On this date in 1969, a rebellion began that unfolded over six days, a landmark in the battle for human freedom and personal autonomy & authenticity.
In the wee hours of June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn, a Mafia-owned gay bar in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village, was raided by police for the umpteenth time. One might say that the mob had a keen business sense in catering to a marginalized population, while paying off the police to turn a blind eye. But on this night, the illegal collusions didn’t seem to matter. The patrons had had enough with routine police brutality. And they fought back. As night turned into day and day turned into night, a tactical police force assembled to quell the violence. Crowds were dispersed with tear gas, and people were beaten with nightsticks.
Over the years, I’ve written extensively about the Stonewall Uprising and the meaning of Pride. I recently saw for the third time a terrific Peabody Award-winning 2010 documentary, “Stonewall Uprising: The Year that Changed America,” which gives voice to the veterans of that day. Their voices endure, even the voice of the policeman who led the initial raid:
Martin Boyce, Stonewall Veteran:
The day after the first riot, when it was all over, and I remember sitting. The 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 streetlamps 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. It was as if an artist had arranged it. It was beautiful. It was like mica. It was like the streets we fought on were strewn with diamonds. It was like a reward. I really thought that, you know, we did it. … It was thrilling. It was the only time I was in a gladiatorial sport. … I stood up. … I was proud. … It was another great step forward in the story of human rights, that’s what it was. And it was those loudest people, the most vulnerable, the most likely to be arrested, were the ones that were doing the real fighting.
Danny Garvin, Stonewall Veteran:
We became something I, as a person, could all of a sudden grab onto. … I had brothers and sisters, which I didn’t have before.
Virginia Apuzzo, activist and former executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, who left a convent in the days after the Stonewall riots:
It’s very American to say, “This is not right.” It’s very American to say, “You promised equality. You promised freedom.” And in a sense, the Stonewall riots said, “Get off our backs. Deliver on the promise.” So, in every gay pride parade, every year, Stonewall lives.
Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector of the NYPD’s Public Morals Division, who led the raid on the Stonewall Inn:
And they were kids, they were kids. You knew you could ruin them for life. And you felt bad that you were part of this, when you knew they broke the law. But what kind of law was that?
NYPD commissioner James P. O’Neil on the fiftieth anniversary of Stonewall:
The actions taken by the N.Y.P.D. were wrong — plain and simple. … I think it would be irresponsible to go through World Pride month, not to speak of the events at the Stonewall Inn in June of 1969. … I do know what happened should not have happened. … The actions and the laws were discriminatory and oppressive, and for that, I apologize.
Fifty-six years ago today, on Sunday, June 28, 1970, the first New York City Pride March took place. It was billed as “Christopher Street Liberation Day” and marked the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. There were delays in getting a parade permit, which the NYPD granted marchers two hours before the event commenced. Starting in Greenwich Village and moving its way up Sixth Avenue toward a rally in Central Park, their ranks swelled from a hundred or so people to thousands more who joined in solidarity. Similar marches took place in Chicago and Los Angeles.
As we approach America 250, it is important to remember that these uprisings, marches, and parades are born of principles articulated in this country’s founding document. Ultimately, people are asserting their right to live their own lives and pursue their own happiness, with their liberties protected. I‘ll have more to say about this in an extensive essay that will be published on July 4, 2026.
Today’s NYC Pride March commemorates the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and of that first parade. The Rainbow Flag flies at the Stonewall again — and in my apartment.
In years past, I’ve posted songs from the Stonewall Jukebox on this date. Today I feature a symbolic song from 1983.
Song of the Day #2324: I Am What I Am, words and music by Jerry Herman, was introduced in the 1983 Broadway musical version of “La Cage aux Folles,” based on the 1973 French play of the same name. That play was adapted for the screen in a 1978 French film (which led to two sequels) and a 1983 American remake (“The Birdcage”), directed by Mike Nichols with a screenplay by Elaine May. More than a decade after the Stonewall Uprising, this song and its bold lyrics became one of many global LGBTQ+ anthems. It has been recorded by many artists, including Gloria Gaynor, who took it to #3 on the Billboard Dance Club chart.
As the lyrics go:
I am what I am. …
It’s my world that I want to take a little pride in.
My world, and it’s not a place I have to hide in. …
I am what I am. And what I am needs no excuses. …
There’s one life, and there’s no return and no deposit.
One life, so it’s time to open up your closet.
Life’s not worth a damn ’til you can say, “Hey world, I am what I am!”
Check out Gaynor’s version as well as an extraordinary live jazz rendition by vocalist Veronica Swift [YouTube links].
Happy Pride!
This essay also appears on Medium.
Notablog 