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The 50th Anniversary of Stonewall

This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of an important moment in the fight for civil rights in the United States.

Neon sign that says The Stonewall Inn.
“New York City Wanderings” by Jason Pier in DC is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

In 1969, the Stonewall Inn, located in Greenwich Village, New York City was known as a safe space for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. In the early morning of Saturday, June 28 of that year, police forcefully raided Stonewall and started making arrests. Fed up with being unfairly targeted, discriminated against, and criminalized, many people at Stonewall that night pushed back against the raid and arrests. The uprising at Stonewall continued locally into the following days, inspired Pride celebrations and parades nationally the following summer and beyond, and energized awareness of and activism for LGBTQ rights. 

We’ve gathered some library resources and other web links in remembrance of this event and all of those who have fought for equal rights and social justice for LGBTQ people before, at, and after Stonewall. 

Films:

Books: 

Current and Archival Periodical Databases:

LGBT Magazine Archive: Archival runs of 26 of the most influential, longest-running serial publications covering LGBT interests. 

Independent Voices: Independent Voices is a digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. 

Additional Web Resources:

Reimi Akin contributed to this post.