I was wearing my mother's black and white cocktail dress that was empire-waisted. 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. Vanessa Ezersky It's the first time I'm fully inside the Stonewall. Historic Films Martha Shelley:In those days, what they would do, these psychiatrists, is they would try to talk you into being heterosexual. 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. 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. It must have been terrifying for them. That night, we printed a box, we had 5,000. Paul Bosche It said the most dreadful things, it said nothing about being a person. Dick Leitsch:And that's when you started seeing like, bodies laying on the sidewalk, people bleeding from the head. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:They were sexual deviates. The mayor of New York City, the police commissioner, were under pressure to clean up the streets of any kind of quote unquote "weirdness." 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. John O'Brien:I knew that the words that were being said to put down people, was about me. They were to us. It was tremendous freedom. Stonewall Forever Explore the monument Watch the documentary Download the AR app About & FAQ Privacy Policy Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:I had a column inThe Village Voicethat ran from '66 all the way through '84. 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. Stonewall Forever is a documentary from NYC's LGBT Community Center directed by Ro Haber. 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. The first police officer that came in with our group said, "The place is under arrest. Jerry Hoose:And we were going fast. But I gave it up about, oh I forget, some years ago, over four years ago. 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 a real good sound to know that, you know, you had a lot of people out there pulling for you. The lights came on, it's like stop dancing. Martin Boyce:Well, in the front part of the bar would be like "A" gays, like regular gays, that didn't go in any kind of drag, didn't use the word "she," that type, but they were gay, a hundred percent gay. Every arrest and prosecution is a step in the education of the public to the solution of the problem. Chris Mara Dana Gaiser We heard one, then more and more. We went, "Oh my God. Martin Boyce:There were these two black, like, banjee guys, and they were saying, "What's goin' on man?" Narrator (Archival):Do you want your son enticed into the world of homosexuals, or your daughter lured into lesbianism? A person marching in a gay rights parade along New York's Fifth Avenue on July 7th, 1979. ", Martin Boyce:People in the neighborhood, the most unlikely people were starting to support it. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:It really should have been called Stonewall uprising. In 1999, producer Scagliotti directed a companion piece, After Stonewall. And the Village has a lot of people with children and they were offended. John O'Brien:We had no idea we were gonna finish the march. They were the storm troopers. This time they said, "We're not going." And you felt bad that you were part of this, when you knew they broke the law, but what kind of law was that? And some people came out, being very dramatic, throwing their arms up in a V, you know, the victory sign. It meant nothing to us. It was a way to vent my anger at being repressed. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:The moment you stepped out that door there would be hundreds facing you. 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. And then there were all these priests ranting in church about certain places not to go, so you kind of knew where you could go by what you were told not to do. Stonewall Uprising Program Transcript Slate: In 1969, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community Sophie Cabott Black It's a history that people feel a huge sense of ownership over. And I knew that I was lesbian. 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. Slate:The Homosexuals(1967), CBS Reports. You throw into that, that the Stonewall was raided the previous Tuesday night. 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. So I run down there. First you gotta get past the door. John van Hoesen "Don't fire. So in every gay pride parade every year, Stonewall lives. Homosexuals do not want that, you might find some fringe character someplace who says that that's what he wants. Also, through this fight, the "LGBT" was born. Guest Post: What I Learned From Revisiting My 1984 Documentary "Before And I just didn't understand that. Danny Garvin:People were screaming "pig," "copper." You were alone. 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 I famously used the word "fag" in the lead sentence I said "the forces of faggotry." Brief Summary Of The Documentary 'Before Stonewall' | Bartleby Synopsis. Because if you don't have extremes, you don't get any moderation. Participants of the 1969 Greenwich Village uprising describe the effect that Stonewall had on their lives. WPA Film Library, Thanks to And it's interesting to note how many youngsters we've been seeing in these films. Not even us. John O'Brien:All of a sudden, the police faced something they had never seen before. We didn't expect we'd ever get to Central Park. People started throwing pennies. The music was great, cafes were good, you know, the coffee houses were good. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips and personal recollections to construct an audiovisual history of the gay community before the Stonewall riots. