The Stonewall Rebellion

The Stonewall Rebellion of 1969 was a series of riots counteracting a violent police raid at Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City, New York. Resulting from the years of mistreatment towards members of the LGBT community, the uprising was a work in progress that would heavily affect the way many viewed the community. The rebellion demonstrated the immense conflict became between the LGBT community and the rest of society and set the stage for future compromises to come in the close to fifty years following the uprising. The Stonewall

Rebellion of 1969 had a significant effects on the United States socially, politically and religiously and was a catalyst for the future of the United States’ Gay Rights Movements.

Background of Mistreatment

However, the end of the 19th century brought new sodomy laws written with homosexuals in mind. These laws prohibited sexual acts in public as well as in the private home of a couple. Police officials were able to use these laws as a way to harass and provoke the emerging LGBT community. As the 20th century progressed, the gay and lesbian community began to grow, creating conflict between the traditional ways of life and the new and urbanized culture. With the end of the 19th century agriculture based economy and infrastructure, the United States’ population ratio of rural to urbanization almost flipped as the amount of people living in urbanized cities sky-rocketed. As cities’ populations rose, the LGBT community did as well. By the mid 20th 3 century, the United States populous were well aware of the homosexual. As laws against the

LGBT community began to emerge, the political, economic and social discrimination increased. As being a part of the LGBT was considered a very negative trait–even considered a mental disorder by professionals in medicine –the living conditions for those who were out

These raids were in search of any illicit behavior that would give police officials reason to detain and arrest gay and lesbians individuals. Police raids included “crack down[s] on prostitution and other organized-crime activities” but were also commonly known for the harassment of customers and arrests of crossdressers. Everyone knew the risks and continued to frequent such establishments as they were the only place of solace for the community. Life of the homosexual in mid 20th century America was rough. Much of the LGBT community was made up of teenagers. “Parents in the old days actually threw their children out with the clothes they were wearing when they found out they were gay.” Rejected as outcasts in a society of prejudice and discrimination against minority groups, suicide and homeless rates ran high in the LGBT community as many felt they had nowhere else to turn to. The gay community seemed to be a lost cause in their fight for equality.

The Stonewall Inn and Mafia Corruption When the Stonewall Inn Restaurant closed after a fire in the mid 1960s, a mafia leader by the name Fat Tony purchased, renovated and turned the space into a gay bar. The