before stonewall documentary transcript
Don't fire until I fire. Dick Leitsch:We wore suits and ties because we wanted people, in the public, who were wearing suits and ties, to identify with us. There was at least one gay bar that was run just as a hustler bar for straight gay married men. The men's room was under police surveillance. David Carter, Author ofStonewall:Most raids by the New York City Police, because they were paid off by the mob, took place on a weeknight, they took place early in the evening, the place would not be crowded. Dana Kirchoff You were alone. More than a half-century after its release, " The Queen " serves as a powerful time capsule of queer life as it existed before the 1969 Stonewall uprising. John van Hoesen I mean it didn't stop after that. A CBS news public opinion survey indicates that sentiment is against permitting homosexual relationships between consenting adults without legal punishment. Barney Karpfinger Many of those activists have since died, but Marcus preserved their voices for his book, titled Making Gay History. Dick Leitsch:It was an invasion, I mean you felt outraged and stuff like you know what, God, this is America, what's this country come to? He said, "Okay, let's go." John O'Brien:Cops got hurt. You cut one head off. You know, Howard's concern was and my concern was that if all hell broke loose, they'd just start busting heads. (c) 2011 And Howard said, "Boy there's like a riot gonna happen here," and I said, "yeah." I never saw so many gay people dancing in my life. Homo, homo was big. Jorge Garcia-Spitz National Archives and Records Administration Jimmy knew he shouldn't be interested but, well, he was curious. Cop (Archival):Anyone can walk into that men's room, any child can walk in there, and see what you guys were doing. A sickness that was not visible like smallpox, but no less dangerous and contagious. But it was a refuge, it was a temporary refuge from the street. A year earlier, young gays, lesbians and transgender people clashed with police near a bar called The Stonewall Inn. It was a real good sound to know that, you know, you had a lot of people out there pulling for you. Not even us. The mayor of New York City, the police commissioner, were under pressure to clean up the streets of any kind of quote unquote "weirdness." Katrina Heilbroner William Eskridge, Professor of Law: The 1960s were dark ages for lesbians and gay men all over America. The severity of the punishment varies from state to state. We were winning. Before Stonewall. People that were involved in it like me referred to it as "The First Run." There are a lot of kids here. New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt We heard one, then more and more. Interviewer (Archival):What type of laws are you after? Martha Shelley Alexis Charizopolis Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:All of a sudden, in the background I heard some police cars. Danny Garvin:Bam, bam and bash and then an opening and then whoa. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:There were no instructions except: put them out of business. TV Host (Archival):Are those your own eyelashes? It was first released in 1984 with its American premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and its European premiere at the Berlinale, followed by a successful theatrical release in many countries and a national broadcast on PBS. Mayor John Lindsay, like most mayors, wanted to get re-elected. A medievalist. This book, and the related documentary film, use oral histories to present students with a varied view of lesbian and gay experience. That night, we printed a box, we had 5,000. Alexis Charizopolis Read a July 6, 1969excerpt fromTheNew York Daily News. But we went down to the trucks and there, people would have sex. Cause I was from the streets. Transcript A gay rights march in New York in favor of the 1968 Civil Rights Act being amended to include gay rights. David Carter John O'Brien:I was with a group that we actually took a parking meter out of theground, three or four people, and we used it as a battering ram. Corbis William Eskridge, Professor of Law:The federal government would fire you, school boards would fire you. Marcus spoke with NPR's Ari Shapiro about his conversations with leaders of the gay-rights movement, as well as people who were at Stonewall when the riots broke out. I didn't think I could have been any prettier than that night. Hugh Bush They'd think I'm a cop even though I had a big Jew-fro haircut and a big handlebar mustache at the time. It's a history that people feel a huge sense of ownership over. That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. Evan Eames And here they were lifting things up and fighting them and attacking them and beating them. It's not my cup of tea. Giles Kotcher First you gotta get past the door. It's very American to say, "You promised equality, you promised freedom." Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:If someone was dressed as a woman, you had to have a female police officer go in with her. I told the person at the door, I said "I'm 18 tonight" and he said to me, "you little SOB," he said. We did use humor to cover pain, frustration, anger. J. Michael Grey Then the cops come up and make use of what used to be called the bubble-gum machine, back then a cop car only had one light on the top that spun around. You gotta remember, the Stonewall bar was just down the street from there. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:A rather tough lesbian was busted in the bar and when she came out of the bar she was fighting the cops and trying to get away. John O'Brien:And deep down I believed because I was gay and couldn't speak out for my rights, was probably one of the reasons that I was so active in the Civil Rights Movement. This is one thing that if you don't get caught by us, you'll be caught by yourself. Former U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with gay rights activist Frank Kameny after signing a memorandum on federal benefits and non-discrimination in the Oval Office on June 17, 2009. This was a highly unusual raid, going in there in the middle of the night with a full crowd, the Mafia hasn't been alerted, the Sixth Precinct hasn't been alerted. She was awarded the first ever Emmy Award for Research for her groundbreaking work on Before Stonewall. John O'Brien:It was definitely dark, it was definitely smelly and raunchy and dirty and that's the only places that we had to meet each other, was in the very dirty, despicable places. We ought to know, we've arrested all of them. I mean I'm talking like sardines. There may be some girls here who will turn lesbian. Eric Marcus, Recreation Still Photography Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:What was so good about the Stonewall was that you could dance slow there. Yvonne Ritter:I had just turned 18 on June 27, 1969. Newly restored for the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Before Stonewall pries open the . And a whole bunch of people who were in the paddy wagon ran out. Colonial House And the Village has a lot of people with children and they were offended. So I run down there. Today, that event is seen as the start of the gay civil rights movement, but gay activists and organizations were standing up to harassment and discrimination years before. When we got dressed for that night, we had cocktails and we put the makeup on. It was a 100% profit, I mean they were stealing the liquor, then watering it down, and they charging twice as much as they charged one door away at the 55. "You could have got us in a lot of trouble, you could have got us closed up." Leaflets in the 60s were like the internet, today. Before Stonewall - Trailer BuskFilms 12.6K subscribers Subscribe 14K views 10 years ago Watch the full film here (UK & IRE only): http://buskfilms.com/films/before-sto. Here are my ID cards, you knew they were phonies. 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. Fred Sargeant:Things started off small, but there was an energy that began to flow through the crowd. Martin Boyce:I heard about the trucks, which to me was fascinated me, you know, it had an imagination thing that was like Marseilles, how can it only be a few blocks away? That's what gave oxygen to the fire. And if enough people broke through they would be killed and I would be killed. We went, "Oh my God. But I'm wearing this police thing I'm thinking well if they break through I better take it off really quickly but they're gunna come this way and we're going to be backing up and -- who knows what'll happen. That was scary, very scary. And it was fantastic. America thought we were these homosexual monsters and we were so innocent, and oddly enough, we were so American. Dick Leitsch:And I remember it being a clear evening with a big black sky and the biggest white moon I ever saw. The newly restored 1984 documentary "Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community," re-released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the seminal Stonewall riots, remains a . They would bang on the trucks. Ed Koch, mayorof New York City from1978 to 1989, discussesgay civil rights in New York in the 1960s. I met this guy and I broke down crying in his arms. Martha Shelley:In those days, what they would do, these psychiatrists, is they would try to talk you into being heterosexual. Vanessa Ezersky On June 28, 1969, New York City police raided a Greenwich Village gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, setting off a three-day riot that launched the modern American gay rights movement. And that crowd between Howard Johnson's and Mama's Chik-n-Rib was like the basic crowd of the gay community at that time in the Village. The events that took place in June 1969 have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement, but that's only partially true. Fred Sargeant:Three articles of clothing had to be of your gender or you would be in violation of that law. Danny Garvin:We had thought of women's rights, we had thought of black rights, all kinds of human rights, but we never thought of gay rights, and whenever we got kicked out of a bar before, we never came together. And the Stonewall was part of that system. But we had to follow up, we couldn't just let that be a blip that disappeared. But everybody knew it wasn't normal stuff and everyone was on edge and that was the worst part of it because you knew they were on edge and you knew that the first shot that was fired meant all the shots would be fired. Yvonne Ritter:I did try to get out of the bar and I thought that there might be a way out through one of the bathrooms. Raymond Castro:I'd go in there and I would look and I would just cringe because, you know, people would start touching me, and "Hello, what are you doing there if you don't want to be touched?" Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:The Stonewall, they didn't have a liquor license and they were raided by the cops regularly and there were pay-offs to the cops, it was awful. And there, we weren't allowed to be alone, the police would raid us still. This 19-year-old serviceman left his girlfriend on the beach to go to a men's room in a park nearby where he knew that he could find a homosexual contact. You know, all of a sudden, I had brothers and sisters, you know, which I didn't have before. What Jimmy didn't know is that Ralph was sick. You know, it's just, everybody was there. And I said to myself, "Oh my God, this will not last.". Martin Boyce:For me, there was no bar like the Stonewall, because the Stonewall was like the watering hole on the savannah. All the rules were off in the '60s. TV Host (Archival):And Sonia is that your own hair? In 1969 it was common for police officers to rough up a gay bar and ask for payoffs. The award-winning documentary film, Before Stonewall, which was released theatrically and broadcast on PBS television in 1984, explored the history of the lesbian and gay rights movement in the United States prior to 1969. Raymond Castro:So finally when they started taking me out, arm in arm up to the paddy wagon, I jumped up and I put one foot on one side, one foot on the other and I sprung back, knocking the two arresting officers, knocking them to the ground. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:Well, we did use the small hoses on the fire extinguishers. I mean, I came out in Central Park and other places. A few of us would get dressed up in skirts and blouses and the guys would all have to wear suits and ties. Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution David Huggins Fred Sargeant:The tactical patrol force on the second night came in even larger numbers, and were much more brutal. Absolutely, and many people who were not lucky, felt the cops. Virginia Apuzzo:It was free but not quite free enough for us. Danny Garvin Martha Shelley:Before Stonewall, the homophile movement was essentially the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis and all of these other little gay organizations, some of which were just two people and a mimeograph machine. Fifty years ago, a gay bar in New York City called The Stonewall Inn was raided by police, and what followed were days of rebellion where protesters and police clashed. He may appear normal, and it may be too late when you discover he is mentally ill. John O'Brien:I was a poor, young gay person. So it was a perfect storm for the police. From left: "Before Stonewall" director Greta Schiller, executive producer John Scagliotti and co-director Robert Rosenberg in 1985. But as we were going up 6th Avenue, it kept growing. They'd go into the bathroom or any place that was private, that they could either feel them, or check them visually. Martha Babcock Saying I don't want to be this way, this is not the life I want. Things were being thrown against the plywood, we piled things up to try to buttress it. We love to hear from our listeners! Bettye Lane John O'Brien:I was very anti-police, had many years already of activism against the forces of law and order. If that didn't work, they would do things like aversive conditioning, you know, show you pornography and then give you an electric shock. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:It was getting worse and worse. They would not always just arrest, they would many times use clubs and beat. And, I did not like parading around while all of these vacationers were standing there eating ice cream and looking at us like we were critters in a zoo. So I got into the subway, and on the car was somebody I recognized and he said, "I've never been so scared in my life," and I said, "Well, please let there be more than ten of us, just please let there be more than ten of us. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:Ed Koch who was a democratic party leader in the Greenwich Village area, was a specific leader of the local forces seeking to clean up the streets. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:At the peak, as many as 500 people per year were arrested for the crime against nature, and between 3- and 5,000 people per year arrested for various solicitation or loitering crimes. We had no speakers planned for the rally in Central Park, where we had hoped to get to. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:They started busting cans of tear gas. The events of that night have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement. John O'Brien:There was one street called Christopher Street, where actually I could sit and talk to other gay people beyond just having sex. That's more an uprising than a riot. The only faces you will see are those of the arresting officers. Now, 50 years later, the film is back. Suzanne Poli Alfredo del Rio, Archival Still and Motion Images Courtesy of It was as if they were identifying a thing. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:This was the Rosa Parks moment, the time that gay people stood up and said no. and I didn't see anything but a forest of hands. NBC News Archives The film combined personal interviews, snapshots and home movies, together with historical footage. You see these cops, like six or eight cops in drag. ", Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:And he went to each man and said it by name. They raided the Checkerboard, which was a very popular gay bar, a week before the Stonewall. Jerry Hoose:I was chased down the street with billy clubs. But it's serious, don't kid yourselves about it. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:The moment you stepped out that door there would be hundreds facing you. That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. Jay Fialkov Mike Nuget Liz Davis This was the first time I could actually sense, not only see them fearful, I could sense them fearful. Historic Films They could be judges, lawyers. In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city's LGBT community. We were thinking about survival. The events. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, activists rode their motorcycles during the city's 1989 gay-pride parade.
