Stonewall Riots
(1969)

Despite previous riots taking place, the Stonewall riots are thought to be the first act of queer liberation. The Stonewall Inn was a mafia-run gay bar that saw frequent police raids and arrests when mafia dues were not paid in a timely manner. On this particular June night, when police began their arrests of gender non-conforming patrons, the people outside of the bar began to throw coins at them.

When Transgender woman Sylvia Rivera was jabbed with a police baton for protesting the arrests, she threw a beer bottle. This inspired other patrons to begin throwing bottles, rocks, and other sharp objects as cops beat them in retaliation. When more than 2000 people from the surrounding area joined in, the cops barricaded themselves inside the Stonewall Inn as they called for backup. The door was then broken down by rioters who used a parking meter as a battering ram. Some rioters even threw Molotov cocktails into the bar in order to draw the police out.

This initial protest died down by morning but it inspired protests that took place over the next week. In the wake of the Stonewall Riots, the Gay Liberation Front was created, and cells began to pop up all over the country.