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We only had about six people altogether from the police department knowing that you had a precinct right nearby that would send assistance. Narrator (Archival):This involves showing the gay man pictures of nude males and shocking him with a strong electric current. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:TheNew York TimesI guess printed a story, but it wasn't a major story. Eric Marcus, Writer:It was incredibly hot. It was terrifying. So it was a perfect storm for the police. Jay Fialkov 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. And I ran into Howard Smith on the street,The Village Voicewas right there. Dick Leitsch:And the blocks were small enough that we could run around the block and come in behind them before they got to the next corner. Nobody. 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. And I said to myself, "Oh my God, this will not last.". The events that took place in June 1969 have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement, but that's only partially true. Because to be gay represented to me either very, super effeminate men or older men who hung out in the upper movie theatres on 42nd Street or in the subway T-rooms, who'd be masturbating. The Catholic Church, be damned to hell. Dan Martino All of the rules that I had grown up with, and that I had hated in my guts, other people were fighting against, and saying "No, it doesn't have to be this way.". All kinds of designers, boxers, big museum people. Raymond Castro Narrator (Archival):This is a nation of laws. 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. 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. Virginia Apuzzo: I grew up with that. Jerry Hoose:The open gay people that hung out on the streets were basically the have-nothing-to-lose types, which I was. You know, Howard's concern was and my concern was that if all hell broke loose, they'd just start busting heads. Trevor, Post Production Fred Sargeant So gay people were being strangled, shot, thrown in the river, blackmailed, fired from jobs. The shop had been threatened, we would get hang-up calls, calls where people would curse at us on the phone, we'd had vandalism, windows broken, streams of profanity. The men's room was under police surveillance. They'd go into the bathroom or any place that was private, that they could either feel them, or check them visually. Virginia Apuzzo:It was free but not quite free enough for us. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:In states like New York, there were a whole basket of crimes that gay people could be charged with. Because he was homosexual. And so Howard said, "We've got police press passes upstairs." Oh, tell me about your anxiety. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Our radio was cut off every time we got on the police radio. WGBH Educational Foundation For those kisses. 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. That was scary, very scary. It was like a reward. And it was fantastic. 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. You knew you could ruin them for life. 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. Raymond Castro:You could hear screaming outside, a lot of noise from the protesters and it was a good sound. I mean it didn't stop after that. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:What they did in the Stonewall that night. 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. The idea was to be there first. Obama signed the memorandum to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. Before Stonewall (1984) - full transcript 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. Alexis Charizopolis Doric Wilson:And I looked back and there were about 2,000 people behind us, and that's when I knew it had happened. Hugh Bush It was done in our little street talk. If there had been a riot of that proportion in Harlem, my God, you know, there'd have been cameras everywhere. 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. The only faces you will see are those of the arresting officers. Slate:In 1969, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois. Danny Garvin:It was a chance to find love. We were thinking about survival. I wanted to kill those cops for the anger I had in me. And this went on for hours. John O'Brien:Heterosexuals, legally, had lots of sexual outlets. Andy Frielingsdorf, Reenactment Actors His movements are not characteristic of a real boy. Read a July 6, 1969excerpt fromTheNew York Daily News. hide caption. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:Yes, entrapment did exist, particularly in the subway system, in the bathrooms. You see these cops, like six or eight cops in drag. Gay people were not powerful enough politically to prevent the clampdown and so you had a series of escalating skirmishes in 1969. Lester Senior Housing Community, Jewish Community Housing Corporation That's more an uprising than a riot. Martin Boyce:It was thrilling. [00:00:58] Well, this I mean, this is a part of my own history in this weird, inchoate sense. In 1969 it was common for police officers to rough up a gay bar and ask for payoffs. Diana Davies Photographs, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations In the trucks or around the trucks. A word that would be used in the 1960s for gay men and lesbians. Fifty years ago, a gay bar in New York City called The Stonewall Inn was raided by police, and what followed were days of rebellion where protesters and police clashed. Scott Kardel, Project Administration Chris Mara, Production Assistants We were all there. 