Tag Archives: Stonewall Inn

Gay History - August 14, 1961: Police Raid The Tay-Bush Inn in S.F. The Largest Gay Bar Raid in S.F. History

Forgotten Gay History – March 8, 1970: The NYC Snake Pit Bar Raid. 167 Arrested, 1 Critically Wounded

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March 8, 1970:

Many people don’t realize it but the raids on gay bars by the New York City Police Department didn’t end with the Stonewall riots in the summer of 1969. In fact the raids continued, virtually uninterrupted with some continuing on into the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.

On March 8th. 1970 at about 5:00 am in the morning the NYPD once again led by Officer Seymore Pine raided the Snake Pit, an after-hours bar at 211 West 10th. Street in Greenwich Village. Pine showed up with a fleet of police wagons, and arrested all 167 customers mostly all gay men, staff, and owners and took them to the station house, which violated police policy.

One patron, Diego Vinales, panicked. An immigrant from Argentina who was in the country illegally, he feared what would happen to him in the police station and tried to escape by jumping out a second story window. He landed on a fence below, its 14-inch spikes piercing his leg and pelvis. He was not only critically wounded, but was also charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. As paramedics attended to Vinales, a cop told a fireman, “You don’t have to hurry, he’s dead, and if he’s not, he’s not going to live long,”

“You don’t have to hurry, he’s dead, and if he’s not, he’s not going to live long.”

Viñales was eventually cut loose and taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital. he survived after spending weeks in the hospital and when released moved back to Argentina.

The Gay Activist Alliance immediately organized a protest for later that night. A pamphlet publicizing the protest read, “Any way you look at it, Diego Vinales was pushed. We are all being pushed. A march on the Sixth Precinct will take place tonight, March 8, at 9 pm, gathering at Sheridan Square. Anyone who calls himself a human being, who has the guts to stand up to this horror, join us.” 

A silent vigil will occur immediately following the demonstration.” Nearly 500 people showed up for an angry and loud but peaceful protest protest to the precinct station on Charles Street, followed by a vigil at St. Vincent’s hospital where Vinales lay in critical condition.

Rep. Edward Koch, who would later become the Mayor of NYC accused NYPD Commissioner Howard Leary of green-lighting the resumption of raids, harassment, and illegal arrests against the gay community. Both Leary and Seymour Pine was reassigned to the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.

Gay Activists Alliance and Gay Liberation Front quickly assembled a protest march, the results of which demonstrated the strength of the recently formed gay rights organizations and inspired more people to become politically active setting the stage for the first Christopher Street Liberation Day (Pride) March 3 months later on the first anniversary of Stonewall Riots.

Never Forget   

*WARNING:  Graphic image below.

23-year-old Argentinian immigrant, Diego Viñales, apparently got scared and jumped out the precinct window and was impaled on an iron fence.

Man Sentenced to 30 Years In Prison for Threatening To Blow Up The Stonewall Inn

Man Sentenced to 30 MONTHS In Prison for Threatening To Blow Up The Stonewall Inn

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A 74-year-old retired schoolteacher from a New York City was sentenced to 30 months in prison Wednesday for mailing dozens of violent threats to LGBT affiliated individuals, groups and businesses over several years. Including a threat to blow up the historic Stonewall Inn.

Via FOX News: Fehring pleaded guilty in February to mailing threatening communications through the postal service. “We are disappointed in the length of the sentence, but Mr. Fehring is happy to be putting this nightmare behind him,” his attorney, Glenn Obedin, said in an email. “He is deeply remorseful for what occurred, and looks forward to living quietly with his family once he has served his sentence.”

Fehring also threatened to place explosives at 2021 New York City Pride march that would “make the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting look like a cakewalk,” referring to the 2016 attack in which 49 people were killed and dozens wounded at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

“Robert Fehring made heinous threats against members of the LGBTQ community in locations throughout New York, including Suffolk County, for nearly eight years,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said in a statement. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of our department’s Hate Crimes Unit detectives and the diligent work of our law enforcement partners, Fehring is being held accountable for his crimes.”

An FBI search of Fehring’s home last November in Long Island, yielded two loaded shotguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in addition to copies of letters containing threats. Investigators also found a stamped envelope addressed to an LGBT-affiliated attorney containing the remains of a dead bird, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York.

Stonewall Inn Window Smashed With Baseball Bat, Teen Charged

Stonewall Inn Window Smashed With Baseball Bat, Teen Charged

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The Stonewall Inn known to many as the birth of the gay rights movement had its front window smashed in with a baseball bat early Saturday morning, causing over $7,000 worth of damage to the window and the bar’s iconic Stonewall Inn neon sign, according to the NYPD.

William Gomez, 19, was hanging out in the bar with co-workers when he was thrown out of the legendary Christopher St. bar by a bouncer.

Gomez returned with a baseball bat about 4:30 a.m. and smashed the bar’s window with it, punching holes in the glass and damaging the neon sign that sits in the window.

Gomez’s mother, who declined to give her name, told the Daily News her son isn’t gay and his girlfriend is expecting their child soon. She said he went to the bar with a group of co-workers.

