Jerry Hoose:Gay people who had good jobs, who had everything in life to lose, were starting to join in. The last time I saw him, he was a walking vegetable. David Carter, Author ofStonewall:Most raids by the New York City Police, because they were paid off by the mob, took place on a weeknight, they took place early in the evening, the place would not be crowded. Slate:The Homosexuals(1967), CBS Reports. People talk about being in and out now, there was no out, there was just in. It's very American to say, "You promised equality, you promised freedom." Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community That's what happened on June 28, but as people were released, the night took an unusual turn when protesters and police clashed. "Don't fire. Doric Wilson:And I looked back and there were about 2,000 people behind us, and that's when I knew it had happened. He is not interested in, nor capable of a lasting relationship like that of a heterosexual marriage. 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. Dick Leitsch:We wore suits and ties because we wanted people, in the public, who were wearing suits and ties, to identify with us. But it was a refuge, it was a temporary refuge from the street. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:All of a sudden, in the background I heard some police cars. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:In states like New York, there were a whole basket of crimes that gay people could be charged with. Stonewall Forever is a documentary from NYC's LGBT Community Center directed by Ro Haber. It was like a reward. That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. The most infamous of those institutions was Atascadero, in California. I made friends that first day. Jerry Hoose:I mean the riot squad was used to riots. Martin Boyce:The day after the first riot, when it was all over, and I remember sitting, sun was soon to come, and I was sitting on the stoop, and I was exhausted and I looked at that street, it was dark enough to allow the street lamps to pick up the glitter of all the broken glass, and all the debris, and all the different colored cloth, that was in different places. These homosexuals glorify unnatural sex acts. The severity of the punishment varies from state to state. Her most recent film, Bones of Contention, premiered in the 2016 Berlin International But, that's when we knew, we were ourselves for the first time. John van Hoesen Quentin Heilbroner A New York Police officer grabs a man by the hair as another officer clubs a man during a confrontation in Greenwich Village after a Gay Power march in New York. Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution John O'Brien:Our goal was to hurt those police. Danny Garvin:And the cops just charged them. Not even us. David Carter, Author ofStonewall:There was also vigilantism, people were using walkie-talkies to coordinate attacks on gay men. 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.". Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives Cop (Archival):Anyone can walk into that men's room, any child can walk in there, and see what you guys were doing. Pennebaker courtesy of Pennebaker Hegedus Films Martin Boyce:I heard about the trucks, which to me was fascinated me, you know, it had an imagination thing that was like Marseilles, how can it only be a few blocks away? "Daybreak Express" by D.A. And the harder she fought, the more the cops were beating her up and the madder the crowd got. Before Stonewall, the activists wanted to fit into society and not rock the boat. Martin Boyce:I wasn't labeled gay, just "different." That night, the police ran from us, the lowliest of the low. Martha Babcock Because one out of three of you will turn queer. Directors Greta Schiller Robert Rosenberg (co-director) Stars Rita Mae Brown Maua Adele Ajanaku The windows were always cloaked. 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. John O'Brien:The election was in November of 1969 and this was the summer of 1969, this was June. 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. This was the first time I could actually sense, not only see them fearful, I could sense them fearful. That night, we printed a box, we had 5,000. And a couple of 'em had pulled out their guns. David Alpert I never believed in that. The shop had been threatened, we would get hang-up calls, calls where people would curse at us on the phone, we'd had vandalism, windows broken, streams of profanity. Remember everything. Dr. Socarides (Archival):Homosexuality is in fact a mental illness which has reached epidemiological proportions. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:I never bought a drink at the Stonewall. 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. He brought in gay-positive materials and placed that in a setting that people could come to and feel comfortable in. Virginia Apuzzo: I grew up with that. Before Stonewall - Letterboxd I had never seen anything like that. Doric Wilson:There was joy because the cops weren't winning. Narrator (Archival):This is a nation of laws. Somehow being gay was the most terrible thing you could possibly be. Stonewall Uprising Program Transcript Slate: In 1969, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois. Urban Stages It was done in our little street talk. 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. But everybody knew it wasn't normal stuff and everyone was on edge and that was the worst part of it because you knew they were on edge and you knew that the first shot that was fired meant all the shots would be fired. Ellen Goosenberg 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. 