June 28 — On this day in 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay club in New York City's Greenwich Village. The raid ignited the Stonewall riots and days of protest in what was considered the first major protest for equal rights for LGBTQ people in America.
The police targeted the Stonewall Inn because it was serving alcohol without a liquor license and had a number of other violations. But up until the raid, gay clubs were being shut down anyway as police continued to target establishments frequented by members of the gay community. During those times, there was still an immense stigma against same-sex relationships and people who identified as LGBTQ.
Police often targeted gay clubs by using liquor licensing as a pretext to perform the raid. Additionally, many of these establishments were owned by the Mafia, who were known to bribe the police in order to stop getting harassed. As a result, many members of the gay community felt safe in these places. But by the time the police raided the Stonewall, citizens have had enough and started to fight back by throwing bottles at the police. The fight spilled onto the street and started getting violent as police brandished their weapons.
The fight went on from midnight to about 4 A.M. when riot police finally arrived. Though authorities quelled that initial fight—making 13 arrests—the next few days were wrought with demonstrations and more protests. This inspired the launch of the Gay Liberation Front and other LGBT organizations. The following year in 1970, the first official New York City gay pride parade started at Stonewall and marched up 6th Avenue. Ever since then, June has been celebrated as LGBT Pride Month across the nation.
Years later in 2019, the New York City Police Department commissioner James P. O'Neill issued a formal apology for the first time saying, "What happened should not have happened. The actions taken by the NYPD were wrong, plain and simple. The actions and the laws were discriminatory and oppressive, and for that, I apologize."
