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| A black and white image of several gay, lesbian, bi+ and trans resisters outside of historic Stonewall Inn. |
Like all aspects of history, the Stonewall Riots has been dragged through convenient told tales that fit narratives and agendas. It has been whitewashed and ciswashed. The fact that many resisters were sex workers (called "hustlers" then) is ignored. The very fact that it was a riot and an uprising, in which the state, represented through the New York Police Department were the antagonists and met with force, is often downplayed or ignored. This is why police at pride is a subject of much discussion, especially by Stonewall Veterans themselves.
Below, I am going to explore six Stonewall Veteran's and their legacies, before and beyond Stonewall itself. Stonewall was a moment in time, albeit a very important one, it does us justice to continue learning about historic key figures beyond their most infamous moments (ex: Rosa Parks work in Detroit is super important--but we seldom hear about more than the Montgomery Bus Boycott.)
We also must remember that each Stonewall veteran, like all other activists, are human beings, with existences BEYOND their activism, likes and dislikes, personality flaws, bad days, etc. It is important to not dehumanize activists by idolizing them beyond the possibility of flaw. Also, be advised, that below is not an exhaustive list. Everyone involved in the events that took place is important but only six are featured here today.
Marsha P. Johnson
A black transgender drag queen, known in part for throwing a brick at New York Police Department.
Marsha "Pay It No Mind" Johnson was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on August 24, 1945 and would later be known lovingly as the "Mayor of Christopher Street'. Christopher Street is part of the gay district in historic Greenwich Village and Johnson was known to be a warm and welcoming voice to those traveling down Christopher Street. Known to sometimes have a hot temper, she ultimately had a servant's heart and a fiery passion for liberation. As with many drag performers, she was known to be quick-wit, sharp with the tongue and quite humorous. Extremely generous, if you complimented her shawl or her bracelet, she was known to hand it to you and tell you how good it looked on you as well.
In her own words, Marsha describes what Stonewall was and the beginning of the riots. At first, Stonewall was an exclusive men's only club but they eventually opened up to women. Once they started drag shows, Marsha boasts she was one of the first performers to hit the stage! In her experience, usually people did not get arrested in the raids at this particular club (its Mafia owners usually paid off the police), so Stonewall Riots night itself was particularly intriguing. That day, on June 28, 1969, according to Marsha, she was uptown when she got word that there was a "disturbance" happening at Stonewall. The resistance began at 1:20 a.m. and Marsha stepped on the scene at around 2 a.m. David Carter, author of Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, credits Marsha as one of the three most pivotal activists to push the Stonewall riots into a gay rights revolution. Many accounts have stated it was, in fact, Marsha that threw a brick toward the New York Police Department, in an act of defiant resistance. Previous claims also indicated she threw a shot glass through a window, dubbed "the shot glass heard around the world".
In late 1969, Marsha was founding member of the Gay Liberation Front, an organization established by Morris Kight. Marsha found acceptance within this organization among ridicule from others, with its own newspaper, known as Come Out, stating:
“Gay Liberation Front welcomes any gay person, regardless of sex, race, age or social behavior. Though some other gay organizations may be embarrassed by drags or transvestites*, GLF believes that we should accept all of our brothers and sisters unconditionally."
*transvestites was not a slur when used within the community in 1970.
In 1970, along with Sylvia Rivera, Marsha Johnson created Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries, an organization for "street gay [and transgender] people" and "anyone in need". Marsha herself was a sex worker, as was Sylvia, and the two of them often used sex work as a means to an end for not only themselves but for the youth they supported. Their goals were to ensure the safety and dignity of the often-excluded queer and trans youth and give them guidance. STAR itself has been used a blueprint for many modern-day LGBTQ homeless initiatives. STAR was also a caucus of the Gay Liberation Front.
In August of 1970, through GLF, Marsha co-organized a sit-in at the Weinstein Hall. According to Sylvia Rivera, a co-organizer, the group took over the Weinstein Hall for a period of three days because the plug was going to be pulled on a show that was scheduled because it was to feature queer performers.
