Stonewall Riots Anniversary Statement

Stonewall was neither the first nor the last time the queer people were harassed by the police. At the Stonewall riots, after months and years of police harassment of queer people and the places they gathered, queer people were not able to tolerate the oppression anymore and fought back. In an era where many bars refused to serve queer people, we found and created our own spaces, and were often forced into bars like The Stonewall Inn, which were affiliated with the mafia, and bribed the police to look the other way. (For more information about the Stonewall rights themselves, The Stonewall Riots by Gayle Pitman explores primary artifacts and eyewitness accounts; for context on the situation in NYC at the time, try George Chauncey's Gay New York; and for a broader perspective on the history, try The Straight State by Margot Canaday.)

Similar protests and riots were taking place across the country, like the Compton Cafeteria Riots, which was also led by trans women and drag queens. (For more info: try this article.) The first Pride marches were inspired, led, and conducted in large part by trans women, and especially trans women of color, because they were so frequently harassed and hurt by both police and ordinary people. Still today, trans women of color, especially Black women, have one of the highest risks of police harassment and brutality.

Stonewall stands for our community's willingness to fight.

To be led by women like Marsha P. Johnson and Silvia Rivera, to let the oppressed shape their own movement. It represents the violence that happens when you push people to a breaking point.

Today marks the fifty second anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, and the fifty first anniversary of the first Pride march. Through this half century our community has suffered and it has succeeded, and above all else continues to fight.

Some days are harder than others. Last week's decision from the Supreme Court, Fulton v. Philadelphia, is frightening for many. States like Florida and Ohio are pushing forward legislation to regulate and erase trans children. Every person of color in our community faces systems that were never designed for their success.

Our community needs to continue to work, and we need help doing it, which is why events like this year's Queer Liberation March and organizations like Lambda Legal are so crucial. We're still resisting, fighting for our rights.

But today, during Pride Month, and on the anniversary of Stonewall especially, I want to take one moment to appreciate how far we have come since Stonewall. Through AIDS and Don't Ask, Don't Tell, our community has kept fighting for visibility, acceptance, and equality. The world we live in now is changing. Twenty years ago, even gay marriage seemed out of reach, let alone a decision like Bostock.

We're not done, and we've lost so many people on the way, but for one minute today, let us appreciate the progress we have made.

And then we keep going.

With Pride,
NYU OUTLaw