just as much to worry about. Just making their lives miserable for once. Martin Boyce:For me, there was no bar like the Stonewall, because the Stonewall was like the watering hole on the savannah. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:A rather tough lesbian was busted in the bar and when she came out of the bar she was fighting the cops and trying to get away. Mayor John Lindsay, like most mayors, wanted to get re-elected. Noah Goldman They were just holding us almost like in a hostage situation where you don't know what's going to happen next. David Alpert Oh, tell me about your anxiety. Oddball Film + Video, San Francisco You know, it's just, everybody was there. Nobody. 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. It's very American to say, "You promised equality, you promised freedom." Martha Babcock Mary Queen of the Scotch, Congo Woman, Captain Faggot, Miss Twiggy. John O'Brien:It was definitely dark, it was definitely smelly and raunchy and dirty and that's the only places that we had to meet each other, was in the very dirty, despicable places. It was an age of experimentation. It is usually after the day at the beach that the real crime occurs. Richard Enman (Archival):Present laws give the adult homosexual only the choice of being, to simplify the matter, heterosexual and legal or homosexual and illegal. "We're not going.". Doric Wilson:In those days, the idea of walking in daylight, with a sign saying, "I'm a faggot," was horren--, nobody, nobody was ready to do that. The lights came on, it's like stop dancing. People that were involved in it like me referred to it as "The First Run." Dick Leitsch:Well, gay bars were the social centers of gay life. And a couple of 'em had pulled out their guns. The medical experimentation in Atascadero included administering, to gay people, a drug that simulated the experience of drowning; in other words, a pharmacological example of waterboarding. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:Yes, entrapment did exist, particularly in the subway system, in the bathrooms. Fifty years ago, a riot broke out at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village. A Q-Ball Productions film for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Activists had been working for change long before Stonewall. Alexandra Meryash Nikolchev, On-Line Editors Ellinor Mitchell Judith Kuchar Dr. Socarides (Archival):Homosexuality is in fact a mental illness which has reached epidemiological proportions. Dick Leitsch:And that's when you started seeing like, bodies laying on the sidewalk, people bleeding from the head. And there, we weren't allowed to be alone, the police would raid us still. Greg Shea, Legal I mean you got a major incident going on down there and I didn't see any TV cameras at all. Martin Boyce:I wasn't labeled gay, just "different." On June 27, 1969, police raided The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York. And they were lucky that door was closed, they were very lucky. Quentin Heilbroner Martha Shelley:When I was growing up in the '50s, I was supposed to get married to some guy, produce, you know, the usual 2.3 children, and I could look at a guy and say, "Well, objectively he's good looking," but I didn't feel anything, just didn't make any sense to me. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Our radio was cut off every time we got on the police radio. Michael Dolan, Technical Advisors John O'Brien:Cops got hurt. And the police were showing up. I told the person at the door, I said "I'm 18 tonight" and he said to me, "you little SOB," he said. You were alone. And there was tear gas on Saturday night, right in front of the Stonewall. I could never let that happen and never did. Doug Cramer And some people came out, being very dramatic, throwing their arms up in a V, you know, the victory sign. Raymond Castro:So then I got pushed back in, into the Stonewall by these plain clothes cops and they would not let me out, they didn't let anybody out. Alfredo del Rio, Archival Still and Motion Images Courtesy of It was fun to see fags. We ought to know, we've arrested all of them. He brought in gay-positive materials and placed that in a setting that people could come to and feel comfortable in. And it was fantastic. J. Michael Grey Also, through this fight, the "LGBT" was born. The events of that night have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement. You cut one head off. Creating the First Visual History of Queer Life Before Stonewall Making a landmark documentary about LGBTQ Americans before 1969 meant digging through countless archives to find traces of. Martin Boyce:There were these two black, like, banjee guys, and they were saying, "What's goin' on man?" But we're going to pay dearly for this. If there's one place in the world where you can dance and feel yourself fully as a person and that's threatened with being taken away, those words are fighting words. More than a half-century after its release, " The Queen " serves as a powerful time capsule of queer life as it existed before the 1969 Stonewall uprising. 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. And I said to myself, "Oh my God, this will not last.". Marcus spoke with NPR's Ari Shapiro about his conversations with leaders of the gay-rights movement, as well as people who were at Stonewall when the riots broke out. And as I'm looking around to see what's going on, police cars, different things happening, it's getting bigger by the minute. Newly restored for the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Before Stonewall pries open the . It was done in our little street talk. Jerry Hoose:The police would come by two or three times a night. John O'Brien:I was very anti-police, had many years already of activism against the forces of law and order. We didn't expect we'd ever get to Central Park. America thought we were these homosexual monsters and we were so innocent, and oddly enough, we were so American. I mean I'm talking like sardines. And we had no right to such. I met this guy and I broke down crying in his arms. Slate:The Homosexuals(1967), CBS Reports. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:The Stonewall pulled in everyone from every part of gay life. Tom Caruso Raymond Castro:New York City subways, parks, public bathrooms, you name it. Doric Wilson Things were just changing. Director . Lilli M. Vincenz It was as if they were identifying a thing. Her most recent film, Bones of Contention, premiered in the 2016 Berlin International I mean does anyone know what that is? They'd think I'm a cop even though I had a big Jew-fro haircut and a big handlebar mustache at the time. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:It really should have been called Stonewall uprising. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:I never bought a drink at the Stonewall. And I ran into Howard Smith on the street,The Village Voicewas right there. And I just didn't understand that. Obama signed the memorandum to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:It was a bottle club which meant that I guess you went to the door and you bought a membership or something for a buck and then you went in and then you could buy drinks. Martin Boyce:You could be beaten, you could have your head smashed in a men's room because you were looking the wrong way. 