It was out of this act of defiance, that STAR was born. Here's the official statement of the direct action by the activists, as seen from this page.
At some point around this time, Marsha was arrested for assaulting two police officers, in which she hit them over the head with a handbag, allegedly containing bricks in them. She was also arrested for "prostitution". 10-20 community members met in the courthouse to support her as she faced a woman judge. At the time, women judges were known to be animus to trans women particularly. Marsha appeared in a dress but no wig, while the the officers, described as two big bulky cops, appeared in bandages with black eyes. When asked why she was "prostituting", she exclaimed she needed a tombstone for her husband, who was "shot by pigs". When asked why she assaulted the officers, she states they had not identified themselves and as such, she had thought she was being robbed (not an unusual experience for trans or drag queens in New York). Unfortunately, Marsha was given 90 days for this incident. You can watch a video of this being described by a friend who attended the courthouse here.
In 1978, in a bid to respectability politics and cisnormativity, gay, lesbian and bi+ cisgender organizers did their best to exclude Marsha and Sylvia Rivera from a gay pride march. This was a move that was met with little success, as the duo jolted passed the tape and to the front of the line, proudly strutting off and posing for the cameras, in honor of the work they had contributed.
Throughout the 1980's, Marsha continued her activism. Resilient as she had always been, Marsha performed important work for the revolutionary AIDS crisis response group, known as ACT-UP, which formed amidst a sea of death in 1987. During this time, Marsha worked alongside a community suffering both physically and emotionally into forcing radical change, through the form of mutual aid health care, illegal retro-viral medications, education and protest. In 1990, she herself was diagnosed as HIV positive.
Marsha died on July 6, 1992. Although the New York Police Department ruled her death a suicide, the community did not agree with this. Randy Wicker, her long-time friend and roommate since about 1980, among others, formed a community vigil and began their own investigation efforts but were met with adversity and resistance from the authorities.
In regard to the statues placed in Christopher Park to honor the gay movement, Marsha had this to say: ""Now they got two little nice statues in Chariot Park to remember the gay movement. How many people have died for these two little statues to be put in the park for them to recognize gay people? How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race? I mean how many years does it take people to see that? We're all in this rat race together!"
Fun fact: She was also part of the New York avant-drag performance group, the Hot Peaches!
Jerry Hoose
Jerry Hoose was different than many of the gay men of his time. Born in 1945 and into a world where upward of 99% of gay men stayed in the closet for safety, Jerry was already out and proud by 1969. He spent much of his social life perusing Christopher Street, drinking at Stonewall and eating at the Silver Dollar. Self-described as a wild guy, he hopped between boyfriend to boyfriend but found peace in the consistency that the gay scene had to offer. Having embraced his gayness since the age of 12, he had always dreamed of living in the glamorous Greenwich Village, which eventually came true
In an interview, Jerry describes the night that would historically become the Stonewall Uprising. June 28, 1969. Similarly to Marsha, he wasn't on the scene quite at 1:20 AM when it happened--rather, he got a call from a beloved friend who urged him to run to the scene! He says it took him 40 minutes, so he arrived at 2:00am (or just after) and recalls seeing Marsha and other drag queens fiercely in the moment of tension, singing the famous "We are the Stonewall Girls" song.
One of the most interesting memories Jerry holds was, as he described, a self-loathing gay man interfering with the riot and restraining a gay rioter, holding him toward the New York Police Department to help the NYPD control the situation.
Jerry also remembers trying to gather the crowd to march to city hall--but they weren't so much interested in that! Or perhaps they hadn't heard him among the chaos.
In his own words, Jerry recalled that the Stonewall Uprising was his first glimmer of hope as a gay man. He spoke of how often men like him were left to be humiliated and attacked by the NYPD and the public and how helpless he often felt, with no one jumping in or fighting back. He also recounted that, the night of at least, politics or even revolution wasn't on the forefront of his mind--rather, unveiling years of anguish and anger took center.
