Seaton Essay Contest 1st Place Essay
Following the Rainbow:
A Look into the Events that Sparked the
Stonewall Riots
Kelly Whitney
As the product of a movement that paved the way for equal rights, I must remember and honor those activists who began our fight for equality decades ago. Every year we honor those who began the gay-rights movement that fateful day in New York City; we march the streets of downtown Columbus to commemorate the trials that we overcame. We remember the Stonewall Riots, and continue to march to symbolize the fights that remain ahead of us.
To many people, the Stonewall Riots that began June 27, 1969, marked the beginning of the gay-rights movement. Although this was not the first time gays joined together to fight against the structures who tried to take away their rights, the riots at the Stonewall Inn symbolized the gay community’s refusal to tolerate discrimination. However, I will discuss neither the events that occurred during the five days of riots nor the changes that were made as a result of the riots, but instead why these riots occurred. While the turbulent sixties were a decade of reform for many minority groups, the political and worldly events of this decade caused gays to unify as one voice and rise up against the government that oppressed them.
Liberalism vs. Conservatism: The Shift of Leadership in New York City
In 1969, the year of the riots, Republican Mayor John Lindsay held New York City’s highest governmental seat. During this time, he was preparing his re-election campaign to serve the city for another four years. His political ambitions and need for constituent approval motivated him to take strong action against the crime and chaos occurring in the city, so he aggressively took a stance for reform to correct what he perceived to be the city’s problems. At the same time, his administration was quickly falling apart. Residents of New York City began to turn on him. The dramatic issues of politics in New York during this time created corrupt leaders and a city in chaos (Witkin). In order to understand the political turmoil of New York City in 1969, we must take a look into the prior decade’s shift in leadership from Democratic control to Republican rule.
The local New York City government, much like the government at the national level, maintained Democratic power beginning in the early 1960s. The same liberal force for social and legislative changes at these levels resulted in overwhelming support for liberal leaders. Thus, just as Lyndon Johnson led the United States through the majority of the 1960’s, Democratic Mayor Wagner won the New York City mayoral ticket in 1953 and served the city for three consecutive terms.
During this time, John Lindsay was serving his second term as Congressman (“Against Running”). He spent his time studying the problems of the Middle East and actively participated in U.S. foreign policy (Weaver). The New York Republican Organization appreciated Lindsay’s passion for the world community and his desire to help the oppressed peoples of other countries. The Organization wanted to bring his leadership and enthusiasm to the people of New York (Weaver). In 1960 Lindsay was given the opportunity to run for mayor; however, he rejected the offer, reiterating, “My answer is very firmly no” (“Against Running”). After this assertion, the people of New York would reelect Wagner for one more term.
Nonetheless, after much persuasion by the Republican Party, Lindsay announced his mayoral candidacy on May 13, 1964. Two weeks later, Mayor Wagner announced he would not be running for re-election in the 1965 election. He stunned the nation with his announcement, confessing to the public the promise he had made to his late wife to care for their children as a “full-time father” (Witkin). The Democratic Party scrambled for weeks to find a candidate worthy of competing against Lindsay, who, by this point, had become popular in New York. The Democrats eventually decided on City Controller Abraham Beame (Witkin). The race was on.
The strong presence of Democratic liberalism in the city would be the emphasis of Lindsay’s campaign; he praised the character of Mayor Wagner, but insisted that the city needed a change from Democratic rule. New York residents began to embrace conservatism before the nation as a whole. Lindsay was elected in “the closest mayoral election in at least a quarter century,” winning 46% of the popular vote. He became the first Republican mayor since 1945; nonetheless, Democrats maintained control of the City Council and the City Controller, indicating there were still mixed feelings as to which party should lead the city (Witkin).
Ready to lead the people, Lindsay wanted to revive the purity of the city. He declared he would “give New York the most hard-working, the most dedicated and…the most exciting and successful administration this city has ever seen” (Witkin). Lindsay established himself as a leader and a prominent politician during his tenure as mayor. It was believed he was using the city as a stepping stone to earn the 1972 Presidential nomination (Witkin). Yet his experience in foreign policy provided him no authority for leading a city; he quickly became very unpopular and the public turned on him in the 1969 primary election. He lost the primary and the possibility of the Presidential ticket.
Lindsay, however, remained determined to win the general election. He knew he had to get the traditional Republican voters—white Christians—to the polls. For the past two decades, the Christian voters had been leaning towards a liberal government (Hailey). Lindsay needed to bring them back to the conservative side in order to gain any hope of winning the general election. To spark their interest, he focused on an epideictic campaign; he convinced the Christian constituents that the city had become corrupt and chaotic and assured them that proper Christian values would be restored to the city. He vowed that “if we join together in the rigorous, exalting struggles ahead, we assure the eventual conquest of the pending, recurrent and unforeseen crises afflicting our city” (Witkin). He began by declaring a clean-up of the city’s bars—especially the bars occupied by the “immoral” homosexuals—which included the Stonewall Inn.
Civil Rights Movement and Legislative Reform
We recognize Rosa Parks, The Feminine Mystique, Freedom Rides, the Economic Opportunity Act, Ralph Nader, and Martin Luther King, Jr., among those emblems of an era that defined reform and a push for equality. While most are remembered for improving relations between blacks and whites, the Civil Rights Movement also helped address many other issues, such as those concerning women, Native Americans, automobile safety, the environment, and education.
Although the fight for civil rights began before WWI, it was not until after WWII when groups began to band together. Court cases such as Brown v. Board of Education gained momentum on paper, but blacks were continually oppressed and discriminated against. They knew they had to be more aggressive to secure the rights they were due.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956), which received international attention and support, would be their first chance to show the world what they were ready to endure. Organized by the NAACP, blacks boycotted the segregated bus system of Montgomery, Alabama, pushing it to the verge of bankruptcy. The bus system eventually gave in and desegregated the buses. Although a regional victory, it was a great inspiration to blacks around the nation. They had a new understanding of how to win their fight for equal rights.
Blacks continued to rally together and declared equality in one unified voice. In 1963, the March on Washington allowed Martin Luther King, Jr., to give his famous speech inspiring average whites and blacks all over the country to unite. He gave the nation hope that peace between the races was not only possible but necessary for the growth of the country. This major historical event influenced two great pieces of legislation: the 1964 Civil Rights Act ending segregation, banned discrimination, and protected women’s rights, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act protecting voting rights for blacks in the south. By taking the fight into the streets and refusing to surrender to white supremacy, blacks had forever changed the way they would live.
Gays became aware of how blacks came together and fought for equality. They realized they would never win their own battle for equality if they did not unify and rise up against their oppressors. Stonewall veteran William Henderson recalled the sentiment of brother- (or sister-) hood during the movement: “People, especially Gays at this time in history with all of the civil rights movements, were feeling our oats. ‘Coming out’ and ‘Standing up’ were growing” (Henderson). Gays were getting ready to fight their own battle, and began to form their own groups in order to do so.
“We are the Stonewall Girls”: Gays and Lesbians Unite
Seeing the success of the numerous black pride groups that had risen in the sixties, gays decided it was time to join together as well. Although many attribute the start of gay unity to the Stonewall riots, the 1950s marked a wave of the first homophile groups. These groups were the first to unify gays and lesbians, giving them pride and power to begin their impending struggle.
In November of 1950, five gay men joined together to form a group, later named the Mattachine Society, that would begin the drive for homosexual equality. Harry Hay, Rudi Gernreich, Bob Hull, Dale Jennings, and Chuck Rowland frequently met to discuss ways to educate the public about homosexuality .The Mattachine Society’s influence spread across the country. Discussion groups were formed to provide a safe place for gays to express their thoughts and the meetings created opportunities for gay communities to gather in places other than gay bars.
The Mattachine Society also produced the first homophile magazine in the United States, called One. This publication unified gays across the country and allowed news and events to be shared in major cities. Furthermore, the Mattachine Society created affiliates in large cities known for their gay populations, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, and Washington DC (Hunter).
The group’s first legal opportunity to establish its purpose came in 1952 when Mattachine Society cofounder Dale Jennings was arrested on sex charges in Los Angeles. The Mattachine Society defended Jennings and was able to get the case dismissed due to the lack of evidence against Jennings. The group distributed information about the case, assuring gays around the country that they would be protected and supported by the Mattachine Society (Hunter). Gays across the country began to realize they were not alone.
“Your Worst Fears Made Flesh”: The Cold War and the Fear of Queer Communists
The gay community suffered a huge setback when Mattachine Society cofounder Harry Hay was tied to the Communist party (Rapp). At the peak of the Red Scare, this was arguably the worst connection that could have been made for the movement. In 1935, Hay worked on an anti-Nazi play, Till the Day I Die. Hay played a homosexual who tortured communists, which sparked his interest in the Communist party. He joined the party in 1951, the same year the Mattachine Society became official (Rapp).
