For almost half a century the word "Stonewall" has taken on a special meaning in American history. To most, Stonewall symbolizes the event that kick-started the LGBTQ rights movement, encouraged by and joining the other progressive movements of the late 1960s, including the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement, and the Women's Rights Movement. But prior to June 28, 1969, The Stonewall Inn—the setting for the now iconic police altercation—was a gay bar on Christopher Street with two dance floors and a large bar with, "overpriced, watered-down drinks."

Like many New York City gay establishments in the 1950s and 1960s, The Stonewall Inn was operated by the mafia, therefore, it was subjected to numerous police raids. Despite the frequent raids, The Stonewall Inn served as a relatively safe place for the the gay community to gather, considering the state laws at the time, which outlawed any form of outwardly homosexual affection as well as "demanded that a minimum of three pieces of gender appropriate clothing be worn at all time." The fact that the mafia paid off the police prior to raids and the privacy of the club, including blacked-out windows, made this a popular nightspot.

However, on that night of June 28, 1969, it was not the local police but the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which raided The Stonewall for allowing bootlegged liquor. The events that led to the altercation from there differ depending on the witness, but as the raid continued the crowd outside of Stonewall grew and a physical confrontation occurred between the crowd and the federal agency. The momentum from the confrontation continued to build during the following days and it was this event that led to the creation of the Gay Liberation Front and the push for mobilization and LGBTQ activism that has never ceased.

Many scholars in this area make the important point, that although Stonewall was a pivotal point in LGBTQ history, there were significant LGBTQ movements leading up to this event, as well as afterwards. If you are interested in researching LGBTQ history, The New York Public Library provides excellent electronic resources to expand your knowledge. 

ARCHIVES OF SEXUALITY AND GENDER

The Archives of Sexuality and Gender database contains exceptional historical records of LGBTQ political and social organizations, including publications from over 35 countries. What makes this database a real standout is the 51 digitized archival collections, for example, the International Vertical Files from the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, the ACT UP: The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power collection, the LGBTQ Newspapers and Periodicals Collection from the Lesbian Herstory Archives, and The Mattachine Society of New York Records, 1951-1976. The collections in this digital archive are gathered from the most important LGBTQ archives from major research institutions such as, The New York Public Library , the GLBT Historical Society, Lesbian Herstory Educational Foundation, Inc, Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, and the National Library of Medicine.

LGBT LIFE WITH FULL TEXT

Take some time to explore the stellar collection of over 140 full text journals, magazines and regional newspapers, including The Advocate and Lesbian Tide. This database also holds over 160 full text books, as well as reference materials and monographs. In addition to full text materials, there are over 600 indexed items, as well as an LGBT thesaurus.

INDEPENDENT VOICES

 

The Independent Voices database is a collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals from 1951-2016. Each issue is beautifully digitized and full text searchable. Just some of the titles include, the Philadelphia Gay News, Lavender Woman, Tangents and The Furies.

ACLU American Civil Liberties Union Papers 1912-1995

 

According to the ACLU, they took on their first LGBTQ case in 1936. For an in-depth look at the legal history of LGBTQ rights, the American Civil Liberties Union database provides excellent insight on a number of cases.

PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS

Viewing the history of the LGBTQ rights movement through the lens of the mainstream media is a significant research tool, and the New York Public Library provides access to hundreds of digitized, full text newspapers from all over the world, including ProQuest Historical Newspapers, which includes newspapers from all of the major U.S. cities.

ALTERNATIVE PRESS INDEX AND ARCHIVE

The Alternative Press Index and The Alternative Press Archive are indexes that contain over 400,000 records of radical, alternative and left periodicals, including magazine articles, journals, and newspapers from 1969 to the present day.

OTHER RESOURCES TO EXPLORE

Digital Collections: Diana Davies Photographs
Inspired by the enthusiastic response to her photojournalism during NYPL’s Stonewall 50: Love & Resistance exhibition, the Library has added thousands of additional images by Diana Davies to our Digital Collections, including many from the first Pride March. These add under-seen and alternate views of 1960s and 1970s New York LGBTQ activism to the few hundred Davies's prints available online since 2008.

NYC Trans Oral History Project
The New York Public Library has collaborated with the NYC Trans Oral History Project,"to collect, preserve, and share oral histories from our city's transgender and gender non-conforming communities." Listen to these powerful stories that discuss everything from race to dis/ability to housing migration. Listen to the story of Jay Toole, as she describes her experience of queer homelessness and choosing her own queer family.

Making Gay History Podcast
This podcast, produced by Eric Marcus, highlights important voices from all points of LGBTQ history, based on his decades-old recorded interviews housed by The New York Public Library. Through in-depth interviews you can hear the stories from LGBTQ champions, such as Dick Leitsch, Paulette Goodman, and Morris Foote. The New York Public Library is proud to hold many of the archival collections from a number of the podcast guests as well as Eric Marcus, who documented the LGBTQ movement through his writings, public talks, and TV productions.  

More
To further your research on this or any other topic, you can explore our LGBTQ collections here. Also, check out the over 500 online research options available to New York Public Library patrons, many accessible from home with a library card!

SOURCES

Bronski, Michael. Guide , Jun 2009, Vol. 29 Issue 6, p16-19, 4p, 2 Black and White Photographs, LGBT Life with Full Text. Accessed 22 Jun 2018.

Light, Caroline E., and Light. "Stonewall Riots." Encyclopedia of Contemporary LGBTQ Literature of the United States, edited by Emmanuel S. Nelson, Greenwood, 1st edition, 2009. Credo Reference. Accessed 21 Jun. 2018.

"POLICE AGAIN ROUT 'VILLAGE' YOUTHS." New York Times (1923-Current file), Jun 30 1969, p. 22. ProQuest. 25 June 2018 .