And I knew that I was lesbian. Narrator (Archival):Richard Enman, president of the Mattachine Society of Florida, whose goal is to legalize homosexuality between consenting adults, was a reluctant participant in tonight's program. And here they were lifting things up and fighting them and attacking them and beating them. John O'Brien:Our goal was to hurt those police. It must have been terrifying for them. Daniel Pine It was narrated by author Rita Mae Brown, directed by Greta Schiller, co-directed by Robert Rosenberg, and co-produced by John Scagliotti and Rosenberg, and Schiller. Naturally, you get careless, you fall for it, and the next thing you know, you have silver bracelets on both arms. Synopsis. Scott Kardel, Project Administration And they wore dark police uniforms and riot helmets and they had billy clubs and they had big plastic shields, like Roman army, and they actually formed a phalanx, and just marched down Christopher Street and kind of pushed us in front of them. [7] In 1987, the film won Emmy Awards for Best Historical/Cultural Program and Best Research. And the police were showing up. It was a horror story. When you exit, have some identification and it'll be over in a short time." 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? I mean they were making some headway. I would get in the back of the car and they would say, "We're going to go see faggots." This is every year in New York City. 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. And it would take maybe a half hour to clear the place out. We didn't want to come on, you know, wearing fuzzy sweaters and lipstick, you know, and being freaks. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community The newly restored 1984 documentary "Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community," re-released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the seminal Stonewall riots, remains a . LGBTQ+ History Before Stonewall | Stacker And if we catch you, involved with a homosexual, your parents are going to know about it first. Martin Boyce:There were these two black, like, banjee guys, and they were saying, "What's goin' on man?" Danny Garvin:He's a faggot, he's a sissy, queer. These homosexuals glorify unnatural sex acts. That night, we printed a box, we had 5,000. [7] In 1989, it won the Festival's Plate at the Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. And this went on for hours. What finally made sense to me was the first time I kissed a woman and I thought, "Oh, this is what it's about." And it was those loudest people, the most vulnerable, the most likely to be arrested, were the ones that were doing the real fighting. Dick Leitsch:Well, gay bars were the social centers of gay life. The windows were always cloaked. Jimmy hadn't enjoyed himself so much in a long time. It's like, this is not right. Trevor, Post Production Danny Garvin:And the cops just charged them. The documentary "Before Stonewall" was very educational and interesting because it shows a retail group that fought for the right to integrate into the society and was where the homosexual revolution occurred. The scenes were photographed with telescopic lenses. That night, the police ran from us, the lowliest of the low. And that crowd between Howard Johnson's and Mama's Chik-n-Rib was like the basic crowd of the gay community at that time in the Village. And she was quite crazy. American Airlines The lights came on, it's like stop dancing. David Huggins In the trucks or around the trucks. Finally, Mayor Lindsay listened to us and he announced that there would be no more police entrapment in New York City. Danny Garvin:People were screaming "pig," "copper." Alexis Charizopolis Slate:Activity Group Therapy (1950), Columbia University Educational Films. One never knows when the homosexual is about. Yvonne Ritter:I did try to get out of the bar and I thought that there might be a way out through one of the bathrooms. Jorge Garcia-Spitz Martin Boyce Linton Media Virginia Apuzzo:What we felt in isolation was a growing sense of outrage and fury particularly because we looked around and saw so many avenues of rebellion. Transcript A gay rights march in New York in favor of the 1968 Civil Rights Act being amended to include gay rights. Dick Leitsch:It was an invasion, I mean you felt outraged and stuff like you know what, God, this is America, what's this country come to? They were supposed to be weak men, limp-wristed. "Daybreak Express" by D.A. And gay people were standing around outside and the mood on the street was, "They think that they could disperse us last night and keep us from doing what we want to do, being on the street saying I'm gay and I'm proud? John O'Brien:The election was in November of 1969 and this was the summer of 1969, this was June. It was terrifying. Over a short period of time, he will be unable to get sexually aroused to the pictures, and hopefully, he will be unable to get sexually aroused inside, in other settings as well. Jerry Hoose:The police would come