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. Not able to do anything. We went, "Oh my God. Raymond Castro:We were in the back of the room, and the lights went on, so everybody stopped what they were doing, because now the police started coming in, raiding the bar. And this went on for hours. Heather Gude, Archival Research Virginia Apuzzo:It was free but not quite free enough for us. There was all these drags queens and these crazy people and everybody was carrying on. Slate:Perversion for Profit(1965), Citizens for Decency Through Law. Before Stonewall was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival. They really were objecting to how they were being treated. The mob was saying, you know, "Screw you, cops, you think you can come in a bust us up? The history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement. Maureen Jordan 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. Dick Leitsch:So it was mostly goofing really, basically goofing on them. Before Stonewall | Apple TV Before Stonewall | The New York Public Library archives.nypl.org -- Before Stonewall production files Dick Leitsch:And so the cops came with these buses, like five buses, and they all were full of tactical police force. I went in there and they took bats and just busted that place up. Dana Gaiser We were winning. 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." The idea was to be there first. Before Stonewall - Wikipedia 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. Detective John Sorenson, Dade County Morals & Juvenile Squad (Archival):There may be some in this auditorium. They can be anywhere. Glenn Fukushima But we had to follow up, we couldn't just let that be a blip that disappeared. BEFORE STONEWALL - Alliance of Women Film Journalists Colonial House Narrator (Archival):This involves showing the gay man pictures of nude males and shocking him with a strong electric current. Jimmy knew he shouldn't be interested but, well, he was curious. This was ours, here's where the Stonewall was, here's our Mecca. Hugh Bush The medical experimentation in Atascadero included administering, to gay people, a drug that simulated the experience of drowning; in other words, a pharmacological example of waterboarding. Getty Images The events. WGBH Educational Foundation I was wearing my mother's black and white cocktail dress that was empire-waisted. Available via license: Content may be subject to . Raymond Castro:New York City subways, parks, public bathrooms, you name it. 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. Mike Wallace (Archival):The average homosexual, if there be such, is promiscuous. Producers Library That wasn't ours, it was borrowed. Is that conceivable? Danny Garvin:We became a people. You see, Ralph was a homosexual. Dick Leitsch:Mattachino in Italy were court jesters; the only people in the whole kingdom who could speak truth to the king because they did it with a smile. Doric Wilson:And we were about 100, 120 people and there were people lining the sidewalks ahead of us to watch us go by, gay people, mainly. The only faces you will see are those of the arresting officers. Why 'Before Stonewall' Was Such a Hard Movie to Make - The Atlantic What Jimmy didn't know is that Ralph was sick. Historic Films Once it started, once that genie was out of the bottle, it was never going to go back in. I was never seduced by an older person or anything like that. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:The Stonewall, they didn't have a liquor license and they were raided by the cops regularly and there were pay-offs to the cops, it was awful. People started throwing pennies. They are taught that no man is born homosexual and many psychiatrists now believe that homosexuality begins to form in the first three years of life. Martin Boyce:All of a sudden, Miss New Orleans and all people around us started marching step by step and the police started moving back. A lot of them had been thrown out of their families. The film combined personal interviews, snapshots and home movies, together with historical footage. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:The moment you stepped out that door there would be hundreds facing you. Danny Garvin:Something snapped. Narrator (Archival):Do you want your son enticed into the world of homosexuals, or your daughter lured into lesbianism? And the rest of your life will be a living hell. Daniel Pine And Vito and I walked the rest of the whole thing with tears running down our face. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community is a 1984 American documentary film about the LGBT community prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots. We were all there. 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. We didn't expect we'd ever get to Central Park. Martin Boyce:Mind you socks didn't count, so it was underwear, and undershirt, now the next thing was going to ruin the outfit. The Laramie Project Cast at The Calhoun School Revealing and often humorous, this widely acclaimed film relives the emotionally-charged sparking of today's gay rights movement . Alan Lechner Well, little did he know that what was gonna to happen later on was to make history. They would bang on the trucks. 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. As kids, we played King Kong. by David Carter, Associate Producer and Advisor Jerry Hoose:And we were going fast. 