Located in New York City, The Stonewall Inn is one of the most significant landmarks in the history of LGBTQ+ rights. The building was originally a speakeasy and in 1967 was reopened as a gay bar. At this time, the laws of New York were harsh towards homosexuals, which resulted in gay bars often being raided by the police. Despite these challenges, The Stonewall Inn became a haven for the LGBTQ+ community, offering a place of refuge and safety. Due to the history of the building, being owned by a notorious crime family, and its primary cliental, The Stonewall Inn became a common target by police.
In the early hours of 28th June 1969, at around 1:20am, a police raid took place at The Stonewall Inn. As usual, the police came to arrest attending individuals however this time the community decided to fight back, instead of quietly complying like they had in the past. The situation seemed to escalate with the arrest of a woman, possibly a drag queen, and the crowd decided to protest. When the police tried to arrest others, the crowd began to throw items, shout and engage in a chaotic rebellion. What started with a small group of people soon escalated as more joined in. By the end of the night, the police had retreated and what had started as a small act of defiance became a larger outright rebellion.
During the 1960’s, homosexuality was classified as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. Same-sex marriage was illegal in many parts of America and the LGBTQ+ community faces social stigma and discrimination. During this time, New York police would often target places like The Stonewall Inn, arresting individuals for “disorderly conduct”. These raids were often violent and humiliating, and the LGBTQ+ community had practically no means to resist the repression they faced. As a result, the community faced years of harassment and criminalisation. It was through this that many in the community had grown tired of the systematic mistreatment and were increasingly ready to resist.
In 1970, a year from The Stonewall riots, the first Pride marches were held in various cities across America. It took until 1972 for the first Pride march to take place in the UK. The march took place on July 1st, a date chosen as it was the closest Saturday to the anniversary of The Stonewall riots.