And I just didn't understand that. Slate:In 1969, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois. Scott Kardel, Project Administration It was a way to vent my anger at being repressed. I never saw so many gay people dancing in my life. It was right in the center of where we all were. 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. And today we're talking about Stonewall, which were both pretty anxious about so anxious. So you couldn't have a license to practice law, you couldn't be a licensed doctor. Dan Martino The cops were barricaded inside. And I knew that I was lesbian. And I raised my hand at one point and said, "Let's have a protest march." Tweet at us @throughlineNPR, send us an email, or leave us a voicemail at (872) 588-8805. And they were lucky that door was closed, they were very lucky. Fred Sargeant:Things started off small, but there was an energy that began to flow through the crowd. They were just holding us almost like in a hostage situation where you don't know what's going to happen next. Revealing and often humorous, this widely acclaimed film relives the emotionally-charged sparking of today's gay rights movement . Maureen Jordan Gay people were told we didn't have any of that. Narrator (Archival):Sure enough, the following day, when Jimmy finished playing ball, well, the man was there waiting. They were afraid that the FBI was following them. That's more an uprising than a riot. All kinds of designers, boxers, big museum people. Eric Marcus, Writer:The Mattachine Society was the first gay rights organization, and they literally met in a space with the blinds drawn. John O'Brien:They went for the head wounds, it wasn't just the back wounds and the leg wounds. Also, through this fight, the "LGBT" was born. Dan Bodner Review: 'Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community' Before Stonewall | The New York Public Library That was scary, very scary. I was in the Navy when I was 17 and it was there that I discovered that I was gay. If there's one place in the world where you can dance and feel yourself fully as a person and that's threatened with being taken away, those words are fighting words. The very idea of being out, it was ludicrous. For the first time the next person stood up. So in every gay pride parade every year, Stonewall lives. Directors Greta Schiller Robert Rosenberg (co-director) Stars Rita Mae Brown Maua Adele Ajanaku Martin Boyce:In the early 60s, if you would go near Port Authority, there were tons of people coming in. It was one of the things you did in New York, it was like the Barnum and Bailey aspect of it. Some of the pre-Stonewall uprisings included: Black Cat Raid, Los Angeles, California, 1967 Black Night Brawl, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 5, 1961. We did use humor to cover pain, frustration, anger. View in iTunes. And the harder she fought, the more the cops were beating her up and the madder the crowd got. The Stonewall riots, as they came to be known, marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States and around the world. We assembled on Christopher Street at 6th Avenue, to march. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, I had to act like I wasn't nervous. Before Stonewall - Rotten Tomatoes A few of us would get dressed up in skirts and blouses and the guys would all have to wear suits and ties. Available via license: Content may be subject to . I mean does anyone know what that is? Kanopy - Stream Classic Cinema, Indie Film and Top Documentaries Raymond Castro:Society expected you to, you know, grow up, get married, have kids, which is what a lot of people did to satisfy their parents. Susan Liberti Alexandra Meryash Nikolchev, On-Line Editors Jerry Hoose:And I got to the corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street, crossed the street and there I had found Nirvana. 1969: The Stonewall Uprising - Library of Congress The music was great, cafes were good, you know, the coffee houses were good. It was as if an artist had arranged it, it was beautiful, it was like mica, it was like the streets we fought on were strewn with diamonds. It's a history that people feel a huge sense of ownership over. That wasn't ours, it was borrowed. Danny Garvin:He's a faggot, he's a sissy, queer. Heather Gude, Archival Research What finally made sense to me was the first time I kissed a woman and I thought, "Oh, this is what it's about." From left: "Before Stonewall" director Greta Schiller, executive producer John Scagliotti and co-director Robert Rosenberg in 1985. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:That night I'm in my office, I looked down the street, and I could see the Stonewall sign and I started to see some activity in front. Except for the few mob-owned bars that allowed some socializing, it was basically for verboten. The idea was to be there first. Dana Kirchoff 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. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:And they were, they were kids. 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. 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. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:What was so good about the Stonewall was that you could dance slow there. 