by two or three times a night. And there, we weren't allowed to be alone, the police would raid us still. It was a leaflet that attacked the relationship of the police and the Mafia and the bars that we needed to see ended. Do you understand me?". But I had only stuck my head in once at the Stonewall. Dick Leitsch:New York State Liquor Authority had a rule that one known homosexual at a licensed premise made the place disorderly, so nobody would set up a place where we could meet because they were afraid that the cops would come in to close it, and that's how the Mafia got into the gay bar business. The medical experimentation in Atascadero included administering, to gay people, a drug that simulated the experience of drowning; in other words, a pharmacological example of waterboarding. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:TheNew York TimesI guess printed a story, but it wasn't a major story. Read a July 6, 1969excerpt fromTheNew York Daily News. Revisiting 'Before Stonewall' Film for the 50th Anniversary | Time But I gave it up about, oh I forget, some years ago, over four years ago. The most infamous of those institutions was Atascadero, in California. 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. There was no going back now, there was no going back, there was no, we had discovered a power that we weren't even aware that we had. Narrator (Archival):This involves showing the gay man pictures of nude males and shocking him with a strong electric current. Tweet at us @throughlineNPR, send us an email, or leave us a voicemail at (872) 588-8805. We were going to propose something that all groups could participate in and what we ended up producing was what's now known as the gay pride march. Mafia house beer? 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. It was nonsense, it was nonsense, it was all the people there, that were reacting and opposing what was occurring. Before Stonewall, the activists wanted to fit into society and not rock the boat. Doing things like that. And the police escalated their crackdown on bars because of the reelection campaign. People that were involved in it like me referred to it as "The First Run." Because he was homosexual. View in iTunes. I was proud. Dr. Socarides (Archival):Homosexuality is in fact a mental illness which has reached epidemiological proportions. And the rest of your life will be a living hell. We were winning. And I said to myself, "Oh my God, this will not last.". You throw into that, that the Stonewall was raided the previous Tuesday night. Lester Senior Housing Community, Jewish Community Housing Corporation So it was a perfect storm for the police. He said, "Okay, let's go." Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:What was so good about the Stonewall was that you could dance slow there. And I raised my hand at one point and said, "Let's have a protest march." Lauren Noyes. People standing on cars, standing on garbage cans, screaming, yelling. Suzanne Poli Raymond Castro:Incendiary devices were being thrown in I don't think they were Molotov cocktails, but it was just fire being thrown in when the doors got open. John O'Brien:And deep down I believed because I was gay and couldn't speak out for my rights, was probably one of the reasons that I was so active in the Civil Rights Movement. Samual Murkofsky For the first time the next person stood up. It was the only time I was in a gladiatorial sport that I stood up in. Gay bars were to gay people what churches were to blacks in the South. Susan Liberti So I attempted suicide by cutting my wrists. Doug Cramer But, that's when we knew, we were ourselves for the first time. This 19-year-old serviceman left his girlfriend on the beach to go to a men's room in a park nearby where he knew that he could find a homosexual contact. We assembled on Christopher Street at 6th Avenue, to march. She was awarded the first ever Emmy Award for Research for her groundbreaking work on Before Stonewall. And so Howard said, "We've got police press passes upstairs." Barney Karpfinger Martin Boyce:All of a sudden, Miss New Orleans and all people around us started marching step by step and the police started moving back. And I think it's both the alienation, also the oppression that people suffered. They can be anywhere. 