Stonewall | Pride | 4

American History Tellers

Wondery

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

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2020

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After a late-night police raid on the Stonewall Inn in June 1969, the LGBTQ community fought back in the streets of Greenwich Village. Suddenly, the LGBTQ rights movement found itself catapulted onto the national stage.

But questions of how radical an approach to take would pit young activists against the pioneers of the 1950s and 1960s. Even with the formation of new organizations like the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance, questions emerged. Would it be better to take part in the political process? Or to stage confrontational “zaps?”

These new groups would soon be engulfed by in-fighting over goals, strategy, membership, and how the LGTBQ rights movement fit into the larger landscape of radical activism. Meanwhile, Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson would form their own group – one that would speak directly to issues facing unhoused people, and the trans community in New York city.

Listen ad-free on Wondery+ here

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, download the app today.
0:07.0	A listener note, this episode contains references to sexual violence and may not be suitable for all listeners.
0:13.0	Imagine this June 28, 1969, a Saturday morning in Greenwich Village. You're climbing the stairs to your apartment, coming back from a run to the bodega for more bandages.
0:33.0	You find your boyfriend, Julio, sitting in a small table by the window.
0:39.0	Hey, what's it like? Cops everywhere? What are you doing? You're not supposed to be up? I couldn't lay in bed anymore, it's giving me a headache.
0:46.0	Julio's old bandage has slipped off his head, exposing a large purple bruise swallowing around his own life.
0:52.0	You have a headache because you got hit in the head.
0:55.0	Last night, the two of you were at the Stonewall Inn when the police raided it.
0:59.0	Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the adrenaline, but you both did something you can barely believe.
1:04.0	You joined others to fight back against the New York City police.
1:08.0	At first, you weren't planning to get physical, but when Julio was hit with a night stick, everything came into sharp focus.
1:14.0	Here, sit still. I've got some fresh bandages for you.
1:18.0	You lean forward, start wrapping Julio's injured head. Julio looks down.
1:23.0	Looks like I've thought all your peas. I'm sorry. It's okay, they'll freeze again. They're just vegetables. I'm more worried about your melon.
1:31.0	Was there anything in the papers? No, not that I saw.
1:34.0	I had this dream that the whole city was covered in cops.
1:37.0	You were out there jumping over barricades and fighting your way through the streets.
1:41.0	Well, no jumping or fighting, everything's normal outside.
1:46.0	Straight people barely have any idea if something happened at all. They're even fixing up the front of the Stonewall.
1:51.0	What? Really? You don't think they're going to open tonight? I thought they were sure they'd like been burned down.
1:57.0	No, it's still there. The guy who works the door sometimes, he was outside hammering away.
2:02.0	All right, there you go. Go to his new. Try and keep this one on, all right? My hero.
	...

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.