This 1968 Film Put Drag Queens In The Spotlight Before Stonewall - HuffPost Well, little did he know that what was gonna to happen later on was to make history. 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. The mirrors, all the bottles of liquor, the jukebox, the cigarette machines. You know, it's just, everybody was there. My last name being Garvin, I'd be called Danny Gay-vin. Calling 'em names, telling 'em how good-looking they were, grabbing their butts. Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen Gay History Papers and Photographs, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations 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. Except for the few mob-owned bars that allowed some socializing, it was basically for verboten. And Vito and I walked the rest of the whole thing with tears running down our face. But the . Barak Goodman Linton Media Beginning of our night out started early. Fred Sargeant:In the '60s, I met Craig Rodwell who was running the Oscar Wilde Bookshop. Dick Leitsch:And so the cops came with these buses, like five buses, and they all were full of tactical police force. It's a history that people feel a huge sense of ownership over. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:The police would zero in on us because sometimes they would be in plain clothes, and sometimes they would even entrap. You throw into that, that the Stonewall was raided the previous Tuesday night. If there had been a riot of that proportion in Harlem, my God, you know, there'd have been cameras everywhere. [7] In 1989, it won the Festival's Plate at the Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Before Stonewall - Trailer - YouTube Danny Garvin:He's a faggot, he's a sissy, queer. Doing things like that. The police weren't letting us dance. National History Archive, LGBT Community Center 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. The mob was saying, you know, "Screw you, cops, you think you can come in a bust us up? Because if you don't have extremes, you don't get any moderation. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips and personal recollections to construct an audiovisual history of the gay community before the Stonewall riots. We were all there. Before Stonewall, the activists wanted to fit into society and not rock the boat. America thought we were these homosexual monsters and we were so innocent, and oddly enough, we were so American. And so we had to create these spaces, mostly in the trucks. Danny Garvin:People were screaming "pig," "copper." John van Hoesen Fred Sargeant:Things started off small, but there was an energy that began to flow through the crowd. 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. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, I had to act like I wasn't nervous. And there was tear gas on Saturday night, right in front of the Stonewall. Getting then in the car, rocking them back and forth. 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. John O'Brien:I was with a group that we actually took a parking meter out of theground, three or four people, and we used it as a battering ram. ABCNEWS VideoSource 'Before Stonewall' Tracks the Pre-Movement Era | International Stonewall Tscript | PDF | Homosexuality | Lgbt The events of that night have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement. Urban Stages Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:This was the Rosa Parks moment, the time that gay people stood up and said no. He pulls all his men inside. Martin Boyce:You could be beaten, you could have your head smashed in a men's room because you were looking the wrong way. Things were being thrown against the plywood, we piled things up to try to buttress it. 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. That night, the police ran from us, the lowliest of the low. Daniel Pine American Airlines "Daybreak Express" by D.A. It was as if they were identifying a thing. Doug Cramer The term like "authority figures" wasn't used back then, there was just "Lily Law," "Patty Pig," "Betty Badge." But as we were going up 6th Avenue, it kept growing. Tom Caruso We didn't expect we'd ever get to Central Park. Joe DeCola Danny Garvin:Something snapped. In a spontaneous show of support and frustration, the citys gay community rioted for three nights in the streets, an event that is considered the birth of the modern Gay Rights Movement. The windows were always cloaked. And some people came out, being very dramatic, throwing their arms up in a V, you know, the victory sign. Sophie Cabott Black I would get in the back of the car and they would say, "We're going to go see faggots." Robin Haueter 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. WPA Film Library, Thanks to That's what gave oxygen to the fire. Former U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with gay rights activist Frank Kameny after signing a memorandum on federal benefits and non-discrimination in the Oval Office on June 17, 2009. It was one of the things you did in New York, it was like the Barnum and Bailey aspect of it. John O'Brien:Heterosexuals, legally, had lots of sexual outlets. Nobody. Judy Laster John O'Brien:Whenever you see the cops, you would run away from them. Cause I was from the streets. John DiGiacomo hide caption. When you exit, have some identification and it'll be over in a short time." (158) 7.5 1 h 26 min 1985 13+. [00:00:58] Well, this I mean, this is a part of my own history in this weird, inchoate sense. The first police officer that came in with our group said, "The place is under arrest. I mean I'm only 19 and this'll ruin me. John O'Brien:We had no idea we were gonna finish the march. Revisiting 'Before Stonewall' Film for the 50th Anniversary | Time John O'Brien:I knew that the words that were being said to put down people, was about me. We could lose our memory from the beating, we could be in wheelchairs like some were. I never believed in that. Mafia house beer? Dick Leitsch:Very often, they would put the cops in dresses, with makeup and they usually weren't very convincing. Slate:The Homosexual(1967), CBS Reports. Dan Martino Danny Garvin:There was more anger and more fight the second night. He is not interested in, nor capable of a lasting relationship like that of a heterosexual marriage. The events. 