1984 documentary film by Greta Schiller and Robert Rosenberg, "Berlinale 2016: Panorama Celebrates Teddy Award's 30th Anniversary and Announces First Titles in Programme", "Guest Post: What I Learned From Revisiting My 1984 Documentary 'Before Stonewall', "See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks", "Complete National Film Registry Listing", "Before Stonewall - Independent Historical Film", Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community (Newly Restored), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Before_Stonewall&oldid=1134540821, Documentary films about United States history, Historiography of LGBT in the United States, United States National Film Registry films, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 January 2023, at 05:30. 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. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community A sickness of the mind. Dick Leitsch:We wore suits and ties because we wanted people, in the public, who were wearing suits and ties, to identify with us. 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. 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 you will be caught, don't think you won't be caught, because this is one thing you cannot get away with. The events. A year earlier, young gays, lesbians and transgender people clashed with police near a bar called The Stonewall Inn. The film combined personal interviews, snapshots and home movies, together with historical footage. 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. Before Stonewall : Throughline : NPR I'm losing everything that I have. This was ours, here's where the Stonewall was, here's our Mecca. Jay Fialkov Frank Kameny John O'Brien:In the Civil Rights Movement, we ran from the police, in the peace movement, we ran from the police. Jerry Hoose:I remember I was in a paddy wagon one time on the way to jail, we were all locked up together on a chain in the paddy wagon and the paddy wagon stopped for a red light or something and one of the queens said "Oh, this is my stop." Before Stonewall (1984) - Plot Summary - IMDb Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:The mob raised its hand and said "Oh, we'll volunteer," you know, "We'll set up some gay bars and serve over-priced, watered-down drinks to you guys." Paul Bosche National Archives and Records Administration And, I did not like parading around while all of these vacationers were standing there eating ice cream and looking at us like we were critters in a zoo. She was awarded the first ever Emmy Award for Research for her groundbreaking work on Before Stonewall. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:Those of us that were the street kids we didn't think much about the past or the future. I have pondered this as "Before Stonewall," my first feature documentary, is back in cinemas after 35 years. Quentin Heilbroner Narrated by Rita Mae Brownan acclaimed writer whose 1973 novel Rubyfruit Jungle is a seminal lesbian text, but who is possessed of a painfully grating voiceBefore Stonewall includes vintage news footage that makes it clear that gay men and women lived full, if often difficult, lives long before their personal ambitions (however modest) Geordie, Liam and Theo Gude Bettye Lane Nobody. In addition to interviews with activists and scholars, the film includes the reflections of renowned writer Allen Ginsberg. John O'Brien:Heterosexuals, legally, had lots of sexual outlets. Stonewall Forever Explore the monument Watch the documentary Download the AR app About & FAQ Privacy Policy Oh, tell me about your anxiety. 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. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:The Stonewall riots came at a central point in history. BBC Worldwide Americas Producers Library Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We were looking for secret exits and one of the policewomen was able to squirm through the window and they did find a way out. Linton Media And a couple of 'em had pulled out their guns. John van Hoesen The mirrors, all the bottles of liquor, the jukebox, the cigarette machines. Martin Boyce:Mind you socks didn't count, so it was underwear, and undershirt, now the next thing was going to ruin the outfit. Available on Prime Video, Tubi TV, iTunes. 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. The last time I saw him, he was a walking vegetable. 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. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:What they did in the Stonewall that night. People that were involved in it like me referred to it as "The First Run." It was a leaflet that attacked the relationship of the police and the Mafia and the bars that we needed to see ended. TV Host (Archival):That's a very lovely dress too that you're wearing Simone. 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. I could never let that happen and never did. And the cops got that. Martha Shelley:The riot could have been buried, it could have been a few days in the local newspaper and that was that. People talk about being in and out now, there was no out, there was just in. A person marching in a gay rights parade along New York's Fifth Avenue on July 7th, 1979. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:I never bought a drink at the Stonewall. Read a July 6, 1969excerpt fromTheNew York Daily News. 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. John O'Brien:Cops got hurt. It meant nothing to us. Fred Sargeant:The press did refer to it in very pejorative terms, as a night that the drag queens fought back. ITN Source But, that's when we knew, we were ourselves for the first time. Marjorie Duffield John O'Brien:Whenever you see the cops, you would run away from them. Vanessa Ezersky David Carter 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. And the people coming out weren't going along with it so easily. 