Stonewall Riots – 50th Anniversary
It is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Inn was an illegal gay bar and hang out area run by the mob. On this night when the police led a raid, the patrons and Greenwich Village residents had had enough. The riot lasted six days, and is seen as a turning point in LGBT political activism and the modern fight for Gay Rights. Subsequently a variety of gay rights organizations and news papers starting popping up across the country.
And although this may have kicked off the modern fight for civil rights for the gay community, it did not do the same for the transgender community. This is despite the fact that two well-known participants in the riots were Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. Both were trans women of color and were activists in the gay rights movement as well as fighting for transgender rights.