Like Marsha, in late 1969, Jerry took the uprising and joined the Gay Liberation Front--hellbent on radical change for the gay community, politically and socially.
Gay Liberation Front was radical in it's essence, with the goal of challenging everything from masculinity, monogamy, gender roles and even the church itself. Jerry was particular to engaging in cruising--a term designated usually for gay men who met with other men in specific hook up spots. During such engagements, Jerry and members of the GLF would pass out political information to politicize the gay and bi+ men in the encounters.
Jerry was also known to hang around Christopher Street, monitoring the area for police and providing a warning to the street workers to be on the lookout.
When the Gay Liberation Front decided to start a dance troupe, Jerry was one of the organizers delegated the task and such Alternate U was born. Alternate U was a refreshing alternative to the bar scene and was a totally queer space, circumventing the control of the Italian Mafia. It welcomed men and women to come and dance with one another in a free space. For many queer people who attended, it was the first time they could love freely in any type of public space, a moment that Jerry believed brought that glimmer of hope into the eyes of many more. Naturally, GLF always managed to put together political aspects of each event. This information is according to Out for Good by Dudley C. and Adam N.
As the hands of time took their toll, Jerry became vocal of the ageism he saw in his beloved community. He began to focus his efforts on SAGE, or Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elderly. Part of these efforts included panel discussions designed to educate the youth on the history of the Stonewall Uprising and the efforts that occurred after.
In 2015, Jerry passed away at the age of 69, reportedly with the same "loud Brooklyn accent" he had always held.
Storme' Delarverie
"Why don't you guys do something about it?!"
Storme' was a radical activist, lesbian and drag king performer, known to many as the catalyst to the Stonewall Uprising in her efforts to physically resist. Born December 24, 1920, at least she thinks, because due to anti-interracial mixing laws, she was never issued a birth certificate, in New Orleans, she was the daughter of white father and black mother, certainly not a popular mixing in the 1920's South. As a result of this, she faced much bullying by her peers.
As a child, she participated in the Ringling Brothers Circus, where she was an avid horse rider, a role she took part in until she was injured in a fall. Near the age of eighteen, she reconciled with herself that she was a lesbian.
During the 1940's, Storme' explored her musical talent as a singer for a jazz band. Throughout the 1950's, Storme' performed as a drag king, though the term was popularly known as male impersonator at the time. A trendsetter of sorts, her willingness to publicly dress in a masculine form gave the courage to other lesbians to do the same. Plus, she had the support of the love of her life, her partner Diana.
Storme' particularly hated the designation of "Stonewall riots" and preferred the term rebellion instead.
"Move along, faggot." an NYPD officer yelled to her. As usual, she was dressed in male garb and as such was addressed as a gay man.
After witnessing her friend being assaulted, she is said to have threw a punch at an officer, which led to an arrest.
With her handcuffs too tight, she began to voice her concerns to the NYPD, who responded by hitting her with a baton. "Why don't you guys do something about this?" she yelled to the gay men on the block. And they did! Her vocalization is said to have moved many from fear to action.
After the bustle, she later served on the Stonewall Veteran's Association and as a lead member of New York Pride. Not a long time later, her girlfriend Diana passed away and it is said that Storme' continued to carry her picture everywhere she went. Not afraid to defend herself--or her baby girls, as she called the lesbian community--she had a gun permit and patrolled the streets in the 1980's, checking to make sure no men or police were causing any trouble. In an essence, she was often considered a guardian of sorts for queer women.
“She literally walked the streets of downtown Manhattan like a gay superhero,” [Lisa]. Cannistraci said. “She was not to be messed with by any stretch of the imagination.”
She served as a bouncer, a role she continued until she was 85.
In 2010, she had moved into a nursing home and was diagnosed with dementia. In May 2014, at the age of 93, she passed away and left behind an amazing and critical legacy.
Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt
Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1948. An artist--he was a student of Pratt Institute in New York City in 1966 but was rejected for a higher education at Cooper Union for admitting to being openly gay in his admission papers.
