Stonewall : the riots that sparked the gay revolution
In 1969, a series of riots over police action at The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New Yprk City's Greenwich Village changed the landscape of the homosexual in society, literally overnight. These riots are widely acknowledged as the 'first shot' that ushered in a previously unimagined era of openness, political action, and massive social change. Coming during a time when lesbians and gays were routinely closeted and in fear of losing their jobs, their apartments, their families and even their freedom, these riots - barely covered in the media at the time - were the spark that led to a new militancy and openness in the gay political movement. David Carter provides an in-depth account of those riots as well as a complete background of the bar, the area in which the riots occurred, and the social, political, and legal climate that led up to those events. Based on over a decade of research, hundreds of interviews, and an exhaustive search of public and private records, Stonewall is the story of one of modern history's most singular events
History
336 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
9780312200251, 9780312342692, 0312200250, 0312342691
54079526
pt. 1. Setting the stage : Greenwich Village, USA ; Oppression, resistance, and everyday life ; On the street ; The Stonewall Inn ; The skull ; Dawn is just breaking
pt. 2. The Stonewall riots : A Friday night out ; "We're taking the place!" ; Lancing the festering wound of anger ; "Christopher Street belongs to the queens!" ; "They've lost that wounded look"
pt. 3. Gay liberation : Seizing the moment ; "We're the gay liberation front!" ; The heroic age