Mike Nuget It won the Best Film Award at the Houston International Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature at Filmex, First Place at the National Educational Film Festival, and Honorable Mention at the Global Village Documentary Festival. Fred Sargeant:Things started off small, but there was an energy that began to flow through the crowd. Synopsis. In a spontaneous show of support and frustration, the citys gay community rioted for three nights in the streets, an event that is considered the birth of the modern Gay Rights Movement. Dr. Socarides (Archival):Homosexuality is in fact a mental illness which has reached epidemiological proportions. The most infamous of those institutions was Atascadero, in California. A person marching in a gay rights parade along New York's Fifth Avenue on July 7th, 1979. Jerry Hoose:The open gay people that hung out on the streets were basically the have-nothing-to-lose types, which I was. Quentin Heilbroner It was as if they were identifying a thing. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:This was the Rosa Parks moment, the time that gay people stood up and said no. Jimmy hadn't enjoyed himself so much in a long time. Before Stonewall - Letterboxd In 1969 it was common for police officers to rough up a gay bar and ask for payoffs. Virginia Apuzzo:It was free but not quite free enough for us. Frank Kameny, co-founder of the Mattachine Society, and Shirley Willer, president of the Daughters of Bilitis, spoke to Marcus about being gay before the Stonewall riots happened and what motivated people who were involved in the movement. Eric Marcus, Recreation Still Photography Transcript Enlarge this image To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, activists rode their motorcycles during the city's 1989 gay-pride parade. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, activists rode their motorcycles during the city's 1989 gay-pride parade. That's it. Dick Leitsch:New York State Liquor Authority had a rule that one known homosexual at a licensed premise made the place disorderly, so nobody would set up a place where we could meet because they were afraid that the cops would come in to close it, and that's how the Mafia got into the gay bar business. Calling 'em names, telling 'em how good-looking they were, grabbing their butts. Transcript Aired June 9, 2020 Stonewall Uprising The Year That Changed America Film Description When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of. Marc Aubin It was not a place that, in my life, me and my friends paid much attention to. Saying I don't want to be this way, this is not the life I want. National History Archive, LGBT Community Center And it would take maybe a half hour to clear the place out. Jerry Hoose:I was chased down the street with billy clubs. Paul Bosche Mike Wallace (Archival):Two out of three Americans look upon homosexuals with disgust, discomfort or fear. Fred Sargeant:We knew that they were serving drinks out of vats and buckets of water and believed that there had been some disease that had been passed. I am not alone, there are other people that feel exactly the same way.". This is every year in New York City. Jerry Hoose:Gay people who had good jobs, who had everything in life to lose, were starting to join in. I was in the Navy when I was 17 and it was there that I discovered that I was gay. Liz Davis Martha Shelley:Before Stonewall, the homophile movement was essentially the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis and all of these other little gay organizations, some of which were just two people and a mimeograph machine. Homo, homo was big. And I knew that I was lesbian. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:I had a column inThe Village Voicethat ran from '66 all the way through '84. Virginia Apuzzo: I grew up with that. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:The federal government would fire you, school boards would fire you. And if enough people broke through they would be killed and I would be killed. The documentary "Before Stonewall" was very educational and interesting because it shows a retail group that fought for the right to integrate into the society and was where the homosexual revolution occurred. The events of that night have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement. "Don't fire. But the before section, I really wanted people to have a sense of what it felt like to be gay, lesbian, transgender, before Stonewall and before you have this mass civil rights movement that comes after Stonewall. Brief Summary Of The Documentary 'Before Stonewall' | Bartleby Before Stonewall (1984) - IMDb Janice Flood Richard Enman (Archival):Ye - well, that's yes and no. Ellinor Mitchell That's what happened on June 28, but as people were released, the night took an unusual turn when protesters and police clashed. It was fun to see fags. Geordie, Liam and Theo Gude Martin Boyce:In the early 60s, if you would go near Port Authority, there were tons of people coming in. From left: "Before Stonewall" director Greta Schiller, executive producer John Scagliotti and co-director Robert Rosenberg in 1985. Danny Garvin:People were screaming "pig," "copper." I was proud. And I found them in the movie theatres, sitting there, next to them. And you will be caught, don't think you won't be caught, because this is one thing you cannot get away with. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community Absolutely, and many people who were not lucky, felt the cops. I never believed in that. Martin Boyce:It was another great step forward in the story of human rights, that's what it was. These homosexuals glorify unnatural sex acts. Revisiting 'Before Stonewall' Film for the 50th Anniversary | Time A few of us would get dressed up in skirts and blouses and the guys would all have to wear suits and ties. And so we had to create these spaces, mostly in the trucks. Narrator (Archival):This is one of the county's principal weekend gathering places for homosexuals, both male and female. Dana Gaiser He may appear normal, and it may be too late when you discover he is mentally ill. John O'Brien:I was a poor, young gay person. We could lose our memory from the beating, we could be in wheelchairs like some were. Fred Sargeant:The effect of the Stonewall riot was to change the direction of the gay movement. People could take shots at us. Revisiting the newly restored "Before Stonewall" 35 years after its premiere, Rosenberg said he was once again struck by its "powerful" and "acutely relevant" narrative. I mean does anyone know what that is? Today, that event is seen as the start of the gay civil rights movement, but gay activists and organizations were standing up to harassment and discrimination years before. The events that took place in June 1969 have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement, but that's only partially true. I say, I cannot tell this without tearing up. And it's interesting to note how many youngsters we've been seeing in these films. This Restored Documentary Examines What LGBTQ Lives Were Like Before All of this stuff was just erupting like a -- as far as they were considered, like a gigantic boil on the butt of America. and I didn't see anything but a forest of hands. That this was normal stuff. And you felt bad that you were part of this, when you knew they broke the law, but what kind of law was that? It was narrated by author Rita Mae Brown, directed by Greta Schiller, co-directed by Robert Rosenberg, and co-produced by John Scagliotti and Rosenberg, and Schiller. 'Before Stonewall' Tracks the Pre-Movement Era | International Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:Those of us that were the street kids we didn't think much about the past or the future. And the police escalated their crackdown on bars because of the reelection campaign. Doric Wilson:When I was very young, one of the terms for gay people was twilight people, meaning that we never came out until twilight, 'til it got dark. But it was a refuge, it was a temporary refuge from the street. You knew you could ruin them for life. I really thought that, you know, we did it. The Stonewall riots, as they came to be known, marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States and around the world. David Carter, Author ofStonewall:Most raids by the New York City Police, because they were paid off by the mob, took place on a weeknight, they took place early in the evening, the place would not be crowded. Danny Garvin:We became a people. The film combined personal interviews, snapshots and home movies, together with historical footage. Fred Sargeant:The tactical patrol force on the second night came in even larger numbers, and were much more brutal. For those kisses. Jerry Hoose:I mean the riot squad was used to riots. Dick Leitsch:We wore suits and ties because we wanted people, in the public, who were wearing suits and ties, to identify with us. All I knew about was that I heard that there were people down in Times Square who were gay and that's where I went to. And they wore dark police uniforms and riot helmets and they had billy clubs and they had big plastic shields, like Roman army, and they actually formed a phalanx, and just marched down Christopher Street and kind of pushed us in front of them. They would not always just arrest, they would many times use clubs and beat. Charles Harris, Transcriptions John O'Brien:They had increased their raids in the trucks. And this went on for hours. Before Stonewall 1984 Directed by Greta Schiller, Robert Rosenberg Synopsis New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. Dick Leitsch:Well, gay bars were the social centers of gay life. Yvonne Ritter:And then everybody started to throw pennies like, you know, this is what they were, they were nothing but copper, coppers, that's what they were worth. One of the world's oldest and largest gay pride parades became a victory celebration after New York's historic decision to legalize same-sex marriage. And the Village has a lot of people with children and they were offended. Narrator (Archival):This involves showing the gay man pictures of nude males and shocking him with a strong electric current. John O'Brien:If a gay man is caught by the police and is identified as being involved in what they called lewd, immoral behavior, they would have their person's name, their age and many times their home address listed in the major newspapers. and someone would say, "Well, they're still fighting the police, let's go," and they went in. It was a way to vent my anger at being repressed. All rights reserved. A year earlier, young gays, lesbians and transgender people clashed with police near a bar called The Stonewall Inn. ", Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:And he went to each man and said it by name. The windows were always cloaked. But the . TV Host (Archival):Ladies and gentlemen, the reason for using first names only forthese very, very charming contestants is that right now each one of them is breaking the law. I went in there and they took bats and just busted that place up. That summer, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. Martin Boyce:All of a sudden, Miss New Orleans and all people around us started marching step by step and the police started moving back. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:They were sexual deviates. Getting then in the car, rocking them back and forth. Maureen Jordan Martha Shelley Oh, tell me about your anxiety. And there was like this tension in the air and it just like built and built. I mean, I came out in Central Park and other places. It was the only time I was in a gladiatorial sport that I stood up in. Martin Boyce:There were these two black, like, banjee guys, and they were saying, "What's goin' on man?" Before Stonewall, the activists wanted to fit into society and not rock the boat. We didn't want to come on, you know, wearing fuzzy sweaters and lipstick, you know, and being freaks. It was a down at a heels kind of place, it was a lot of street kids and things like that. John O'Brien:Whenever you see the cops, you would run away from them. Martin Boyce:I wasn't labeled gay, just "different." The New York Times / Redux Pictures That's more an uprising than a riot. Everyone from the street kids who were white and black kids from the South. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:There were no instructions except: put them out of business. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:Saturday night there it was. The scenes were photographed with telescopic lenses. Dick Leitsch:It was an invasion, I mean you felt outraged and stuff like you know what, God, this is America, what's this country come to? It was first released in 1984 with its American premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and its European premiere at the Berlinale, followed by a successful theatrical release in many countries and a national broadcast on PBS. And when you got a word, the word was homosexuality and you looked it up. Narrator (Archival):Richard Enman, president of the Mattachine Society of Florida, whose goal is to legalize homosexuality between consenting adults, was a reluctant participant in tonight's program. And it was fantastic. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:Ed Koch who was a democratic party leader in the Greenwich Village area, was a specific leader of the local forces seeking to clean up the streets. Before Stonewall : Throughline : NPR Dick Leitsch:And that's when you started seeing like, bodies laying on the sidewalk, people bleeding from the head. Geoff Kole June 21, 2019 1:29 PM EDT. They really were objecting to how they were being treated. It must have been terrifying for them. It was done in our little street talk. I had never seen anything like that. This time they said, "We're not going." John O'Brien:We had no idea we were gonna finish the march. Historic Films And as awful as people might think that sounds, it's the way history has always worked. I would get in the back of the car and they would say, "We're going to go see faggots." And here they were lifting things up and fighting them and attacking them and beating them. This was in front of the police. Except for the few mob-owned bars that allowed some socializing, it was basically for verboten. Clever. Read a July 6, 1969excerpt fromTheNew York Daily News. Almost anything you could name. I never saw so many gay people dancing in my life. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:Gay people who were sentenced to medical institutions because they were found to be sexual psychopaths, were subjected sometimes to sterilization, occasionally to castration, sometimes to medical procedures, such as lobotomies, which were felt by some doctors to cure homosexuality and other sexual diseases. Glenn Fukushima And Dick Leitsch, who was the head of the Mattachine Society said, "Who's in favor?" Danny Garvin:With Waverly Street coming in there, West Fourth coming in there, Seventh Avenue coming in there, Christopher Street coming in there, there was no way to contain us. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:But there were little, tiny pin holes in the plywood windows, I'll call them the windows but they were plywood, and we could look out from there and every time I went over and looked out through one of those pin holes where he did, we were shocked at how big the crowd had become. Slate:Perversion for Profit(1965), Citizens for Decency Through Law. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We had maybe six people and by this time there were several thousand outside. Martin Boyce:Oh, Miss New Orleans, she wouldn't be stopped. They were just holding us almost like in a hostage situation where you don't know what's going to happen next. John O'Brien:They went for the head wounds, it wasn't just the back wounds and the leg wounds. BBC Worldwide Americas Before Stonewall was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival. Raymond Castro:New York City subways, parks, public bathrooms, you name it. And a whole bunch of people who were in the paddy wagon ran out. Here are my ID cards, you knew they were phonies. I wanted to kill those cops for the anger I had in me. Before Stonewall | Apple TV A lot of them had been thrown out of their families. Daniel Pine A sickness that was not visible like smallpox, but no less dangerous and contagious. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:The mob raised its hand and said "Oh, we'll volunteer," you know, "We'll set up some gay bars and serve over-priced, watered-down drinks to you guys." Queer was very big. Dick Leitsch:So it was mostly goofing really, basically goofing on them. There may be some here today that will be homosexual in the future. Before Stonewall. So it was a perfect storm for the police. Dana Kirchoff They would bang on the trucks. Robin Haueter American Airlines The lights came on, it's like stop dancing. The Catholic Church, be damned to hell. We were going to propose something that all groups could participate in and what we ended up producing was what's now known as the gay pride march. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We only had about six people altogether from the police department knowing that you had a precinct right nearby that would send assistance. We didn't necessarily know where we were going yet, you know, what organizations we were going to be or how things would go, but we became something I, as a person, could all of a sudden grab onto, that I couldn't grab onto when I'd go to a subway T-room as a kid, or a 42nd street movie theater, you know, or being picked up by some dirty old man. Giles Kotcher Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:It was always hands up, what do you want? If you came to a place like New York, you at least had the opportunity of connecting with people, and finding people who didn't care that you were gay. Jerry Hoose:I remember I was in a paddy wagon one time on the way to jail, we were all locked up together on a chain in the paddy wagon and the paddy wagon stopped for a red light or something and one of the queens said "Oh, this is my stop." (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). Susana Fernandes And in a sense the Stonewall riots said, "Get off our backs, deliver on the promise." And then there were all these priests ranting in church about certain places not to go, so you kind of knew where you could go by what you were told not to do. And all of a sudden, pandemonium broke loose. Doric Wilson:And we were about 100, 120 people and there were people lining the sidewalks ahead of us to watch us go by, gay people, mainly. And Vito and I walked the rest of the whole thing with tears running down our face. And, I did not like parading around while all of these vacationers were standing there eating ice cream and looking at us like we were critters in a zoo. We knew that this was a moment that we didn't want to let slip past, because it was something that we could use to bring more of the groups together. John O'Brien:There was one street called Christopher Street, where actually I could sit and talk to other gay people beyond just having sex. David Huggins Revealing and often humorous, this widely acclaimed film relives the emotionally-charged sparking of today's gay rights movement . Danny Garvin:We had thought of women's rights, we had thought of black rights, all kinds of human rights, but we never thought of gay rights, and whenever we got kicked out of a bar before, we never came together. Martha Shelley:I don't know if you remember the Joan Baez song, "It isn't nice to block the doorway, it isn't nice to go to jail, there're nicer ways to do it but the nice ways always fail." Martha Shelley:The riot could have been buried, it could have been a few days in the local newspaper and that was that. Jorge Garcia-Spitz And they were having a meeting at town hall and there were 400 guys who showed up, and I think a couple of women, talking about these riots, 'cause everybody was really energized and upset and angry about it. Martin Boyce:Well, in the front part of the bar would be like "A" gays, like regular gays, that didn't go in any kind of drag, didn't use the word "she," that type, but they were gay, a hundred percent gay. We assembled on Christopher Street at 6th Avenue, to march. I mean I'm only 19 and this'll ruin me. Martin Boyce:We were like a Hydra. All kinds of designers, boxers, big museum people. Creating the First Visual History of Queer Life Before Stonewall Making a landmark documentary about LGBTQ Americans before 1969 meant digging through countless archives to find traces of. Available on Prime Video, Tubi TV, iTunes. Just let's see if they can. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community In an effort to avoid being anachronistic . Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:The moment you stepped out that door there would be hundreds facing you. He brought in gay-positive materials and placed that in a setting that people could come to and feel comfortable in. Homosexuals do not want that, you might find some fringe character someplace who says that that's what he wants. The ones that came close you could see their faces in rage. archives.nypl.org -- Before Stonewall production files We had been threatened bomb threats. Activists had been working for change long before Stonewall. And gay people were standing around outside and the mood on the street was, "They think that they could disperse us last night and keep us from doing what we want to do, being on the street saying I'm gay and I'm proud? Hugh Bush Other images in this film are either recreations or drawn from events of the time. They pushed everybody like to the back room and slowly asking for IDs.