The Stonewall Reader
A study guide of the New York Public Library’s 2019 book ‘The Stonewall Reader.’
Summary, part 1
Forward
The Stonewall uprising was a protest sparked by, “a police raid on a Mafia-owned gay bar and dance spot that had no running water, where glasses were “washed” in filthy suds and reused, and which was “protected” by straight, extortionate Mafia goons” (p. 10). In The Stonewall Reader, the New York Public Library compiles writings by various authors to showcase the significance of Stonewall and the historical context it has established.
Influenced by other movements of that time such as the Black power, sexual revolution, and anti-Vietnam war demonstrations, Stonewall was a catalyst for the Gay Liberation movement and a signal of resistance to society. Stonewall happened for many reasons and there are various opinions on which circumstances set the protest off:
Usually, gay bars were shut down in NYC due to tourists (visiting the World Fair for example). Shutting down the bars was an attempt to hide the presence of the gay community. During Stonewall, gay and lesbian bars were undisturbed and allowed to be open. When the police raided Stonewall, it was an intrusion into that space,
The clientele of stonewall changed from mostly white to Black and Hispanic,
Judy Garland, who some would say was an icon for the gay community, died in June 1969. Stonewall occurred shortly after this and Garland's funeral was to be in New York.
The, often referred to as, “Stonewall riot” started on June 28th, 1969, and lasted three days.
Introduction
The New York Public Library curated an exhibition, Becoming Visible: The Legacy of Stonewall. It was in commemoration of “Stonewall 25,” the first exhibition devoted to LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus) history by a major NYC cultural institution (p. 16). The library has a rich archive of LGBTQ+ history and this anthology book was curated in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. “The Stonewall Inn, located at 53 Christopher Street in New York City, began as a teahouse, Bonnie’s Stone Wall, in 1930, and later evolved into a restaurant. After a fire destroyed the interior in the early 1960s, the Stonewall was reopened by Fat Tony Lauria as a gay bar” (p. 17).
Stonewall operated as a private club rather than a public one to avoid control from the State Liquor Authority. The police often raided Stonewall, but it is said by some historians that management bribed police for protection and the raids were for show to dissipate any suspicion. What happened on June 28th was a raid conducted by an NYPD division that was not in partnership with the Stonewall management.
Riot versus Uprising
At the time people called Stonewall a “riot” because that was the language used to describe protests against racial oppression. Many later historians and critics have preferred to call it an uprising, insisting either that the level of violence and the size of the crowd did not warrant the use of the term riot or, conversely, that calling it a riot denigrated the importance of the event (p. 19).
It is important to know Stonewall was not the first LGBTQ+ protest or fight against oppression. Political organizations can be traced back to the 1950s. Other queer revolts include:
Cooper Do-nuts Riot in Los Angeles in 1959,
Dewey’s restaurant sit-in in Philadelphia in 1965,
Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in San Francisco in 1966, and
Protests against the raid of the Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles in 1967.
Contradicting descriptions of how Stonewall occurred and its place in history is bolstered by the varying accounts of what happened that night. The mission of this anthology is to “shift the narrative to a wider context and to expand what does and doesn’t count as a Stonewall memory” (p. 22). White organized the narratives into three sections (before, during, and after Stonewall) to help contextualize the works and give a broader picture of the event. We have separated this guide into these three parts to reflect the book. This is part one: Before Stonewall.