Who threw the first brick at Stonewall? “Some say it’s Stormé DeLarverie.” “Marsha P. Johnson.” “Sylvia Rivera.” It was a question that drew attention to LGBT elders being despised – “Did Jason Mraz throw the first brick at Stonewall? [laughter] “Judy Garland threw the first brick.” “Scarlett Johansson.” It turns out to be an inside joke about outspoken ally and queer symbols. Fifty years after police raided the Stonewall Inn and its patrons waged resistance in the streets outside, I still don’t know the answer to this question: Who threw the first brick at Stonewall? What I do know is that I have heard this story many times. The gay rights movement was born in 1969 at a beloved gay bar called the Stonewall Inn. The Stonewall riots began when a drag queen, following the death of Judy Garland, threw a brick at a police officer. The riot culminates with a Rockettes-style match featuring drag queens facing tactical police in riot gear. It’s a beautiful story, but it’s not entirely true. So I gathered some people who were at Stonewall in 1969, some historians who’ve spent years studying LGBT history, and some gay writers to ask them, what’s wrong with this narrative? of Stonewall? They helped me break it down, bit by bit. “It didn’t start at Stonewall.” “Before Stonewall, we had the Daughters of Bilitis. We had the Mattachine Association. ” “There is a dish at Julius.” “And the world movement started in 1897 in Berlin, with the founding of Magnus Hirschfeld, the first gay rights group.” So if gay rights didn’t start at Stonewall, then why does Stonewall matter? “Because it led to the founding of the gay liberation movement.” “The Gay Liberation Front was born from the ashes of Stonewall. The Gay Liberation Front is literally why we have everything we have today.” “They were planning a march on the first anniversary of Stonewall.” “And people forget that there were three pride parades. I was at a store in Los Angeles in 1970. We had a large jar of Vaseline on a float. It’s really a float in your face. ” Great. Now here’s a basic question about Stonewall. Was it a riot? [protesters chanting] “What we did was we cheered and danced in the street. It was not a riot.” “It was just a bunch of loud and boisterous fun until it turned into a riot.” “It’s called a riot, an uprising, a riot.” “I like the word rebellious. It’s not rebellion that overthrows the government, it’s rebellion from within.” Next, is the Stonewall bar as idyllic as some media portray it? “Stonewall Inn is a safe haven for the gay community -” “But it’s a dump.” “It’s a hell hole.” “Dirty. Run down. Mafia run.” “A sleazy Mafia bar, and they spill drinks.” “Drinks were watered.” “There’s a much better bar called Cherry Lane .” “Tenth of Always.” “Cookies.” So the Stonewall Inn is not the only gay bar in New York, nor is it a particularly beloved institution. , let’s talk about the drag queen who started it all. “They say she threw the first shot glasses at Stonewall, and that’s the shot glasses heard around the world.” “One of the legends The nagging conversation about Stonewall is that Marsha threw the first cocktail. Marsha herself said in an interview that I did with Marsha, I didn’t get there until 2.” “I was on the street and I didn’t get to downtown until about 2 o’clock – because by the time I got downtown, the place was on fire and it was a raid.” Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson’s friend and fellow activist career, is also sometimes credited with initiating Stonewall. “Sylvia Rivera is known for throwing the first bottle at the Stonewall Riots.” Sylvia Rivera herself said in 2001 – “I got credit for throwing the first Molotov cocktail, but I always wanted to correct my mistakes. I threw the second one. I don’t throw the first one”. [laughter] First of all, that comment is probably tongue-in-cheek. Second, it is unlikely that the Molotov cocktail was thrown at all. Regardless of what Rivera and Johnson did at Stonewall, their impact on the transgender and gay movement cannot be overstated. “When I see people say Marshall and Sylvia were the ones who threw the first bricks, I want to remember them in a way that feels honest because their legacy goes far beyond that night.” However, there was a gender mismatch that some witnesses say catalyzed Stonewall. “She is very buttery and she is very tough. And the police were rough with her and she really fought back.” “We have four independent accounts that say this woman’s fight with the police was the one that tipped the balance and ended it all.” “She called to the crowd, ‘What are you doing?’ Why are you just standing there? Why don’t you do something? ‘” Some say the woman was Stormé DeLarverie, a lesbian who was working as a security guard at the time. DeLarverie is sometimes credited and sometimes turned down for her role, but so far, there is no convincing evidence as to who exactly that flesh-skinned woman in Stonewall was. And now, ladies and gentlemen – “Judy Garland.” “YES.” Judy Garland’s funeral took place at Campbell Funeral Home the afternoon before the events in Stonewall. “Stonewall’s patrons used their grief over Judy’s death to get up and fight back.” But are the two events related? “The worst question people ask about Stonewall is whether it was caused by Judy Garland’s death.” “If one looks at the accounts published in 1969, there is only one account that mentions Stonewall and Judy Garland, and that account was written by a right-wing journalist to mock the movement.” “You are trivializing our anger and oppression for 2,000 years against a singer.” “So I went to Judy Garland’s funeral and a lot of Stonewall queens came.” “Oh, it’s like Noah Ark — all Judy fans. God bless Judy Garland, but no, she was not the cause of the Stonewall Riots.” “[expletive] no.” So now, let’s talk about that brick. “All anyone wants to say about who was the first brick.” “Who threw the first brick?” “They claimed, I threw the first brick.” “First, it asked , were the bricks thrown?” “Where were those bricks found?” “Apparently, there was a construction site with a pile of bricks.” “I heard that last week.” “They were. Can you show me a picture of that construction site?” usually lined with something” I think I’m a stoner.” So the thrown objects may or may not be bricks, but what? In the midst of the chaos on the streets, do they really form a foothold when facing police in riot gear? “No, there isn’t a hit at Stonewall. There are a lot of kicks in Stonewall. “And I’ll be happy to give you the lyrics.” “It was done to the tune of the ‘Howdy Doody’ theme.” “You’re right.” Okay, so we’ve laid out a framework for what happened at Stonewall that a lot of people have I could almost agree. But why is this important? Why are we holding on to this to death? Because when we talk about what happened at Stonewall 50 years ago, we are also spoke about the issues the LGBT community is still struggling with today – transphobia and racism. color throwing bricks at the police gave me the right to get married.’ I think a lot of people cling to these stories because transgender women of color have often been cast aside.” “I mean, there are a number of individual people of color. But it was not a group of transgender people of color who started the riot. If people start telling stories that aren’t what they are, but they want them to be, then anyone can use that process for any purpose. So I think we need to be consistent with the facts.” “If we are asking our history to be respected, then we must respect it ourselves. You have to apply the same criteria to our history that it’s worth it, it’s accurate, it’s well researched. We should recognize our warts as well as our flowers, as they are. “I mean, I think the erasure of history is real. How do we tell the history of something when our lives aren’t in the archives? To me, fiction? speculation and historical fiction are ways to answer that question, and it doesn’t have to be true to make sense.” “Stonewall was a messy evening. LGBT history is messy. I I think the naming doesn’t detract from the importance of what happened.” “I don’t think anyone threw the first brick at Stonewall.” “And at this point, I don’t care who threw the first brick.” “Oh, I don’t think it matters.” “And it doesn’t matter.” “Like, it doesn’t matter. It’s okay. even if we don’t know.” “If it’s not a brick, it’s a rock. If it’s not a rock, it’s a wallet. If it’s not a wallet, it a shoe If it’s not a shoe, it’s a glass If it’s not a pair of glasses, it’s a dirty look It’s the days before and the years to come.” It’s been 50 years and we still can’t agree on exactly what happened that night, but that’s okay. Stonewall talks about people getting back their own stories from the ones that tell them they’re sick, pitiful, or even non-existent.Part of telling your own story means living openly and partying at parades But it also has It means competing with other people’s versions of the story, even if theirs doesn’t quite match yours. As Chisy Tran said, it can be messy and that’s okay – I like a messy party.