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. Yvonne Ritter:I did try to get out of the bar and I thought that there might be a way out through one of the bathrooms. And there was like this tension in the air and it just like built and built. Because as the police moved back, we were conscious, all of us, of the area we were controlling and now we were in control of the area because we were surrounded the bar, we were moving in, they were moving back. John O'Brien:They went for the head wounds, it wasn't just the back wounds and the leg wounds. Mike Wallace (Archival):The average homosexual, if there be such, is promiscuous. And that, that was a very haunting issue for me. But we went down to the trucks and there, people would have sex. Raymond Castro:If that light goes on, you know to stop whatever you're doing, and separate. 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. Is that conceivable? 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. Pennebaker courtesy of Pennebaker Hegedus Films It was not a place that, in my life, me and my friends paid much attention to. A few of us would get dressed up in skirts and blouses and the guys would all have to wear suits and ties. Barney Karpfinger And I raised my hand at one point and said, "Let's have a protest march." Dick Leitsch:Very often, they would put the cops in dresses, with makeup and they usually weren't very convincing. Eric Marcus, Writer:Before Stonewall, there was no such thing as coming out or being out. But I had only stuck my head in once at the Stonewall. A Q-Ball Productions film for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE TV Host (Archival):And Sonia is that your own hair? Calling 'em names, telling 'em how good-looking they were, grabbing their butts. And they started smashing their heads with clubs. We assembled on Christopher Street at 6th Avenue, to march. and I didn't see anything but a forest of hands. 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. 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. People cheer while standing in front of The Stonewall Inn as the annual Gay Pride parade passes, Sunday, June 26, 2011 in New York. Katrina Heilbroner 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. 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. Interviewer (Archival):What type of laws are you after? They put some people on the street right in front ofThe Village Voiceprotesting the use of the word fag in my story. But we had to follow up, we couldn't just let that be a blip that disappeared. 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. All of this stuff was just erupting like a -- as far as they were considered, like a gigantic boil on the butt of America. 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 harder she fought, the more the cops were beating her up and the madder the crowd got. I went in there and they took bats and just busted that place up. That never happened before. In a spontaneous show of support and frustration, the citys gay community rioted for three nights in the streets, an event that is considered the birth of the modern Gay Rights Movement. Lilli M. Vincenz I have pondered this as "Before Stonewall," my first feature documentary, is back in cinemas after 35 years. 'Before Stonewall' Tracks the Pre-Movement Era | International They were just holding us almost like in a hostage situation where you don't know what's going to happen next. This was ours, here's where the Stonewall was, here's our Mecca. Dick Leitsch:And I remember it being a clear evening with a big black sky and the biggest white moon I ever saw. Raymond Castro:New York City subways, parks, public bathrooms, you name it. John O'Brien:The election was in November of 1969 and this was the summer of 1969, this was June. PDF BEFORE STONEWALL press kit - First Run Features Samual Murkofsky The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle, Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States. They were not used to a bunch of drag queens doing a Rockettes kick line and sort of like giving them all the finger in a way. Before Stonewall | Apple TV I'm losing everything that I have. That's it. For the first time the next person stood up. Slate:Activity Group Therapy (1950), Columbia University Educational Films. Eric Marcus has spent years interviewing people who were there that night, as well as those who were pushing for gay rights before Stonewall. John O'Brien:Whenever you see the cops, you would run away from them. A year earlier, young gays, lesbians and transgender people clashed with police near a bar called The Stonewall Inn. Martha Babcock Urban Stages 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.". The Stonewall had reopened. Corbis It won the Best Film Award at the Houston International Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature at Filmex, First Place at the National Educational Film Festival, and Honorable Mention at the Global Village Documentary Festival. They are taught that no man is born homosexual and many psychiatrists now believe that homosexuality begins to form in the first three years of life. And the first gay power demonstration to my knowledge was against my story inThe Village Voiceon Wednesday. We'd say, "Here comes Lillian.". Narrator (Archival):This is one of the county's principal weekend gathering places for homosexuals, both male and female. Getty Images Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:The police would zero in on us because sometimes they would be in plain clothes, and sometimes they would even entrap. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:And then the next night. I mean does anyone know what that is? Not able to do anything. That's what gave oxygen to the fire.
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