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. Jay Fialkov I am not alone, there are other people that feel exactly the same way.". Homo, homo was big. You cut one head off. The documentary shows how homosexual people enjoyed and shared with each other. Also, through this fight, the "LGBT" was born. The New York Times / Redux Pictures I first engaged in such acts when I was 14 years old. Pamela Gaudiano And all of a sudden, pandemonium broke loose. They didn't know what they were walking into. Yvonne Ritter:And then everybody started to throw pennies like, you know, this is what they were, they were nothing but copper, coppers, that's what they were worth. Yvonne Ritter:It's like people who are, you know, black people who are used to being mistreated, and going to the back of the bus and I guess this was sort of our going to the back of the bus. On this episode, the fight for gay rights before Stonewall. Doric Wilson:That's what happened Stonewall night to a lot of people. Cause we could feel a sense of love for each other that we couldn't show out on the street, because you couldn't show any affection out on the street. They could be judges, lawyers. You knew you could ruin them for life. People could take shots at us. Newly restored for the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Before Stonewall pries open the . Martin Boyce:I had cousins, ten years older than me, and they had a car sometimes. 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. Judith Kuchar Danny Garvin:We had thought of women's rights, we had thought of black rights, all kinds of human rights, but we never thought of gay rights, and whenever we got kicked out of a bar before, we never came together. Lester Senior Housing Community, Jewish Community Housing Corporation It was one of the things you did in New York, it was like the Barnum and Bailey aspect of it. One never knows when the homosexual is about. It was right in the center of where we all were. 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? 1969: The Stonewall Uprising - Library of Congress And she was quite crazy. And so we had to create these spaces, mostly in the trucks. Gay bars were always on side streets out of the way in neighborhoods that nobody would go into. Susan Liberti If you came to a place like New York, you at least had the opportunity of connecting with people, and finding people who didn't care that you were gay. 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. 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. Everyone from the street kids who were white and black kids from the South. Joe DeCola And Howard said, "Boy there's like a riot gonna happen here," and I said, "yeah." [7] In 1987, the film won Emmy Awards for Best Historical/Cultural Program and Best Research. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips . Before Stonewall pries open the closet door, setting free dramatic stories from the early 1900's onwards of public and private existence as experienced by LGBT Americans. The Stonewall had reopened. This 1968 Film Put Drag Queens In The Spotlight Before Stonewall - HuffPost Gay people were not powerful enough politically to prevent the clampdown and so you had a series of escalating skirmishes in 1969. Dana Kirchoff Tires were slashed on police cars and it just went on all night long. Dick Leitsch:New York State Liquor Authority had a rule that one known homosexual at a licensed premise made the place disorderly, so nobody would set up a place where we could meet because they were afraid that the cops would come in to close it, and that's how the Mafia got into the gay bar business. I guess they're deviates. Mike Wallace (Archival):Dr. Charles Socarides is a New York psychoanalyst at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. John Scagliotti Fred Sargeant:The tactical patrol force on the second night came in even larger numbers, and were much more brutal. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We told this to our men. View in iTunes. Revisiting the newly restored "Before Stonewall" 35 years after its premiere, Rosenberg said he was once again struck by its "powerful" and "acutely relevant" narrative. Patricia Yusah, Marketing and Communications TV Host (Archival):That's a very lovely dress too that you're wearing Simone. Revealing and, by turns, humorous and horrifying, this widely acclaimed film relives the emotional and political spark of today's gay rights movement - the events that . 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.". TV Host (Archival):And Sonia is that your own hair? Danny Garvin:People were screaming "pig," "copper." John O'Brien:And deep down I believed because I was gay and couldn't speak out for my rights, was probably one of the reasons that I was so active in the Civil Rights Movement. Corbis Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:It really should have been called Stonewall uprising. Martin Boyce:Well, in the front part of the bar would be like "A" gays, like regular gays, that didn't go in any kind of drag, didn't use the word "she," that type, but they were gay, a hundred percent gay. They were getting more ferocious. Gay people were told we didn't have any of that. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, I had to act like I wasn't nervous. Fifty years ago, a gay bar in New York City called The Stonewall Inn was raided by police, and what followed were days of rebellion where protesters and police clashed. I was in the Navy when I was 17 and it was there that I discovered that I was gay. This produced an enormous amount of anger within the lesbian and gay community in New York City and in other parts of America. And a whole bunch of people who were in the paddy wagon ran out. The term like "authority figures" wasn't used back then, there was just "Lily Law," "Patty Pig," "Betty Badge." Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. And they started smashing their heads with clubs. Yvonne Ritter:"In drag," quote unquote, the downside was that you could get arrested, you could definitely get arrested if someone clocked you or someone spooked that you were not really what you appeared to be on the outside. We didn't want to come on, you know, wearing fuzzy sweaters and lipstick, you know, and being freaks. In 1999, producer Scagliotti directed a companion piece, After Stonewall. Don't fire until I fire. The lights came on, it's like stop dancing. This is every year in New York City. So anything that would set us off, we would go into action. Things were being thrown against the plywood, we piled things up to try to buttress it. Cause I was from the streets. and someone would say, "Well, they're still fighting the police, let's go," and they went in. It was a way to vent my anger at being repressed. Alexis Charizopolis Eric Marcus, Writer:Before Stonewall, there was no such thing as coming out or being out. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips and personal recollections to construct an audiovisual history of the gay community before the Stonewall riots. Synopsis. We'll put new liquor in there, we'll put a new mirror up, we'll get a new jukebox." Jerry Hoose:And I got to the corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street, crossed the street and there I had found Nirvana. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:There were gay bars all over town, not just in Greenwich Village. The Mafia owned the jukeboxes, they owned the cigarette machines and most of the liquor was off a truck hijacking. And if we catch you, involved with a homosexual, your parents are going to know about it first. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt All kinds of designers, boxers, big museum people. BBC Worldwide Americas J. Michael Grey I really thought that, you know, we did it. And, it was, I knew I would go through hell, I would go through fire for that experience. It is usually after the day at the beach that the real crime occurs. In the sexual area, in psychology, psychiatry. John O'Brien:And then somebody started a fire, they started with little lighters and matches. Jerry Hoose:The police would come by two or three times a night. So if any one of you, have let yourself become involved with an adult homosexual, or with another boy, and you're doing this on a regular basis, you better stop quick. This time they said, "We're not going." It was a leaflet that attacked the relationship of the police and the Mafia and the bars that we needed to see ended. I would get in the back of the car and they would say, "We're going to go see faggots." Revisiting 'Before Stonewall' Film for the 50th Anniversary | Time Naturally, you get careless, you fall for it, and the next thing you know, you have silver bracelets on both arms. It was the only time I was in a gladiatorial sport that I stood up in. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:It was always hands up, what do you want? Liz Davis Leaflets in the 60s were like the internet, today. First Run Features Marjorie Duffield John O'Brien:Whenever you see the cops, you would run away from them. Before Stonewall (1984) - Plot Summary - IMDb hide caption. Hear more of the conversation and historical interviews at the audio link. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:The police would zero in on us because sometimes they would be in plain clothes, and sometimes they would even entrap. I mean, I came out in Central Park and other places. A year earlier, young gays, lesbians and transgender people clashed with police near a bar called The Stonewall Inn. "BEFORE STONEWALL" - MetroFocus And so there was this drag queen standing on the corner, so they go up and make a sexual offer and they'd get busted. 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. Andrea Weiss is a documentary filmmaker and author with a Ph.D. in American History. And you felt bad that you were part of this, when you knew they broke the law, but what kind of law was that? Abstract. Calling 'em names, telling 'em how good-looking they were, grabbing their butts. John O'Brien:We had no idea we were gonna finish the march. Stacker put together a timeline of LGBTQ+ history leading up to Stonewall, beginning with prehistoric events and ending in the late 1960s. There may be some girls here who will turn lesbian. Greg Shea, Legal Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! 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. It's a history that people feel a huge sense of ownership over. The cops were barricaded inside. Fred Sargeant:Things started off small, but there was an energy that began to flow through the crowd. Then during lunch, Ralph showed him some pornographic pictures. This 1955 educational film warns of homosexuality, calling it "a sickness of the mind.". Few photographs of the raid and the riots that followed exist. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:Gay rights, like the rights of blacks, were constantly under attack and while blacks were protected by constitutional amendments coming out of the Civil War, gays were not protected by law and certainly not the Constitution. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community is a 1984 American documentary film about the LGBT community prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots. Fred Sargeant:The effect of the Stonewall riot was to change the direction of the gay movement. 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 proud. Here are my ID cards, you knew they were phonies. 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. But we couldn't hold out very long. And there, we weren't allowed to be alone, the police would raid us still. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. But after the uprising, polite requests for change turned into angry demands. Seymour Wishman Doing things like 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. Yung Miami Birth Chart, Articles B
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