She says her son called her Saturday from the 100 Center Street lockup, claiming a bouncer had punched him in the face before he was thrown out of the bar.

“He said that a bodyguard was messing with one of his co-workers and he told him to stop,” she said. “He then thought the conversation was over but at one point he was punched in the face.”

“He’s a quiet boy,” his mother said. “He doesn’t get into trouble.”

Police sources say he has been arrested several times before. He was charged with assault in Brooklyn last year, was accused of criminal impersonation in 2015 and was arrested on a robbery charge in 2014, the sources said.

Gomez has been charged with reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal mischief.

Stonewall Veterans Association Accuse Cynthia Nixon for 'Ripping off gay history' For Campaign Purposes

Stonewall Veterans Association Accuse Cynthia Nixon of ‘Ripping off gay history’ For Campaign Purposes

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The Stonewall Veterans Association, which was formed in the aftermath of the Stonewall riots in 1969 by those who fought and were involved in the 4 nights of rioting are insulted that Cynthia Nixon launched her gubernatorial campaign with a fund-raiser at the Stonewall Inn on Wednesday without any recognition of the history or the group that many say started the fight for our civil rights.

Williamson L. Henderson, the Stonewall Veterans Association director has said that Nixon “Is ripping off gay history to promote herself.”

The group which boasts roughly about 40 surviving members of that historic night has been subbed by Nixon before.  At a  2013 campaign event at the Stonewall she stumped for Mayor de Blasio with a dozen Stonewall vets in the front row.

“It’ll be five years in June, they (Nixon and her companions) were on a little stage that was about 2-feet high for show … they never even acknowledged us,” he said. “She was talking about gay rights, gay pride, and there were a dozen of us there. Fast forward to the other night — she doesn’t invite the Stonewall Veterans?”

Nixon, who was 3 years old at the time, also prides herself as an advocate for LGBT rights and spoke about the challenges LGBT people face under the Trump administration at the fundraiser. “Being queer and being visible has been one of the unexpected joys of my life. And I must say, as a community, we’re at a thorny moment in our LGBTQ journey,” she said. We may have repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and passed marriage equality, but, the sun is not shining equally on all of us. Queer people who are also African-American or Muslim or Latino or working class are being targeted brutally on a daily basis.”

Williamson and the SV’s were further enraged after watching the coverage of Nixon’s event where it was reported supporters who contributed as little as $1 could attend.

Ironically $1 was the same cost of admission to the Stonewall inn in 1969. 

Oh, Miranda.

NYC Police Dept. Apologizes for 1969 Raid at the Stonewall Inn - [VIDEO]

Stage Reading of Stonewall Musical Set for October 16 and 17 in NYC

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Via Playbill:

A new musical about the events leading up to the 1969 police raid on the Stonewall Inn, and the resulting acts of civil resistance that helped launch the modern gay rights movement, will get readings October 16 and 17 at Ripley-Grier Studios in New York City, starring Claybourne Elder, Annie Golden, and Kevin Smith Kirkwood.

Aaron Simon Gross and Rev Yolanda will also be featured in Stonewall: A Rhapsody on Resistance, which has book, music, and lyrics by Dave Bates.

The musical centers on the character of Mark, described as “a newcomer fresh off the bus from Kansas. The regulars at Stonewall might as well be from another planet. But when this ragtag group of hustlers, lovers, and drag queens welcomes him with open arms, Mark discovers a home worth fighting for.”

Golden is the veteran of seven Broadway productions, including The Full Monty and Violet. She plays Norma Romano on the TV series Orange Is the New Black.

 Performances are scheduled for 2 and 6:30 PM October 16, and noon on October 17

Reservations for the readings are being accepted via email at STONEWALL@theatrical.ag or by calling (347) 875-7782.

Google Appoints Right-Wing Extremist Heritage Foundation President To It's Advisory Council

Google Is Donating $1 Million for a Digital Stonewall Inn Memorial. But Will They Use The Correct History?

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A week ahead of the Stonewall Riots’ 48th. anniversary, Google has announced a $1 million donation to the LGBT Community Center of New York to digitize the story of the Stonewall Riots.

Google made the announcement over the weekend, noting that Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, is widely recognized as the birthplace of the modern LGBT rights movement. In 1969, the bar was at the center of riots between bar-goers and police who tried to take them to jail. The riots lasted several days.

“The Stonewall Riots were important to the ongoing road to civil rights for LGBT communities around the world — and their message is as resonant and necessary today as it was back then,” wrote William Floyd, Google’s head of external affairs for New York and California, in a blog post Sunday.

The grant will help fund the Center’s project to record stories from the riots, which will be available in a park across the street from Stonewall as well as online.

“These are the stories of transgender women of color who fought back; of queer youth, many of whom were homeless, who bravely refused to be silenced; of the poorest of the LGBTQ community,” Floyd wrote.

The only problem is that much of the history has been forgotten and distorted over the almost 50 years since the riots began. 

