StoneWall Inn : Mafia Bar to National Monument

And we continue our celebration of Pride with learning about one of the most important events in LGBT+ history and monuments, The Stonewall Inn.

 The StoneWall Inn located in Christopher Park, part of New York City's Greenwich Village, is one of or should be one of your top places to see during Pride celebrations.

The StoneWall Inn opened in 1967, and was actually owned by the Mafia.  The mafia saw great financial opportunity running the bar, actually they owned several gay bars. But establishments that were known to serve gay customers were called " Disorderly Houses" or a place where " unlawful practices are habitually carried on by the public" by the State Liquor Authority (SLA), so they often refused to issue liquor licenses. Businesses that did have licenses were often raided by police for " disorderly conduct". The mafia were often able to bribe the police to ignore the inn. Stonewall was able to register as a " private club" so that meant they didn't need the liquor license and the police won't be able to easily infiltrate.

But that does not mean Stonewall was complete paradise. The Mafia cut regulations corners, such as not having running water, and bartenders often served drinks in already used glasses- this caused the spread of diseases. There was also no emergency exit, and the liquor was often heavily watered down or a bootleg. Though these are standards that wouldn't pass a health inspection today- the inn still received business because it was a place where people can gather and be themselves, free of judgement.

Though raids were mostly avoidable, one night- June 29, 1969, an unexpected raid happened. Undercover cops went in earlier to find" evidence " and to tip off other officers to come in and seize the establishment. Usually during raids, police would line everyone up and check for identification and then determine who is let go and who goes to the station. Those who were released, instead of leaving decided to stay behind , soon interesting local bystanders to see what was going on. The patrol wagon arrived to take people to the police station and people began singing and yelling. Things escalated when police started to beat a woman with their baton and she yelled at the crowd to do something. 

The crowd went crazy,  and police tried to restrain some people which made the crowd even angrier. People started to slash patrol car tires and tried flipping them over. This created even more attention and people started to throw change at the officers, because it's thought the only reason police raided is because they weren't paid. 

Fire trucks, the Tactical Police Force and NYPD showed up to try to disperse the crowd, but the crowd continued to fight back, so violence between police and rioters continued.

The riot died out after a few hours, but people were still around the area. Some were arrested and The StoneWall Inn itself was pretty much destroyed, circulating around the news. The next night another riot started with some of the same people from the night before. This time, people were engaging in homosexual PDA as a form of rebellion and to show their true selves, which they had to hide in the bar.  However this behavior had mixed reactions within the community, some feeling embarrassed and believed that this reinforced stereotypes.

Half a year after the riots, a newspaper was created called " Gay" and it had over 20,000+ readers. The Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) was formed and they often focused on gay issues and often pushed politicians to speak on them. They are a major factor in that in 1973 the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexuality as a mental illness off their list.

After the riots, there were gay rights groups in every major American City, Canada, Australia and other nations. 

President Obama's inauguration speech in 2013 actually mentioned StoneWall, it was the first time the landmark was mentioned in such a speech. in 2015, he announced the landmark as a national monument.

The bar was and has been a symbol of strength and liberalization of the LGBTQ+ community. It is a reminder of the courage people had to be themselves in a world that was not accepting of them. It represents the iconic history of gay rights, equality and love for those who were misunderstood by society but ultimately recognized their power.

Sources:

1969 Stonewall Riots - Origins, Timeline & Leaders - HISTORY

What Happened at the Stonewall Riots? A Timeline of the 1969 Uprising - HISTORY

https://blogs.shu.edu/nyc-history/2016/11/14/stonewall-inn/