In March, 1953, a journalist from the Los Angeles Daily Mirror found this link while investigating the Mattachine Society. He found the “strange new pressure group [of] sexual deviates were uniting to form a political voice” (Hunter). While investigating the personal life of Hay the journalist found he was an “unfriendly and uncooperative witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee,” which investigated Communism in the United States (Davidson). This revelation caused members of the Mattachine Society to panic and the heterosexual community to fear the political loyalty of gays. The disparity between the straights and gays grew with this revelation. This possibly gave authorities more incentive to invade the Stonewall Inn and reprimand the disloyal gays who very well could have been Communists.
The original leaders were radical activists; they aggressively endorsed political reform and self-identity. However, after the original founders resigned, the new delegates drastically changed the group’s mission. They believed in conformity and opposed social change. They wanted to portray themselves as no different than heterosexuals, stripping gay men of their individuality. This passive approach to reform caused membership to decrease and support to decline. The Mattachine Society reached its end in 1961, eight years before the Stonewall riots (Hunter).
Five years after the Mattachine Society met for the first time, a lesbian couple, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, started a homophile group with other lesbian friends. Naming themselves the Daughters of Bilitis, this women’s group discussed lesbian issues and, like the Mattachine Society, conducted public forums to educate the public about homosexuality. They also provided support to lesbian women, especially to white, middle-class lesbians who “had the most to lose should they be identified as lesbian” (Theophano). Their purpose was similar to that of the Mattachine Society; they wanted to bring a sense of sisterhood and pride to lesbians across the country, assuring them that they were not alone.
Allied with the Mattachine Society, the Daughters of Bilitis published their own monthly magazine called The Ladder. This, like One, reached lesbians across the country, unifying them as one voice. Daughters of Bilitis groups also began in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Rhode Island (Theophano).
Lyon and Martin led a conservative group and advised conformity with mainstream heterosexual lifestyle. They encouraged lesbians to maintain their femininity and discouraged masculinity and drag wardrobe. They included only conservative poetry, short stories, essays, and research in The Ladder (Theophano). Much like the futile court cases protecting blacks, this overtly-conservative leadership would not ignite change for gay rights.
The 1960’s created a shift in emphasis from lesbian rights to women’s rights following the feminist movement of the decade. The group began to support active objection to the oppressive government and endorse radical behavior among women and lesbians. The new leaders understood that the only way for change to occur was through aggressive means; the former leaders disagreed on the position the group should take and soon after they disbanded.
Although both groups rose, peaked, and fell before the riots of 1969, their sentiment of unifying the gay community would last through the twentieth century. They represented the growing desire for equality and the willingness to join together to fight for what they deserved. They also created opportunities for gay men and women to meet other activists who would be leading the struggle for gay rights in the subsequent decades. The “gay power” impulse followed these groups to the riots of 1969.
During the riots, the protesters joined together—inspired by the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis—as one voice, proclaiming, “We are the Stonewall girls!” (Duberman). Stonewall veteran William Henderson validates this sentiment of sisterhood, recalling,
The detectives, the vice squad, the liquor authority, the state fuzz, the local cops, ultimately the tactical patrol forces and whoever else the authorities had that night picked the wrong time (1 a.m. Gay time) and the wrong place (Gay club) and, for sure, in the wrong section (Gay GREENWICH VILLAGE) of the wrong city (Gay MANHATTAN of N.Y.C.) for any further Gay oppression.
One drag queen responded to the riots, “We may have lost the battle, sweets, but the war is far from over” (Lisker). They would fight, and continue to fight, until they had attained their ultimate goal: equality.
“Do Whatever Little Girls Do”: Continuing the Battle
From Stonewall to Los Angeles, the activists who began the fight in the sixties knew they had to take the fight to the streets. Their passion and frustration motivated the battle, and their actions resonate in our continued fight for equality today. Now, by the opportunities created from the rioters, we can fight our battles in the courtroom to carry on the very issue those activists fought for on the streets forty years ago. We are blessed that gays in the generation of reform decided to rise up and fight for equality, because now a lesbian couple may walk down the street without fear of scrutiny, a gay man can wear make-up and heels and be celebrated for it, two gay men may be approved to adopt a child, and when a teenage girl decides her heart takes to women, she can acknowledge those feelings without fear. We thank those who stepped up forty years ago and decided to make a stand.
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