Stonewall Parade/Spring Break 1999

asheville | gender & sexuality | feature

Tuesday July 10, 2007 22:50

by michael - Ashevilleimc

Riotccordion at riseup dot net

Spring Break 1999

Queers Against Facism

FROM THE NEWSWIRE: July 1st, Asheville’s queers take to the street to the dismay of conservacons in act of remembrance of the Stonewall riots. We gathered in Pritchard Park around 1:00PM, some speakers dazzled the crowd with words and stories, and True Colors was sang with pride. The march consisted of Asheville citizens donning their gayest attire and parading through the streets of downtown. The Stonewall riots are considered to be a giants milestone in queer activism.

July 1st, Asheville’s queers take to the street to the dismay of conservacons in act of remembrance of the Stonewall riots. We gathered in Pritchard Park around 1:00PM, some speakers dazzled the crowd with words and stories, and True Colors was sang with pride. The march consisted of Asheville citizens donning their gayest attire and parading through the streets of downtown. The Stonewall riots are considered to be a giants milestone in queer activism.

I feel a little history lesson is appropriate. The event started on June 28th, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn. The Stonewall Inn was a notoriously gay bar in lower west side Manhattan. The riots began with a police raid on the bar and ended after five days of rioting in New York City. Police raids on “gay” bars happened frequently with dire consequences for the people being arrested. Drag queens and butches were often raped, beaten, and humiliated by police.

On June 28th the mafia run Stonewall Inn was raided by eight police officers forcing the patrons to stop dancing, and made them file into the street for ID checks. They started arresting some of the drag queens and the crowd began yelling and fighting. Different stories exist on how the riot actually erupted, some say it was the bull dykes, or drag queens. No one really knows, but regardless all hell broke loose. After some time the people forced the police back inside the bar and kept them there until back up arrived. The riot was dispersed and 13 people were arrested and a handful of police were inured. The whole thing lasted only 45 minutes but what followed in the days after June 28th was what turned Stonewall into such a gigantic event.

Over the period of four days, thousands of people came out into the streets of West Village in what can’t even be considered a protest. It was more like A war of rage against the oppressive conditions for queers in NYC. In 1969 it was the largest mass movement in LGBTQ community history.

In the following days after rioting, people began organizing and formed new activist groups such as the GLF (Gay Liberation Front), and the GAA (Gay Activists Alliance). Stonewall was a unifying moment for GLBTQ activism. Stonewall was, and obviously is still a rallying point in history.

parade snaking down patton ave.