Stonewall | Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary | 1

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2020

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the summer of 1969, a police raid on the Stonewall Inn sparked a riot on the streets of Greenwich Village. The protest marked a turning point in the gay rights movement. But the famed resistance in New York capped a movement that had been building for nearly two decades in America, as LGBTQ people mobilized to fight widespread and pervasive discrimination.

In the years following World War II, members of the LGBTQ community faced broad discrimination — from strict laws that oppressed them, churches that declared their very existence sinful, and a government that demonized them. They would push back against the American Psychological Association, the FBI and finally, the courts. Slowly, LGBTQ activism would emerge from out of the closet and onto the American scene.

This series follows strands of the gay rights movement in America from 1950 until 1970. But it’s just the beginning of a story about a fight for social and political equality — a battle that’s still being fought today.

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon Music,
0:05.6	download the app today.
0:09.4	Imagine us June 28, 1969, a hot, humid Friday night in New York City.
0:23.8	It's your birthday, and you're waiting to meet a friend at the Stonewall Bar in Greenwich
0:28.0	Village. You're turning 20, and tonight you're celebrating. You head to the bar, and manage
0:33.4	to get the attention of the bartender.
0:35.0	What can I get for you? But we're out of vodka, more so on the way.
0:38.2	To Kiela Soda, double please. You scan the faces in the crowd looking for your friend.
0:43.4	The bar is darkly lit and pretty rough around the edges, drinks are overpriced and watered
0:47.8	down. The windows in the front are all blacked out, the stools, rickety, and the bathrooms
0:52.1	always flooded. But tonight the place is jam-packed, as it always is. It's a Friday night, and
0:57.2	Stonewall is the only gay bar around where dancing is legal. Your friend Maxine finally
1:02.7	arrives, sees you, and pushes her way through the crowd.
1:05.7	Well, look who thinks he's special. I am special. It's my birthday. She envelops you
1:11.1	in a hug.
1:12.1	Your birthday right now? Or yesterday? It's one in the morning. These distinctions matter.
1:16.5	Yesterday, actually. Yesterday.
1:18.8	Maxine is wearing makeup, along with a mini skirt, a peasant blouse and high heels. She
1:23.7	looks terrific. You admire Maxine's bravery. You know she's been beat up more than once.
1:29.0	Dressing like she does is illegal in New York. She's risking a rest, and frankly so are
1:33.9	you. Just by being here in this bar, please keep tabs on all the gay bars in the village.
1:39.1	Do you think the cops will make an appearance tonight? They wouldn't dare. Besides, I wouldn't
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.