Human rights may seem as a normal thing to those who face no challenges on ensuring that their rights are valued and respected. The Civil Rights Movement that fought for equality of blacks and minority groups with the American whites dominated the 1960s due to its achievements of ending racism in America. The violence and charismatic leaders like Dr. King are national legends due to their influence in the movements. Although such movements dominated the era, discriminated people due to their sexuality saw the beginning of a better future and struggle towards respect of their sexuality (Hall, 2010). The Stonewall Uprising in 1969, provided the most important day of the LGBTQ community. The six-nights demonstrations and violence in a gay and lesbian bar in Greenwich Village, New York, following a usual raid by the police on June 28 th 1969, sparked and changed the LGBTQ community both internationally and in America. Before determining the reasons, the riot is still commemorated and its significance to current LGBTQ community, it is necessary to summarize some of the key issues before the demonstration in Stonewall.
Historical Struggle for the LGBTQ Community in America
The LGBTQ community has always been negatively viewed by the community and the laws that tend to see their sexuality as immoral which can be due to the religious perspective of marriage. The hatred of the LGBTQ community is evident by the brutality they faced mostly from the police and the law. In 1953, President Eisenhower signed an executive order that promoted sexual discrimination as homosexuals as they were known at the time were fired from government positions and were dismissed from the military (Hall, 2010). The suspicion of being gay would lead to loss of job hence the gays and others who had a queer sexual orientation were determined to hide their sexuality due to the harm these suspicions would result into. Prior to the Stonewall Uprising, there were other riots and demonstrations for instance, the Black Cat Raid in Los Angeles in 1967 and the New Year’s Ball Raid in San Francisco, in 1965.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
In all these civil riots, the raids were in bars which would allow the gays, transgender, lesbians, and other LGBTQ pride to reveal their true identity. Past studies demonstrate that those arrested by the police during the raids were beaten for instance, a woman whose spleen was injured during such a raid at a lesbian bar was accused of attacking the police in her bid to avoid arrest. These violence and discriminations aided by politicians and the law that violated the community their rights of choosing or demonstrating their sexual orientations (Hall, 2010). The brutality is shown by the many unlawful arrests, killing, and denial of public services for example, public toilets, bars and other social gatherings leading to their choice of horrible bars with poor sanitation. For instance, the Stonewall Uprising was a liquor joint without running water, had ties with the mafia, and the workers were on drugs.
The Stonewall Riots
At a bar along the Christopher Street, police raided the liquor joint as was the case where they raided the always did monthly. The bar that was characterized by poor sanitation, ties with the mafia, gays, lesbians, homeless teens and other people who had no financial muscle to enjoy a drink elsewhere or were not welcomed in other bars. The Friday June 27 th raid at about 1:20 am hence recorded as 28 th June, police raided the venue to arrest the management of the bar since the bar was unlicensed (Armstrong, & Crage, 2006). They also intended to arrest people with no correct identifications but unlike the usual manner where people tried to escape from being arrested, the people gathered out of the bar following their ejections. The crowd latter started to through coins, bricks, and bottles to the police leading to the police using the bar as place of refuge while the residents of the area formed a crowd (“Stonewall Uprising” 2017).
The Christopher Street being a densely populated area saw the residents block the entire street. The activists such as Rodwell and O’Brien used their influence and radical knowledge to make the moment of opportunity count forever (Armstrong, & Crage, 2006). The Stonewall Inn riot took six nights and received much significance with the increasing number of supporters, or bigger crowds with the media such as the New York Times setting a LGBTQ segment that aired the grievances of the LGBTQ community. The banners and graffiti in the bar became popular and thus leading to the commemoration of the event. The civil rights movements tactics were used in this riot and led to unity of the queer or those with other sexual orientation to unite and fight for their rights (Armstrong, & Crage, 2006). The later movements were based on the principles used in the Stonewall Uprising. The political power gained following the uprising and the high number of people revealing their sexual orientation as evident today. The movement laid the foundation of other stronger movements.
Challenges faced by LGBTQ Community in America
The Stonewall Uprising may have sparked the realization of the constitutional changes that legalize same sex marriages and more people revealing their gay, transgender, lesbian, and other sexual orientations. These achievements tend to hide the real problems facing the LGBTQ community for example, violence and discrimination. The violence is illustrated by the countless murders of people with LGBTQ ties or associations over the last three years (Stack, 2016). The discrimination is also demonstrated by the firing and sexual harassment in jobs and hospitals respectively. Just as the quote that the great Roman empire was not built on a day, compliments the progress sparked by the Stonewall Uprising but there is need to continue educating people and fight for the LGBTQ rights before they are firmly accepted in the community.
References
Armstrong, E., & Crage, S., (2006, October). Movements and Memory: The Making of the Stonewall Myth. American Sociological Review Vol 71, Issue 5, pp. 724 – 751. Retrieved July 13, 2017 from, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/000312240607100502
Hall, S., (2010, September). The American Gay Rights Movement and Patriotic Protest. Journal of the History of Sexuality 19, no. 3: 536-562.
Stack, L., (2016, June 30). The Challenges That Remain for L.G.B.T. People After Marriage Ruling. The New York Times . Retrieved July 14, 2017 from, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/us/the-challenges-that-remain-for-lgbt-people-after-marriage-ruling.html
Stonewall Uprising Retrieved July 14, 2017 from, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhMeFmt51dQ
