- Also called:
- Stonewall uprising
- Date:
- June 28, 1969 - July 3, 1969
- Location:
- New York
- New York City
- United States
- Key People:
- Marsha P. Johnson
- On the Web:
- PBS - American Experience - Stonewall Uprising (Oct. 16, 2026)
Stonewall riots
-
What were the Stonewall riots?
The Stonewall riots were a series of confrontations between police and gay rights activists that began outside the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, on June 28, 1969. At the time, homosexual acts were illegal, and gay bars were often raided by police.
During a raid, the crowd outside the Stonewall Inn protested the police actions, leading to a riot involving around 400 people. The riots continued for five days and are seen by many historians as a spontaneous reaction against police harassment and discrimination against sexual minorities.
The Stonewall riots became a symbol of resistance and a catalyst for a new wave of political activism, inspiring the formation of many gay rights organizations. In 2016, the site of the uprising was designated a national monument.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Where did the Stonewall riots take place?
The Stonewall Riots, a series of violent confrontations between police and gay rights activists, began in the early hours of June 28, 1969, outside the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City.
Raids on gay bars were common at the time, but this time, the bar patrons resisted, sparking a riot that continued for five days. The Stonewall Inn did not reopen as a gay bar until the early 1990s. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2000 and became the center of the Stonewall National Monument in 2016. The riots are considered a watershed event that drew together a community that had suffered prejudice and discrimination and became a defining moment for the gay rights movement.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why did the Stonewall riots begin?
The Stonewall Riots, a series of confrontations between police and gay rights activists, began in the early hours of June 28, 1969, outside the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village. Soliciting homosexual relations was illegal in 1969, and gay bars were often raided by police.
During a raid, the police arrested employees for selling alcohol without a license and roughed up many patrons. Unlike in the past, the crowd outside the bar reacted with anger, jeering and throwing debris at the police. The riots continued for five days and are seen by many historians as a spontaneous reaction to constant police harassment and social discrimination. The Stonewall Riots became a uniting force for the gay rights movement.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who were the main people involved in the Stonewall riots?
The Stonewall riots were a series of confrontations between police and gay rights activists outside the Stonewall Inn in New York City in the early hours of June 28, 1969.
Two prominent figures in the riots were Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. After the riots, Johnson and Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) in 1970. STAR provided housing and support for LGBTQ youth living on the streets. Both Johnson and Rivera have become icons in the fight for LGBTQ rights.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did the Stonewall riots affect the LGBTQ community?
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City.
The riots served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement, sparking the formation of many gay rights organizations, such as the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD. They emboldened many homosexuals to identify as gay or lesbian and demand equal treatment in employment, housing, and public policy. The riots also inspired solidarity among homosexual groups and sparked a new generation of political activism, as LGBTQ individuals began to demand acceptance and respect. The riots are now viewed as a key event that transformed the gay rights movement in the United States.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What important changes happened in the United States after the Stonewall riots?
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ+ community in response to a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City.
The Stonewall riots served as a catalyst for a new generation of political activism, sparking the formation of many gay rights organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, and PFLAG. The riots also inspired solidarity among homosexual groups and led to public demonstrations and confrontations with political officials, demanding civil rights for gay individuals.
Furthermore, the event led to policy changes and increased acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2010, the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was repealed, and in 2013, the Supreme Court recognized the right of same-sex couples to marry. In 2016, the site of the Stonewall uprising was designated a national monument.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Stonewall riots, series of violent confrontations that began in the early hours of June 28, 1969, between police and gay rights activists outside the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. As the riots progressed, an international gay rights movement was born.
The riots
In 1969 the solicitation of homosexual relations was an illegal act in New York City (and indeed virtually all other urban centres). Gay bars were places of refuge where gay men and lesbians and other individuals who were considered sexually suspect could socialize in relative safety from public harassment. Many of those bars were, however, subject to regular police harassment.
One such well-known gathering place for young gay men, lesbians, and transgender people was the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, a dark, seedy, crowded bar, reportedly operating without a liquor license. In the early morning hours of Saturday, June 28, 1969, nine policemen entered the Stonewall Inn, arrested the employees for selling alcohol without a license, roughed up many of its patrons, cleared the bar, and—in accordance with a New York criminal statute that authorized the arrest of anyone not wearing at least three articles of gender-appropriate clothing—took several people into custody. It was the third such raid on Greenwich Village gay bars in a short period.
This time the people milling outside the bar did not retreat or scatter as they almost always had in the past. Their anger was apparent and vocal as they watched bar patrons being forced into a police van. They began to jeer at and jostle the police and then threw bottles and debris. Accustomed to more passive behaviour, even from larger gay groups, the policemen called for reinforcements and barricaded themselves inside the bar while some 400 people rioted. The police barricade was repeatedly breached, and the bar was set on fire. Police reinforcements arrived in time to extinguish the flames, and they eventually dispersed the crowd.
The riots outside the Stonewall Inn waxed and waned for the next five days. Many historians characterized the uprising as a spontaneous protest against the perpetual police harassment and social discrimination suffered by a variety of sexual minorities in the 1960s. Although there had been other protests by gay groups, the Stonewall incident was perhaps the first time lesbians, gays, and transgender people saw the value in uniting behind a common cause. Occurring as it did in the context of the civil rights and feminist movements, the Stonewall riots became a galvanizing force.
The legacy of Stonewall
Stonewall soon became a symbol of resistance to social and political discrimination that would inspire solidarity among homosexual groups for decades. Although the Stonewall riots cannot be said to have initiated the gay rights movement as such, it did serve as a catalyst for a new generation of political activism. Older groups such as the Mattachine Society, which was founded in southern California as a discussion group for gay men and had flourished in the 1950s, soon made way for more radical groups such as the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) and the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA). In addition to launching numerous public demonstrations to protest the lack of civil rights for gay individuals, these organizations often resorted to such tactics as public confrontations with political officials and the disruption of public meetings to challenge and to change the mores of the times. Acceptance and respect from the establishment were no longer being humbly requested but angrily and righteously demanded. The broad-based radical activism of many gay men and lesbians in the 1970s eventually set into motion a new, nondiscriminatory trend in government policies and helped educate society regarding this significant minority.
The event sparked the formation of scores of gay rights organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, OutRage! (U.K.-based), GLAAD (formerly Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), PFLAG (formerly Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), and Queer Nation. In 1999 the U.S. National Park Service placed the Stonewall Inn on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 2016 Pres. Barack Obama designated the site of the Stonewall uprising a national monument. The 7.7-acre (3.1-hectare) monument included the Stonewall Inn, Christopher Park, and the surrounding streets and sidewalks. In 2019, shortly before the 50th anniversary of the riots, New York City’s police commissioner, James P. O’Neill, issued an apology on behalf of the police department saying, “The actions taken by the N.Y.P.D. were wrong—plain and simple.”
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