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. I first engaged in such acts when I was 14 years old. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:As much as I don't like to say it, there's a place for violence. Colonial House Dan Martino The ones that came close you could see their faces in rage. 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. I made friends that first day. I was proud. John Scagliotti Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:So at that point the police are extremely nervous. A few of us would get dressed up in skirts and blouses and the guys would all have to wear suits and ties. [7] In 1989, it won the Festival's Plate at the Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. They can be anywhere. Geordie, Liam and Theo Gude Chris Mara Fred Sargeant:The effect of the Stonewall riot was to change the direction of the gay movement. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:TheNew York TimesI guess printed a story, but it wasn't a major story. Martin Boyce:Mind you socks didn't count, so it was underwear, and undershirt, now the next thing was going to ruin the outfit. 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. And it just seemed like, fantastic because the background was this industrial, becoming an industrial ruin, it was a masculine setting, it was a whole world. Martin Boyce:That was our only block. And I knew that I was lesbian. 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 . We were all there. This is one thing that if you don't get caught by us, you'll be caught by yourself. Martha Shelley:Before Stonewall, the homophile movement was essentially the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis and all of these other little gay organizations, some of which were just two people and a mimeograph machine. Katrina Heilbroner That was our world, that block. A word that would be used in the 1960s for gay men and lesbians. Dick Leitsch:There were Black Panthers and there were anti-war people. When you exit, have some identification and it'll be over in a short time." People could take shots at us. We had no speakers planned for the rally in Central Park, where we had hoped to get to. John DiGiacomo I guess they're deviates. "Don't fire. We assembled on Christopher Street at 6th Avenue, to march. They raided the Checkerboard, which was a very popular gay bar, a week before the Stonewall. Narrator (Archival):Note how Albert delicately pats his hair, and adjusts his collar. (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). And if we catch you, involved with a homosexual, your parents are going to know about it first. Homosexuals do not want that, you might find some fringe character someplace who says that that's what he wants. I mean, I came out in Central Park and other places. Andy Frielingsdorf, Reenactment Actors One time, a bunch of us ran into somebody's car and locked the door and they smashed the windows in. They put some people on the street right in front ofThe Village Voiceprotesting the use of the word fag in my story. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, I had to act like I wasn't nervous. It's not my cup of tea. 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. Dick Leitsch:So it was mostly goofing really, basically goofing on them. Fred Sargeant:When it was clear that things were definitely over for the evening, we decided we needed to do something more. Louis Mandelbaum And it was those loudest people, the most vulnerable, the most likely to be arrested, were the ones that were doing the real fighting. And she was quite crazy. Every arrest and prosecution is a step in the education of the public to the solution of the problem. Homosexuality was a dishonorable discharge in those days, and you couldn't get a job afterwards. 'Cause I really realized that I was being trained as a straight person, so I could really fool these people. At least if you had press, maybe your head wouldn't get busted. They would not always just arrest, they would many times use clubs and beat. Mike Wallace (Archival):Two out of three Americans look upon homosexuals with disgust, discomfort or fear. It's the first time I'm fully inside the Stonewall. 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. The Stonewall had reopened. They pushed everybody like to the back room and slowly asking for IDs. Leroy S. Mobley Fred Sargeant I mean it didn't stop after that. The Stonewall riots, as they came to be known, marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States and around the world. Narrator (Archival):Sure enough, the following day, when Jimmy finished playing ball, well, the man was there waiting. And then they send them out in the street and of course they did make arrests, because you know, there's all these guys who cruise around looking for drag queens. Fred Sargeant:Someone at this point had apparently gone down to the cigar stand on the corner and got lighter fluid. Martha Shelley:We participated in demonstrations in Philadelphia at Independence Hall. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We were looking for secret exits and one of the policewomen was able to squirm through the window and they did find a way out. Transcript A gay rights march in New York in favor of the 1968 Civil Rights Act being amended to include gay rights. 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 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. Trevor, Post Production It eats you up inside. His movements are not characteristic of a real boy. Danny Garvin:People were screaming "pig," "copper." I said, "I can go in with you?" 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." We don't know. 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. One was the 1845 statute that made it a crime in the state to masquerade. They really were objecting to how they were being treated. And it's interesting to note how many youngsters we've been seeing in these films. Janice Flood The scenes were photographed with telescopic lenses. 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. Judy Laster John van Hoesen 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. 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. If there had been a riot of that proportion in Harlem, my God, you know, there'd have been cameras everywhere. Paul Bosche 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?". Because if they weren't there fast, I was worried that there was something going on that I didn't know about and they weren't gonna come. Windows started to break. Raymond Castro:There were mesh garbage cans being lit up on fire and being thrown at the police. And all of a sudden, pandemonium broke loose. 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?" But I gave it up about, oh I forget, some years ago, over four years ago. Evan Eames The New York Times / Redux Pictures 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. Now, 50 years later, the film is back. We didn't want to come on, you know, wearing fuzzy sweaters and lipstick, you know, and being freaks.