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 Dick Leitsch:And so the cops came with these buses, like five buses, and they all were full of tactical police force. I mean you got a major incident going on down there and I didn't see any TV cameras at all. At least if you had press, maybe your head wouldn't get busted. All of this stuff was just erupting like a -- as far as they were considered, like a gigantic boil on the butt of America. Like, "Joe, if you fire your gun without me saying your name and the words 'fire,' you will be walking a beat on Staten Island all alone on a lonely beach for the rest of your police career. And a whole bunch of people who were in the paddy wagon ran out. Before Stonewall (1984) - full transcript 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. John Scagliotti They frequent their own clubs, and bars and coffee houses, where they can escape the disapproving eye of the society that they call straight. Never, never, never. All I knew about was that I heard that there were people down in Times Square who were gay and that's where I went to. They are taught that no man is born homosexual and many psychiatrists now believe that homosexuality begins to form in the first three years of life. Jimmy knew he shouldn't be interested but, well, he was curious. Brief Summary Of The Documentary 'Before Stonewall' | Bartleby Eric Marcus, Recreation Still Photography Martha Shelley:We participated in demonstrations in Philadelphia at Independence Hall. Because its all right in the Village, but the minute we cross 14th street, if there's only ten of us, God knows what's going to happen to us.". John O'Brien:All of a sudden, the police faced something they had never seen before. I was wearing my mother's black and white cocktail dress that was empire-waisted. If you came to a place like New York, you at least had the opportunity of connecting with people, and finding people who didn't care that you were gay. Directors Greta Schiller Robert Rosenberg (co-director) Stars Rita Mae Brown Maua Adele Ajanaku Because to be gay represented to me either very, super effeminate men or older men who hung out in the upper movie theatres on 42nd Street or in the subway T-rooms, who'd be masturbating. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:All of a sudden, in the background I heard some police cars. Pamela Gaudiano (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). They'd think I'm a cop even though I had a big Jew-fro haircut and a big handlebar mustache at the time. Before Stonewall - Trailer - YouTube A New York Police officer grabs a man by the hair as another officer clubs a. They could be judges, lawyers. And when you got a word, the word was homosexuality and you looked it up. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:And they were, they were kids. On this episode, the fight for gay rights before Stonewall. And the harder she fought, the more the cops were beating her up and the madder the crowd got. So in every gay pride parade every year, Stonewall lives. Danny Garvin:It was the perfect time to be in the Village. Except for the few mob-owned bars that allowed some socializing, it was basically for verboten. Before Stonewall (1984) - IMDb For the first time, we weren't letting ourselves be carted off to jails, gay people were actually fighting back just the way people in the peace movement fought back. It won the Best Film Award at the Houston International Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature at Filmex, First Place at the National Educational Film Festival, and Honorable Mention at the Global Village Documentary Festival. Narrated by Rita Mae Brownan acclaimed writer whose 1973 novel Rubyfruit Jungle is a seminal lesbian text, but who is possessed of a painfully grating voiceBefore Stonewall includes vintage news footage that makes it clear that gay men and women lived full, if often difficult, lives long before their personal ambitions (however modest) Narrator (Archival):Sure enough, the following day, when Jimmy finished playing ball, well, the man was there waiting. The award-winning documentary film, Before Stonewall, which was released theatrically and broadcast on PBS television in 1984, explored the history of the lesbian and gay rights movement in the United States prior to 1969. Barak Goodman Jerry Hoose:I was afraid it was over. John O'Brien:Cops got hurt. It meant nothing to us. Stonewall Uprising Program Transcript Slate: In 1969, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois. But I'm wearing this police thing I'm thinking well if they break through I better take it off really quickly but they're gunna come this way and we're going to be backing up and -- who knows what'll happen. A word that would be used in the 1960s for gay men and lesbians. And they started smashing their heads with clubs. A lot of them had been thrown out of their families. The very idea of being out, it was ludicrous. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:There were complaints from people who objected to the wrongful behavior of some gays who would have sex on the street. Richard Enman (Archival):Well, let me say, first of all, what type of laws we are not after, because there has been much to-do that the Society was in favor of the legalization of marriage between homosexuals, and the adoption of children, and such as that, and that is not at all factual at all. Danny Garvin:We had thought of women's rights, we had thought of black rights, all kinds of human rights, but we never thought of gay rights, and whenever we got kicked out of a bar before, we never came together. And the Village has a lot of people with children and they were offended. Martha Shelley:In those days, what they would do, these psychiatrists, is they would try to talk you into being heterosexual. Dana Gaiser The documentary shows how homosexual people enjoyed and shared with each other. I famously used the word "fag" in the lead sentence I said "the forces of faggotry." What Jimmy didn't know is that Ralph was sick. And, you know,The Village Voiceat that point started using the word "gay.". Fred Sargeant:Three articles of clothing had to be of your gender or you would be in violation of that law. That was our world, that block. Slate:The Homosexual(1967), CBS Reports. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:I had a column inThe Village Voicethat ran from '66 all the way through '84. And I just didn't understand that. Fred Sargeant:The effect of the Stonewall riot was to change the direction of the gay movement. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:There were no instructions except: put them out of business. Martin Boyce:In the early 60s, if you would go near Port Authority, there were tons of people coming in. Katrina Heilbroner Everyone from the street kids who were white and black kids from the South. NBC News Archives And we had no right to such. Martha Shelley:Before Stonewall, the homophile movement was essentially the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis and all of these other little gay organizations, some of which were just two people and a mimeograph machine. Alexandra Meryash Nikolchev, On-Line Editors I say, I cannot tell this without tearing up. Virginia Apuzzo: I grew up with that. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:There were gay bars all over town, not just in Greenwich Village. It is usually after the day at the beach that the real crime occurs. Just making their lives miserable for once. Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn has undergone several transformations in the decades since it was the focal point of a three-day riot in 1969. Milestones in the American Gay Rights Movement. It was a way to vent my anger at being repressed. I mean, I came out in Central Park and other places. hide caption. Danny Garvin:Everybody would just freeze or clam up. Daily News Jerry Hoose:And we were going fast. Martin Boyce:You could be beaten, you could have your head smashed in a men's room because you were looking the wrong way. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, we did use the small hoses on the fire extinguishers. "We're not going.". It was fun to see fags. And it's interesting to note how many youngsters we've been seeing in these films. Obama signed the memorandum to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. Before Stonewall (1984) Movie Script | Subs like Script Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:This was the Rosa Parks moment, the time that gay people stood up and said no. Queer was very big. Genre: Documentary, History, Drama. For those kisses. Martha Shelley:If you were in a small town somewhere, everybody knew you and everybody knew what you did and you couldn't have a relationship with a member of your own sex, period. As president of the Mattachine Society in New York, I tried to negotiate with the police and the mayor. David Carter, Author ofStonewall:There was also vigilantism, people were using walkie-talkies to coordinate attacks on gay men. This, to a homosexual, is no choice at all. Interviewer (Archival):Are you a homosexual? The shop had been threatened, we would get hang-up calls, calls where people would curse at us on the phone, we'd had vandalism, windows broken, streams of profanity. You know. Stonewall Tscript | PDF | Homosexuality | Lgbt 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. Danny Garvin 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. And we all relaxed. Martha Shelley:The riot could have been buried, it could have been a few days in the local newspaper and that was that. That's what happened on June 28, but as people were released, the night took an unusual turn when protesters and police clashed. We heard one, then more and more. Before Stonewall pries open the closet door, setting free dramatic stories from the early 1900's onwards of public and private existence as experienced by LGBT Americans. He pulls all his men inside. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:That night I'm in my office, I looked down the street, and I could see the Stonewall sign and I started to see some activity in front. And that's what it was, it was a war. But that's only partially true. In 1924, the first gay rights organization is founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago. If that didn't work, they would do things like aversive conditioning, you know, show you pornography and then give you an electric shock. Windows started to break. You were alone. We were thinking about survival. The men's room was under police surveillance. I wanted to kill those cops for the anger I had in me. Narrator (Archival):Do you want your son enticed into the world of homosexuals, or your daughter lured into lesbianism? MacDonald & Associates John O'Brien:We had no idea we were gonna finish the march. