Arriving at the Stonewall Inn is often the pinnacle moment of our Village Pride LGBTQ+ walking tour. Before I can even say “Welcome to Stonewall!” phones are out and everyone is capturing the moment. More often than not, it’s the very first time they’ve laid eyes on the iconic brick façade and rows of rainbow flags. Everyone can feel the energy that pulsates around Stonewall, even decades later. And even after leading LGBTQ+ tours for several years, I still feel a little flutter in my chest when we get to this moment.
The Stonewall Inn is considered “the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement.” The 1969 Stonewall Uprising was not the first LGBTQ+ rights protest, but it was a pivotal turning point in LGBTQ+ history. After I share stories about the uprising, I say something that might surprise most guests: it’s not necessarily what happened at Stonewall that made such a big difference, it’s how activists took that moment and turned it into a movement.
And how did activists do that? Well, post-Stonewall, we see a drastic increase in the number of LGBTQ+ organizations around the country. At the time of Stonewall in 1969, there were about 50 LGBTQ+ organizations. By 1970, there were at least 1,500, and another year later, there are at least 2,500 known LGBTQ+ organizations around the United States. People feel inspired by what happened at Stonewall, and they want to be a part of it. A movement quickly grows, but something else starts to happen. LGBTQ+ people are seeing themselves differently, in a more positive light. And subsequently, how they began to fight for their rights also changes.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, LGBTQ+ people were being fired from their jobs, arrested, and put in mental hospitals and diagnosed as “homosexual.” Being gay wasn’t something to be proud of, but something that carried immense shame for so many. The goal of this time was to assimilate, and we see this reflected in queer activism, with gay men wearing suits and ties, and women wearing long skirts and dresses. The goal was to prove that they were “productive members of society,” and therefore, deserved equal rights.
But after Stonewall, something changes. The coat jackets and long dresses are metaphorically thrown out the window. Younger, queer activists no longer want to assimilate into general society. They are saying, “We’re here! We’re queer! Get used to it!” We see this in one of the earliest post-Stonewall organizations, Gay Liberation Front (GLF), which was created just weeks after the Stonewall Uprising. Compared to the photo above, we can see the changes depicted in this GLF poster, designed for the first-ever Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day on June 28, 1970 (the event which would ultimately become known as the Pride March).
GLF is encouraging people to COME OUT!! Being gay is no longer synonymous with shame or hiding. They coined the phrase, “Out of the closets! Into the streets!” There’s also language about joining GLF, demonstrating that there was an entire community of queer people. And lastly, the picture itself reflects a group of young, queer, happy people…something that was almost unimaginable pre-Stonewall. It changed the narrative of what it meant to be a queer person.
And for me, that’s what the legacy of Stonewall is all about. It’s about standing up for yourself and what you believe is right. It’s continuing the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. It’s joining a community of other queer folks who are making positive social change. And ultimately, it allows us to live our true, authentic selves.
Learn more about Stonewall and its legacy on our Village Pride walking tour.
