The Stonewall Riots Analysis

The Stonewall riots became a symbolic call to arms for many, it was gays and lesbians literally fighting back. After the riots many gay rights groups found new hope in gaining rights. New ideas, tactics, events and organizations were all a result of the riots.

Shortly after the Stonewall Riots, it was time for the Annual Reminder, a picket in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. This year seventy-five picketers showed up, their biggest turn out yet. The picket started out like the previous ones; the protesters marching silently in a single file line holding their signs. But two young women held hands, something they were forbidden to do by longtime leader, Frank Kameny. Craig Rodwell, another activist, became angered at Frank for not allowing the women to hold hands. He believed that a new day called for new tactics, a lot had changed since the first picket and much had changed in the past week alone.

Rodwell urged other couples to hold hands and he told two journalist in a passionate outburst about what Stonewall and what it meant. He said that gay people had the right to do all of the things a straight person could do, and that included holding hands in public. On his way home Rodwell came to the conclusion that, they just held the last Annual Reminder. He decided that they needed another event to commemorate the Stonewall riots and embrace gay activism. This idea became the Christopher Street Liberation Day.

Mattachine, an activist group in New York, called for a meeting July 16 to organize around gay liberation. Dick Leitsch, an old time leader, tried to lead the meeting. “ Acceptance of gays and lesbians would take time,” he explained, but one young man shouted, “we don't want acceptance, we have got to radi...

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...dentity. Only 17 states allow gay couples to adopt. LGBTQ youth face many struggles. Many LGBTQ students do not have the support they need and are four times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual youth according to a survey done in 2006. Organizations have been created to support LGBTQ youth and the struggles they face. Since the Stonewall riots in 1969, the gay community has come a long way since, but there are still many obstacles to overcome.

Works Cited

"HISTORY." The Stonewall Inn. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. .

Kuhn, Betsy. Gay Power!: The Stonewall Riots and the Gay Rights Movement, 1969. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century, 2011. Print.

Stonewall Uprising. N.d. PBS. PBS. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

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