Stonewall Riots uprising on June 28th, 1969 in New York and lasted for 6 days. The uprising started when the police raided a gay club called the Stonewall Inn. Today, it is the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
Stonewall Inn became a gay bar in 1967. Since gay bars and clubs could still be punished as selling alcohol to a gathering of homesexuals was seen as ‘disordly’, they had call Stonewall Inn a “bottle bar”.
This is where an alcohol licence is not needed as people are supposed to bring their own alcohol. However, that wasn’t the case! People needed to sign their names when they arrived to make it look as such. The owners of Stonewall Inn bribed the police to turn a blined eye to what was going on.
Stonewall Inn became a remarkable place for people as it was a place that welcomed everyone. Including drag queens who received a bitter response at other gay bars and clubs. As well as being one of the few gay bars that allowed dancing.
The stonewall riots assisted the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and it’s an important landmark for LGBTQ+ rights. Once the stonewall riots occurred, the first pride festival took place in the UK in 1972. In 1989, the charity stonewall was established which was named after the riots.
Overall, the stonewall riots anniversary is a celebration of how far the LGBTQ+ community has come. It’s a celebration of how much more accepting people are. However, there is still a lot more that can be done to help the LGBTQ+ community.