Hundreds of people took part in the three nights of the Stonewall riots.  Black, White, Latino, Youth, Adults, Gay, Lesbian  Bi, and even Straight people. Drag Queens. and cross-dressers also took part. (There were very few transgender individuals in 1969 even in such liberal bastions as Greenwich Village)  Also its has always been a point of contention that Sylvia Rivera and Marsha Johnson was there that night at the beginning of the riot.  Many Stonewall veterans say no.  Marsha Johnson herself is quoted as saying that they were not there at the beginning and that she was uptown getting Rivera who was sleeping on a park bench and that they later joined the melee.  Many verified Stonewall veterans have stated that Rivera and Johnson were not there from the beginning.  The only person who ever said they were there was Rivera herself. And many trans activists who believe and repeat the story not because its the  truth but to further their cause. (To be honest many believe it to be the truth because it has been repeated so much)  But with that being said we cannot discount Rivera and Johnson who are two very important people in LGBT history and their real contributions. Their participation in the three nights of rioting should not be overlooked. But it shouldn’t be embellished either.

Read:  The Real History of the Stonewall Riots by clicking this link and learn more. 

Liberty Counsel Hate Group’s Matt Barber: Trump Won, Lets Demolish The Stonewall Inn

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Liberty Counsel Hate Group's Matt Barber: Trump Won, Lets Demolish The Stonewall Inn
Guuurl. Who are you trying to fool?

Failed boxer, failed insurance agent and current spokesdouche Matt “Bam-Bam” Barber of the anti-gay Liberty Counsel hate group published this today on his very own armature  hate site, BarbWire:

Progressives are ratcheting up their War on America, and as they destroy its history there is an opportunity to strike back by working to dismantle the Stonewall Inn in New York City. Reuters reported on Nov. 19 that Louisville, Ky. began dismantling a Confederate monument for removal to a different location. The dismantling of the monument is part of the progressive campaign to destroy all reminders of the Confederacy. This campaign, in turn, is part of the larger effort to demonize and destroy all of U.S. culture.

Demonizing and destroying American culture includes elevating evil. This is why the Obama regime honored sodomy by designating the Stonewall National Monument in June of this year. Donald Trump should reverse that designation when he becomes president. And while he likely wouldn’t order the subsequent dismantling of the Stonewall Inn, the removal of the national monument designation would open the way for someone else to do so.

There already is a movement urging the incoming Trump administration to undo the Obama regime’s massive land grab. That land grab included designating the Stonewall Inn and many other areas of land as parts of national monuments. There’s no reason those objecting to America honoring sodomy couldn’t join the larger movement to undo all the national monuments Obama designated at large. And if that effort proves successful, it then would make it possible to destroy the Stonewall Inn and wipe out its stain on American history.

Careful Bam Bam,  I’ll cut a bitch.

 

Man Sentenced to 30 Years In Prison for Threatening To Blow Up The Stonewall Inn

Stonewall Inn To Get Historic Landmarks Preservation Plaque, Stonewall Participants Not Invited

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The Stonewall Inn

The  Historic Landmarks Preservation Center’s (HLPC) “cultural medallion program” will today hold a ceremony and place a plaque at the site of the Stonewall Inm to commemorate the Stonewall Rebellion” of 1969 on Tuesday, July 16 at 3 p.m. outside the bar, but the plaque created for the occasion was not reviewed by anyone who participated in the June 1969 uprising nor were any of its veterans invited to speak.

The HLPC’s “cultural medallion program” – by a wealthy Democratic fundraiser, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, a former member of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.  Diamonstein-Spielvogel refused to discuss the event in advance of it or explain why Stonewall veterans were not invited to speak or involved in preparing the plaque’s text.

“It’s outrageous and unacceptable,” said Jerry Hoose, the veteran gay activist who fought every night in the riots –– all four from beginning to end.”

Hoose added, “I’m so tired of that bar being glorified. It was this horrendous place where something great happened.

The idea for a plaque at the Stonewall came from out gay State Senator Brad Hoylman, who represents the Village area where the uprising took place.

“It was obvious to me and others that you could walk right by the site of the rebellion and not know it happened there,” he said. (Despite the huge red neon Stonewall Inn sign in the window and rainbow flag?)

Jim Fouratt, one of the original members of GLF, wrote in an email, “I do not consider the Stonewall Inn a symbol of liberation but one of oppression. It remains in the same ‘family’ that it did in 1969… What needs to be memorialized is the sidewalk and part of Christopher St. that contained the human spark that made a rebellion that has fundamentally changed the lives of lesbian and gay people of all gender expression everywhere.”

Speakers listed in the release today include Jordan Roth, an out gay Broadway producer and NYC Landmarks50 Advisory Committee member; Roberta Kaplan , who successfully argued the challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act’s denial of federal rights to married same-sex couples; Richard Socarides, a White House aide to President Bill Clinton, who signed DOMA into law in 1996 and whose father  Charles Socarides in 1969 was a leader in the field of anti-gay therapy; and historian Martin Duberman, who wrote a 1993 book on the rebellion called “Stonewall.”

None were at Stonewall for the uprising.

Source:  Andy Humm - Gay City News