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:And I keep listening and listening and listening, hoping I'm gonna hear sirens any minute and I was very freaked. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:Ed Koch who was a democratic party leader in the Greenwich Village area, was a specific leader of the local forces seeking to clean up the streets. Nobody. And there was like this tension in the air and it just like built and built. John O'Brien:In the Civil Rights Movement, we ran from the police, in the peace movement, we ran from the police. Where did you buy it? We could lose our memory from the beating, we could be in wheelchairs like some were. Documentary | Stonewall Forever So I got into the subway, and on the car was somebody I recognized and he said, "I've never been so scared in my life," and I said, "Well, please let there be more than ten of us, just please let there be more than ten of us. Things were being thrown against the plywood, we piled things up to try to buttress it. Noah Goldman Now, 50 years later, the film is back. America thought we were these homosexual monsters and we were so innocent, and oddly enough, we were so American. Danny Garvin:Bam, bam and bash and then an opening and then whoa. 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. kui It was a real good sound to know that, you know, you had a lot of people out there pulling for you. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, I had to act like I wasn't nervous. They call them hotels, motels, lovers' lanes, drive-in movie theaters, etc. But we had to follow up, we couldn't just let that be a blip that disappeared. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! Doric Wilson And in a sense the Stonewall riots said, "Get off our backs, deliver on the promise." Louis Mandelbaum Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:It was always hands up, what do you want? and someone would say, "Well, they're still fighting the police, let's go," and they went in. John O'Brien:They had increased their raids in the trucks. Meanwhile, there was crowds forming outside the Stonewall, wanting to know what was going on. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:I never bought a drink at the Stonewall. From left: "Before Stonewall" director Greta Schiller, executive producer John Scagliotti and co-director Robert Rosenberg in 1985. Revealing and often humorous, this widely acclaimed film relives the emotionally-charged sparking of today's gay rights movement . And Dick Leitsch, who was the head of the Mattachine Society said, "Who's in favor?" Jerry Hoose:Gay people who had good jobs, who had everything in life to lose, were starting to join in. Atascadero was known in gay circles as the Dachau for queers, and appropriately so. Danny Garvin:There was more anger and more fight the second night. ITN Source The mirrors, all the bottles of liquor, the jukebox, the cigarette machines. (158) 7.5 1 h 26 min 1985 13+. But you live with it, you know, you're used to this, after the third time it happened, or, the third time you heard about it, that's the way the world is. Stacker put together a timeline of LGBTQ+ history leading up to Stonewall, beginning with prehistoric events and ending in the late 1960s. The cops would hide behind the walls of the urinals. And there was tear gas on Saturday night, right in front of the Stonewall. The music was great, cafes were good, you know, the coffee houses were good. Her most recent film, Bones of Contention, premiered in the 2016 Berlin International I mean I'm only 19 and this'll ruin me. When we got dressed for that night, we had cocktails and we put the makeup on. We love to hear from our listeners! Narrator (Archival):We arrested homosexuals who committed their lewd acts in public places. So gay people were being strangled, shot, thrown in the river, blackmailed, fired from jobs. And, I did not like parading around while all of these vacationers were standing there eating ice cream and looking at us like we were critters in a zoo. That's what gave oxygen to the fire. Martin Boyce:And I remember moving into the open space and grabbing onto two of my friends and we started singing and doing a kick line. The Catholic Church, be damned to hell. Many of those activists have since died, but Marcus preserved their voices for his book, titled Making Gay History. John van Hoesen Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. Greg Shea, Legal Transcript Enlarge this image 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. In addition to interviews with activists and scholars, the film includes the reflections of renowned writer Allen Ginsberg. On June 28, 1969, New York City police raided a Greenwich Village gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, setting off a three-day riot that launched the modern American gay rights movement.

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