In an interview, he discussed knowing he was gay but lacking the language to describe it. He did not find any type of organization or cause to help him approach being gay until New York--but he could not find himself aligning with the stuffy, respectable crowd at the Mattachine Society. As a self-described street kid, he find it impossible to relate to their reality.
When discussing his fellow street gays, he recalls that it was very hard to "box them in" general terms. Many of them faced horrible abuse at the hands of their parents and had runaway, others had been forced out onto the streets. Many were on the defense and ready to fight, even at the tap of a shoulder.
Already situated outside due to the high volume of attendees on June 28, 1969, Thomas missed the inside scuffles but bore witness to the movement as it was born on the exterior of Stonewall Inn. Similarly to Jerry, he found this moment to a beacon of hope and the come-uppance of the gay community. In this moment, Thomas says, "he saw the light".
While he is not a world renowned artist, he has certainly had his share of critical acclaim for his work. He produced art throughout the 1970s, often depicting queerness sometimes even integrated with Christianity. He has appeared in documentaries both about Stonewall and his art.
As of the time of this writing, he is still living.
Raymond Castro
I didn't know I was going to be part of history!
Raymond Castro is a native of Puerto Rico and was present inside Stonewall on June 28, 1969. Little did he know he would be part of history! Unlike the aforementioned Stonewall Veterans, Castro was actually arrested and detained by New York Police Department that fateful day.
He didn't go in the paddywagon without a fight though. Probably incentived by Storme's appeal earlier, he fought the NYPD off as much as he could--but unfortunately, they restrained him. In fact, the officer even exclaimed, "you must be some kind of animal!"
As early as his teenage years, he can recall perusing Christopher Street with a group of friends from fashion design--where he would mingle and associate with other queer people. He fondly remembers the bars, including Stonewall, as a positive place where you could listen to popular music and watch people dance with members of the same gender, somewhat freely. That was, except of course, prior to a raid when the light warning lights would chime on.
Yet, that June 28, 1969, time stood still as the events unfolded. While stuck inside facing arrest, he can recall the unison of chanting from the outside resisters, yelling for pigs to go home and throwing loose change.
Raymond continued to be as involved in gay activism as he could be. He spent a happy 30+ years with his partner Frankie and migrated to Florida, living near the City of Tampa.
This was a far stretch from the double life he had lived for so many years. Trying to fit in a heteronormative life, he married in 1962 at the age of 20 but had no children. They both knew there was no love in their relationship but for Raymond it made life much easier to have a picture of a wife to show off.
In October of 2010, Raymond died at the age of 68.
Yvonne "Butch" Ritter
Born in 1951 to a Roman Catholic Brooklyn family, Yvonne is a transgender woman. In June 1969, homosexual sex and "crossdressing" was illegal in every state except Illinois. As such, Yvonne was no stranger to police harassment and raids. She had just turned 18 on June 27, 1969 and was out celebrating her birthday that evening. Dressing in what she called drag at the time, she often worried about facing arrest for being herself if she was clocked--though she continued to do so.
Yvonne recounts stories of seeing the white warning light trigger on--that's when you had to make sure you weren't dancing with anyone of the same gender and that your hands were visible, lest you become accused of doing something you shouldn't with your hands out of sight.
Interestingly, Yvonne can recall some of the gay men discussing Judy Garland's funeral. This is relevant because some historians believe-although without solid evidence-that Judy Garland's death ignited some of the rage and fight in the gay community.
"How am I gonna explain this: in my mother's dress?" she stewed from the paddywagon, having been one of the "crossdressers" taken into custody by the New York Police Department. That's when she heard the sound of loose change being thrown at the paddywagon and the racket from the resistance outside.
After transitioning, she went to college where she later became nurse. As a nurse, she spent much of the 1980's providing compassionate care to gay men who fell victim to the AIDS Crisis in a time when many medical professionals turned away such patients.
As of this writing, Yvonne is still living.
There are many other wonderful individuals who were involved in the riots who continued to do work thereafter and their stories should all be heard and told. Surely, eventually, I will do a follow-up piece on another six!
