June 28th, 1969. That's when things began to change for the LGBT community (of course we were just all called 'queers' or 'fags' back then). A gathering at the Mafia-owned Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village (some say to mourn the death of Judy Garland) was raided by the NYPD's Morals Squad. Usually such raids ended in people going to jail, being publicly outed and generally having their lives destroyed. But that night, the crowd fought back. They fought back for 6 nights. Others joined them and a revolution was born. A year later, the first Gay Pride parade was held to commemorate that night and it's been going strong ever since.
Of course, I was just a kid when Stonewall happened. I didn't even hear about, it living in suburban PA. Or if I did, I didn't have a clue as to it's significance. Of course, many young LGBT kids today don't have a clue as to it's significance, either. Without Stonewall, we'd still be hiding and living in shame (though there are plenty of people who wish we were - just as there are people who wish Lincoln had never signed the Emancipation Proclamation or that women weren't allowed to vote). The community has a come a long way in those 43 years. And while we still have a long way to go, we owe a great debt of thanks to the people who fought back that night. So take a minute today to think of them and thank them.
More, anon.
Prospero
PS - looks like I'm buying a new PC this weekend, so I should get back to regular posting soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment