A lot of them had been thrown out of their families. Ed Koch, mayorof New York City from1978 to 1989, discussesgay civil rights in New York in the 1960s. 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. 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. 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. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:There were all these articles in likeLife Magazineabout how the Village was liberal and people that were called homosexuals went there. Dick Leitsch:It was an invasion, I mean you felt outraged and stuff like you know what, God, this is America, what's this country come to? It was as bad as any situation that I had met in during the army, had just as much to worry about. Don't fire until I fire. John O'Brien:Cops got hurt. They were the storm troopers. 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. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We had maybe six people and by this time there were several thousand outside. The only faces you will see are those of the arresting officers. Dana Kirchoff The award winning film Before Stonewall pries open the closet door, setting free the dramatic story of the sometimes horrifying public and private existences experienced by gay and lesbian Americans since the 1920s. I mean, I came out in Central Park and other places. They pushed everybody like to the back room and slowly asking for IDs. Hear more of the conversation and historical interviews at the audio link. That's what gave oxygen to the fire. [00:00:55] Oh, my God. National History Archive, LGBT Community Center But it was a refuge, it was a temporary refuge from the street. And it would take maybe a half hour to clear the place out. 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. Suzanne Poli Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:Those of us that were the street kids we didn't think much about the past or the future. Dick Leitsch:Well, gay bars were the social centers of gay life. I grew up in a very Catholic household and the conflict of issues of redemption, of is it possible that if you are this thing called homosexual, is it possible to be redeemed? Dr. Socarides (Archival):I think the whole idea of saying "the happy homosexual" is to, uh, to create a mythology about the nature of homosexuality. The documentary "Before Stonewall" was very educational and interesting because it shows a retail group that fought for the right to integrate into the society and was where the homosexual revolution occurred. People started throwing pennies. Before Stonewall. Chris Mara, Production Assistants The film combined personal interviews, snapshots and home movies, together with historical footage. It gives back a little of the terror they gave in my life. I never believed in that. The mayor of New York City, the police commissioner, were under pressure to clean up the streets of any kind of quote unquote "weirdness." You gotta remember, the Stonewall bar was just down the street from there. I mean I'm talking like sardines. Tom Caruso My father said, "About time you fags rioted.". 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. And that crowd between Howard Johnson's and Mama's Chik-n-Rib was like the basic crowd of the gay community at that time in the Village. 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. BEFORE STONEWALL - Alliance of Women Film Journalists Brief Summary Of The Documentary 'Before Stonewall' | Bartleby People talk about being in and out now, there was no out, there was just in. 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. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:This was the Rosa Parks moment, the time that gay people stood up and said no. There may be some here today that will be homosexual in the future. Not able to do anything. A word that would be used in the 1960s for gay men and lesbians. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:Ed Koch who was a democratic party leader in the Greenwich Village area, was a specific leader of the local forces seeking to clean up the streets. Virginia Apuzzo:It's very American to say, "This is not right." Saying I don't want to be this way, this is not the life I want. From left: "Before Stonewall" director Greta Schiller, executive producer John Scagliotti and co-director Robert Rosenberg in 1985. 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. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:What they did in the Stonewall that night. We had been threatened bomb threats. Doing things like that. Obama signed the memorandum to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. And it's that hairpin trigger thing that makes the riot happen. And the first gay power demonstration to my knowledge was against my story inThe Village Voiceon Wednesday. Richard Enman (Archival):Well, let me say, first of all, what type of laws we are not after, because there has been much to-do that the Society was in favor of the legalization of marriage between homosexuals, and the adoption of children, and such as that, and that is not at all factual at all. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:And I keep listening and listening and listening, hoping I'm gonna hear sirens any minute and I was very freaked. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:At a certain point, it felt pretty dangerous to me but I noticed that the cop that seemed in charge, he said you know what, we have to go inside for safety. And so Howard said, "We've got police press passes upstairs." Stacker put together a timeline of LGBTQ+ history leading up to Stonewall, beginning with prehistoric events and ending in the late 1960s. Marc Aubin Lilli M. Vincenz It was one of the things you did in New York, it was like the Barnum and Bailey aspect of it. And there, we weren't allowed to be alone, the police would raid us still. Mike Nuget 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. John O'Brien:If a gay man is caught by the police and is identified as being involved in what they called lewd, immoral behavior, they would have their person's name, their age and many times their home address listed in the major newspapers. David Alpert William Eskridge, Professor of Law:At the peak, as many as 500 people per year were arrested for the crime against nature, and between 3- and 5,000 people per year arrested for various solicitation or loitering crimes. Geoff Kole Because its all right in the Village, but the minute we cross 14th street, if there's only ten of us, God knows what's going to happen to us.". 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.". What finally made sense to me was the first time I kissed a woman and I thought, "Oh, this is what it's about." I mean it didn't stop after that. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:The moment you stepped out that door there would be hundreds facing you. Franco Sacchi, Additional Animation and Effects Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:So you're outside, and you see like two people walking toward these trucks and you think, "Oh I think I'll go in there," you go in there, there's like a lot of people in there and it's all dark. Documentary | Stonewall Forever 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. It was not a place that, in my life, me and my friends paid much attention to. It premiered at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 27, 1985. Your choice, you can come in with us or you can stay out here with the crowd and report your stuff from out here. Jerry Hoose:Gay people who had good jobs, who had everything in life to lose, were starting to join in. They really were objecting to how they were being treated. I really thought that, you know, we did it. Before Stonewall : Throughline : NPR And if enough people broke through they would be killed and I would be killed. The last time I saw him, he was a walking vegetable. That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. John O'Brien:We had no idea we were gonna finish the march. Jorge Garcia-Spitz kui I hope it was. Oh, tell me about your anxiety. We knew that this was a moment that we didn't want to let slip past, because it was something that we could use to bring more of the groups together. Fred Sargeant:We knew that they were serving drinks out of vats and buckets of water and believed that there had been some disease that had been passed. I'm losing everything that I have. TV Host (Archival):That's a very lovely dress too that you're wearing Simone. Mary Queen of the Scotch, Congo Woman, Captain Faggot, Miss Twiggy. Eventually something was bound to blow. John O'Brien:And then somebody started a fire, they started with little lighters and matches. Then the cops come up and make use of what used to be called the bubble-gum machine, back then a cop car only had one light on the top that spun around. And I just didn't understand that. The Mafia owned the jukeboxes, they owned the cigarette machines and most of the liquor was off a truck hijacking. 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. Trevor, Post Production TV Host (Archival):Ladies and gentlemen, the reason for using first names only forthese very, very charming contestants is that right now each one of them is breaking the law. William Eskridge, Professor of Law: The 1960s were dark ages for lesbians and gay men all over America. Andrea Weiss is a documentary filmmaker and author with a Ph.D. in American History. The history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement. 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. That's what happened on June 28, but as people were released, the night took an unusual turn when protesters and police clashed. The newly restored 1984 documentary "Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community," re-released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the seminal Stonewall riots, remains a . 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. Narrator (Archival):This is one of the county's principal weekend gathering places for homosexuals, both male and female. Frank Kameny This 1968 Film Put Drag Queens In The Spotlight Before Stonewall - HuffPost It is usually after the day at the beach that the real crime occurs. 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.". And a couple of 'em had pulled out their guns. Abstract. It was fun to see fags. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:What was so good about the Stonewall was that you could dance slow there. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt Why 'Before Stonewall' Was Such a Hard Movie to Make - The Atlantic Virginia Apuzzo: I grew up with that. 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. And Howard said, "Boy there's like a riot gonna happen here," and I said, "yeah." Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:We would scatter, ka-poom, every which way. 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. 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. Scott McPartland/Getty Images [7] In 1987, the film won Emmy Awards for Best Historical/Cultural Program and Best Research. Joe DeCola A person marching in a gay rights parade along New York's Fifth Avenue on July 7th, 1979. Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives 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. You were alone. 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 the . Danny Garvin:He's a faggot, he's a sissy, queer. Not even us. He is not interested in, nor capable of a lasting relationship like that of a heterosexual marriage. I mean they were making some headway. Samual Murkofsky Slate:Boys Beware(1961) Public Service Announcement. You know, it's just, everybody was there. 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. And today we're talking about Stonewall, which were both pretty anxious about so anxious. 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. Martha Shelley:They wanted to fit into American society the way it was. We were winning. I mean you got a major incident going on down there and I didn't see any TV cameras at all. Jeremiah Hawkins Jerry Hoose:Who was gonna complain about a crackdown against gay people? 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. Jerry Hoose:The police would come by two or three times a night. Kanopy - Stream Classic Cinema, Indie Film and Top Documentaries . Based on But I gave it up about, oh I forget, some years ago, over four years ago. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community 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. I made friends that first day. And that, that was a very haunting issue for me. And, it was, I knew I would go through hell, I would go through fire for that experience. The Activism That Came Before Stonewall And The Movement That - NPR John Scagliotti Raymond Castro:New York City subways, parks, public bathrooms, you name it. You know, Howard's concern was and my concern was that if all hell broke loose, they'd just start busting heads. Pamela Gaudiano We were going to propose something that all groups could participate in and what we ended up producing was what's now known as the gay pride march. They would not always just arrest, they would many times use clubs and beat. In the trucks or around the trucks. And they were having a meeting at town hall and there were 400 guys who showed up, and I think a couple of women, talking about these riots, 'cause everybody was really energized and upset and angry about it. Remember everything. Gay people were told we didn't have any of that. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:All of straight America, in terms of the middle class, was recoiling in horror from what was happening all around them at that time, in that summer and the summer before. Gay bars were to gay people what churches were to blacks in the South. Detective John Sorenson, Dade County Morals & Juvenile Squad (Archival):There may be some in this auditorium. Bettye Lane Slate:Perversion for Profit(1965), Citizens for Decency Through Law. A Q-Ball Productions film for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Martin Boyce:I wasn't labeled gay, just "different." 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. Quentin Heilbroner Available on Prime Video, Tubi TV, iTunes. Well, it was a nightmare for the lesbian or gay man who was arrested and caught up in this juggernaut, but it was also a nightmare for the lesbians or gay men who lived in the closet. I was celebrating my birthday at the Stonewall. And the Stonewall was part of that system. Fred Sargeant:In the '60s, I met Craig Rodwell who was running the Oscar Wilde Bookshop. Danny Garvin:There was more anger and more fight the second night. I would get in the back of the car and they would say, "We're going to go see faggots." And they wore dark police uniforms and riot helmets and they had billy clubs and they had big plastic shields, like Roman army, and they actually formed a phalanx, and just marched down Christopher Street and kind of pushed us in front of them. This was ours, here's where the Stonewall was, here's our Mecca. Doric Wilson:There was joy because the cops weren't winning. If that didn't work, they would do things like aversive conditioning, you know, show you pornography and then give you an electric shock. John O'Brien:Whenever you see the cops, you would run away from them. Activists had been working for change long before Stonewall. Review: 'Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community' Danny Garvin:And the cops just charged them. 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. This was the first time I could actually sense, not only see them fearful, I could sense them fearful. Before Stonewall (1984) - IMDb People that were involved in it like me referred to it as "The First Run." We ought to know, we've arrested all of them. For the first time, we weren't letting ourselves be carted off to jails, gay people were actually fighting back just the way people in the peace movement fought back. And you will be caught, don't think you won't be caught, because this is one thing you cannot get away with. 1969: The Stonewall Uprising - Library of Congress All of this stuff was just erupting like a -- as far as they were considered, like a gigantic boil on the butt of America. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:In states like New York, there were a whole basket of crimes that gay people could be charged with. And Vito and I walked the rest of the whole thing with tears running down our face. Fred Sargeant:The tactical patrol force on the second night came in even larger numbers, and were much more brutal. And these were meat trucks that in daytime were used by the meat industry for moving dead produce, and they really reeked, but at nighttime, that's where people went to have sex, you know, and there would be hundreds and hundreds of men having sex together in these trucks. The cops would hide behind the walls of the urinals. Nobody. They were to us. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:TheNew York TimesI guess printed a story, but it wasn't a major story. You needed a license even to be a beautician and that could be either denied or taken away from you. The events of that night have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement. hide caption. Pennebaker courtesy of Pennebaker Hegedus Films I am not alone, there are other people that feel exactly the same way.". Gay people were never supposed to be threats to police officers. There's a little door that slides open with this power-hungry nut behind that, you see this much of your eyes, and he sees that much of your face, and then he decides whether you're going to get in. And we had no right to such. It was tremendous freedom. In the Life 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. 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. 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. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community (Newly Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, I had to act like I wasn't nervous. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:The federal government would fire you, school boards would fire you. And it was those loudest people, the most vulnerable, the most likely to be arrested, were the ones that were doing the real fighting. It was like a reward. Gay bars were always on side streets out of the way in neighborhoods that nobody would go into. Fred Sargeant They can be anywhere. Doric Wilson:That's what happened Stonewall night to a lot of people. Danny Garvin:We were talking about the revolution happening and we were walking up 7th Avenue and I was thinking it was either Black Panthers or the Young Lords were going to start it and we turned the corner from 7th Avenue onto Christopher Street and we saw the paddy wagon pull up there. Judith Kuchar Barney Karpfinger This book, and the related documentary film, use oral histories to present students with a varied view of lesbian and gay experience. Dick Leitsch:We wore suits and ties because we wanted people, in the public, who were wearing suits and ties, to identify with us. John O'Brien:I knew that the words that were being said to put down people, was about me. 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. It was right in the center of where we all were. Homosexuals do not want that, you might find some fringe character someplace who says that that's what he wants. Calling 'em names, telling 'em how good-looking they were, grabbing their butts. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:And then the next night. A New York Police officer grabs a man by the hair as another officer clubs a. Martha Shelley You see these cops, like six or eight cops in drag. A year earlier, young gays, lesbians and transgender people clashed with police near a bar called The Stonewall Inn.