Happy Pride Anniversary!
Forty-seven years ago today, a bunch of fed-up drag queens, hustlers, and assorted gay misfits at the Stonewall Inn in New York turned the tables on a harassing police raid. That resistance gave rise to a series of riots and ultimately to the birth of the modern gay activist movement. It seems like a long time ago, and things (laws and minds) have changed--MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS NOW THE LAW OF THE LAND!--but we still have a way to go, and a lot more irrational fear, hatred, bigotry, and misconceptions to fight.
But today, we thank the brave men and women at the Stonewall uprising and the ensuing riots for saying, "ENOUGH. I AM A HUMAN BEING AND I DEMAND TO BE TREATED AS ONE!"
While The Stonewall Inn was already part of the city-designated Greenwich Village Historic District, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, it became an official New York City landmark on Tuesday, June 23, 2015 in order to preserve the site and honor its historic importance. Most importantly, on June 24, 2016, the Stonewall Inn was named the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the gay rights movement.
There is a very nice, informative, and moving Wiki entry about the riots and the history leading up them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots
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