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. That's what gave oxygen to the fire. Somebody grabbed me by the leg and told me I wasn't going anywhere. W hen police raided a Greenwich Village gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, on June 28, 1969 50 years ago this month the harassment was routine for the time. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:Gay people who were sentenced to medical institutions because they were found to be sexual psychopaths, were subjected sometimes to sterilization, occasionally to castration, sometimes to medical procedures, such as lobotomies, which were felt by some doctors to cure homosexuality and other sexual diseases. Dick Leitsch:And I remember it being a clear evening with a big black sky and the biggest white moon I ever saw. Homo, homo was big. And there, we weren't allowed to be alone, the police would raid us still. 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. In the Life Brief Summary Of The Documentary 'Before Stonewall' | Bartleby (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). 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. In 1924, the first gay rights organization is founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago. The cops would hide behind the walls of the urinals. They can be anywhere. Her most recent film, Bones of Contention, premiered in the 2016 Berlin International Fred Sargeant:The effect of the Stonewall riot was to change the direction of the gay movement. Colonial House It was a down at a heels kind of place, it was a lot of street kids and things like that. Before Stonewall 1984 Directed by Greta Schiller, Robert Rosenberg Synopsis 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. I said, "I can go in with you?" We didn't expect we'd ever get to Central Park. John O'Brien:All of a sudden, the police faced something they had never seen before. Clever. 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. If that didn't work, they would do things like aversive conditioning, you know, show you pornography and then give you an electric shock. Daniel Pine and I didn't see anything but a forest of hands. I actually thought, as all of them did, that we were going to be killed. Before Stonewall. People started throwing pennies. Mike Nuget Stonewall Tscript | PDF | Homosexuality | Lgbt You were alone. archives.nypl.org -- Before Stonewall production files But that's only partially true. Eric Marcus, Writer:Before Stonewall, there was no such thing as coming out or being out. He pulls all his men inside. That never happened before. Lauren Noyes. Yvonne Ritter:I had just turned 18 on June 27, 1969. 'Cause I really realized that I was being trained as a straight person, so I could really fool these people. Frank Simon's documentary follows the drag contestants of 1967's Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant, capturing plenty of on- and offstage drama along the way. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:There were no instructions except: put them out of business. Virginia Apuzzo:It's very American to say, "This is not right." I mean I'm talking like sardines. Before Stonewall (1984) Movie Script | Subs like Script He said, "Okay, let's go." 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. Jerry Hoose:And we were going fast. And here they were lifting things up and fighting them and attacking them and beating them. So gay people were being strangled, shot, thrown in the river, blackmailed, fired from jobs. It was a horror story. 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.". Queer was very big. BEFORE STONEWALL - Alliance of Women Film Journalists They could be judges, lawyers. John O'Brien:There was one street called Christopher Street, where actually I could sit and talk to other gay people beyond just having sex. [1] To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 2019, the film was restored and re-released by First Run Features in June 2019. NBC News Archives Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:We would scatter, ka-poom, every which way. Gay bars were to gay people what churches were to blacks in the South. Chris Mara, Production Assistants We didn't necessarily know where we were going yet, you know, what organizations we were going to be or how things would go, but we became something I, as a person, could all of a sudden grab onto, that I couldn't grab onto when I'd go to a subway T-room as a kid, or a 42nd street movie theater, you know, or being picked up by some dirty old man. 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 was as bad as any situation that I had met in during the army, had just as much to worry about. In 1969 it was common for police officers to rough up a gay bar and ask for payoffs. Narrator (Archival):Note how Albert delicately pats his hair, and adjusts his collar. We could easily be hunted, that was a game. Mike Wallace (Archival):Two out of three Americans look upon homosexuals with disgust, discomfort or fear. Genre: Documentary, History, Drama. It was like a reward. Jimmy hadn't enjoyed himself so much in a long time. But we had to follow up, we couldn't just let that be a blip that disappeared. Dick Leitsch:Well, gay bars were the social centers of gay life. But we couldn't hold out very long.
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