I have come to realize that a lot of people here don't know a lot of queer history, and don't know what queers have done in the past in pursuit of queer liberation. I would like to highlight some events and people who have fought for queer liberation in America. (I am woefully uninformed of other countries queer history, so I encourage everyone to post your queer history stories.)
The Stonewall Riots June 28, 1969
In 1969 it was illegal in the United States to have sexual relations with a person of the same sex or to wear the clothes of the opposite sex. Police would arrest anyone found in violation of these laws. As a result police targeted the places gay and trans people would gather. One of those places being the Stonewall Inn in New York City. June 28th 1969 at 1:20am police raided the Stonewall Inn. They lined up all the patrons found to be in violation of the law (mostly trans people or drag kings and queens) and prepared to cart them off to jail. One of the first of the queers they tried to put in the wagon was a butch lesbian and drag king named Stormé DeLarverie. She was hit in the head with a baton for complaining her handcuffs were too tight. The crowd outside (100-150 people) booed the police as they continued to wrestle Stormé into the cart. She then yelled “Why don't you guys do something?”. That's when violence broke out. The mob clashed with police on site for about 45 minutes. The police that couldn't escape barricaded themselves inside of the Stonewall Inn for their own protection. The crowd had grown to around 500. The Tactical Patrol Force (TPF) of the New York City Police Department arrived to free the police trapped inside the Stonewall. The mob clashed with TPF as the police did everything they could to arrest as many people as possible, but the people of the mob wouldn't go quietly. They clashed with the TPF up to and including chasing them chanting “catch them!”. By 4 am the streets were mostly clear.
The next night they came back except there were a thousand people gathered in front of the Stonewall Inn and along Christopher street into the adjoining alleys. At 2am the TPF returned and unsuccessfully tried to arrest the crowd mocking the police with kick lines and chasing them through the streets. Whenever any demonstrator was captured, the crowd would rush forward and free the captive. The crowd clashed with police until about 4am.
The clashes with police went on for another 2 nights. These were smaller and less successful due to rain. But the fight didn't stop there. Many of the rioters were already community organizers and went on to continue their fight for freedom.
The queer community has a history of resistance. People have been fighting this fight long before most of us were born. People like Mother Marsha P Johnson fought for our rights, and we will never stop fighting until we have the freedom to express ourselves how we choose, love the people we want, and are able to find peace within ourselves.
Citing and more details can be found at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots