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 I found them in the movie theatres, sitting there, next to them. Fred Sargeant Fred Sargeant:Three articles of clothing had to be of your gender or you would be in violation of that law. Because if they weren't there fast, I was worried that there was something going on that I didn't know about and they weren't gonna come. 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. Read a July 6, 1969excerpt fromTheNew York Daily News. A New York Police officer grabs a man by the hair as another officer clubs a. 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. Martin Boyce Marjorie Duffield You cut one head off. I am not alone, there are other people that feel exactly the same way.". I actually thought, as all of them did, that we were going to be killed. Doric Wilson John O'Brien Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:What they did in the Stonewall that night. Martha Babcock Jerry Hoose As president of the Mattachine Society in New York, I tried to negotiate with the police and the mayor. Naturally, you get careless, you fall for it, and the next thing you know, you have silver bracelets on both arms. Gay people were told we didn't have any of that. Available on Prime Video, Tubi TV, iTunes. All of this stuff was just erupting like a -- as far as they were considered, like a gigantic boil on the butt of America. He said, "Okay, let's go." People that were involved in it like me referred to it as "The First Run." It was nonsense, it was nonsense, it was all the people there, that were reacting and opposing what was occurring. I didn't think I could have been any prettier than that night. 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. Raymond Castro:I'd go in there and I would look and I would just cringe because, you know, people would start touching me, and "Hello, what are you doing there if you don't want to be touched?" John O'Brien:All of a sudden, the police faced something they had never seen before. How do you think that would affect him mentally, for the rest of their lives if they saw an act like that being? Why 'Before Stonewall' Was Such a Hard Movie to Make - The Atlantic Not able to do anything. Hugh Bush And that, that was a very haunting issue for me. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:In states like New York, there were a whole basket of crimes that gay people could be charged with. 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. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:There were gay bars all over town, not just in Greenwich Village. The ones that came close you could see their faces in rage. Jeremiah Hawkins The Chicago riots, the Human Be-in, the dope smoking, the hippies. by David Carter, Associate Producer and Advisor Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:We would scatter, ka-poom, every which way. And it's that hairpin trigger thing that makes the riot happen. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, we did use the small hoses on the fire extinguishers. Jerry Hoose:The bar itself was a toilet. 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 . Directors Greta Schiller Robert Rosenberg (co-director) Stars Rita Mae Brown Maua Adele Ajanaku 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. Here are my ID cards, you knew they were phonies. My father said, "About time you fags rioted.". Gay bars were to gay people what churches were to blacks in the South. Chris Mara, Production Assistants They pushed everybody like to the back room and slowly asking for IDs. WGBH Educational Foundation We ought to know, we've arrested all of them. I was celebrating my birthday at the Stonewall. There was at least one gay bar that was run just as a hustler bar for straight gay married men. 400 Plankinton Ave. Compton's Cafeteria Raid, San Francisco, California, 1966 Coopers Do-Nut Raid, Los Angeles, California, 1959 Pepper Hill Club Raid, Baltimore, Maryland in 1955. Slate:The Homosexuals(1967), CBS Reports. This Restored Documentary Examines What LGBTQ Lives Were Like Before Raymond Castro The idea was to be there first. Meanwhile, there was crowds forming outside the Stonewall, wanting to know what was going on. I entered the convent at 26, to pursue that question and I was convinced that I would either stay until I got an answer, or if I didn't get an answer just stay. Dana Kirchoff A person marching in a gay rights parade along New York's Fifth Avenue on July 7th, 1979. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips . And this went on for hours. I have pondered this as "Before Stonewall," my first feature documentary, is back in cinemas after 35 years. In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city's gay community. LGBTQ+ History Before Stonewall | Stacker Martin Boyce:I wasn't labeled gay, just "different." And today we're talking about Stonewall, which were both pretty anxious about so anxious. Colonial House At least if you had press, maybe your head wouldn't get busted. There was all these drags queens and these crazy people and everybody was carrying on. It was a down at a heels kind of place, it was a lot of street kids and things like that. It's the first time I'm fully inside the Stonewall. And when you got a word, the word was homosexuality and you looked it up. Fred Sargeant:When it was clear that things were definitely over for the evening, we decided we needed to do something more. Do you want them to lose all chance of a normal, happy, married life? 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.". It was a leaflet that attacked the relationship of the police and the Mafia and the bars that we needed to see ended. Audience Member (Archival):I was wondering if you think that there are any quote "happy homosexuals" for whom homosexuality would be, in a way, their best adjustment in life? Director . On this episode, the fight for gay rights before Stonewall. Geordie, Liam and Theo Gude And they started smashing their heads with clubs. And once that happened, the whole house of cards that was the system of oppression of gay people started to crumble. The mayor of New York City, the police commissioner, were under pressure to clean up the streets of any kind of quote unquote "weirdness." I said, "I can go in with you?" 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. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:They were sexual deviates. Susana Fernandes Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:It was getting worse and worse. Samual Murkofsky Pamela Gaudiano You see, Ralph was a homosexual.