The first time I went to New York City, I was going to see Dreamgirls, the Broadway musical based on the rise and fall of Diana Ross and the Supremes, the legendary singing group. The other two things I wanted to do while in New York was visit Greenwich Village and see what all the hubbub was about. I wanted to see the location of the Stonewall Riots.
As a child of the 60’s, I was raised in chaos – between assassinations and riots and marches, I started reading the paper at a very early age. I had aunts and uncles who were close in age to me, so I spent a lot of time with them, and they were following everything. I was very aware of the start of the gay rights movement. New York City Police had been targeting alternative, or gay bars for a long time. In the wake of the Civil Rights Movement and Women’s Rights Movements, gay people were beginning to see an opening to speak up for themselves and what they wanted. The night of June 28, 1969, was the turning point. The Police entered and attempted another shake down and the bar patrons decided to fight back. They decided that they weren’t going to be victims anymore. Greenwich Village was and is one of the most liberal, laid-back, diverse areas of New York City. The call to arms did not go unnoticed.
After the Democratic Convention of 1968 in Chicago, fighting back against an aggressive police force was nothing new to me, and I was fascinated. The fury with which the patrons and neighbors fought back, standing their ground and telling their story without fear or shame was probably the first time I became aware of the situation. It made many across the country take notice of the problem. There were several times when my parents had to have crucial but uncomfortable conversations with me – I was a very curious kid, but there was a lot happening, so naturally I had questions about it. The Stonewall Riots sparked the gay rights activism that we celebrate today. Everyone should have the ability to live their lives as we see fit, isn’t that what this country was supposed to be founded upon?