Stonewall Uprising
Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend delves into adjacent queer and queer headlines from the past that deserve a watch or re-watch.
The Required: Stonewall Uprising
As Pride Month winds down and the talk of police brutality continues to grab headlines, all LGBTQ people should revisit a defining chapter in gay and American history. Stonewall Uprising, as the name suggests, chronicles the events of the famous riots that kicked off the modern gay rights movement with towering authority. Co-directors David Heilbroner and Kate Davis interview real riot survivors who recount their own actions on the night of June 28, 1969 and conjure up images of a community in righteous revolt. While other riots and gay rights protests have already taken place, the night of the Stonewall uprising galvanized the community like never before. The line had been drawn, and our people said, “Nothing more. “
Beyond reminding us of the state of LGBTQ culture in the run-up to protests, Stonewall Uprising pays tribute to other major protests by LGBTQ people against police harassment. The film also dispels some of the myths surrounding the riots themselves. Contrary to popular myth, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera did not start the riots, Judy Garland’s death did not spark the protests, and the crowds weren’t made up entirely of whites, men, people. people of color, women, trans people, drag queens, the upper class or the poor. The beauty of the Stonewall Inn, as in New York’s East Village at the time, was that it catered to everyone in the LGBTQ community – a sort of UN for every letter on the spectrum. We feel that this is why that fateful night of 1969 marked a turning point: queer people had finally become a community.
The story of Stonewall is one of a community coming together – uniting against oppression, establishing steps to righteousness and learning to love one another. Pride honors not only today’s active community, but both those who came before us to lead the way to equality, and those who still walk the path. Stonewall Uprising should be mandatory for anyone in the LGBTQ crowd, anyone interested in American civil rights, and anyone who wants to see America’s promise of a more perfect union come true.
Streams on Amazon, YouTube, Kanopy, and PBS.org.
Note: This article contains portions of other articles previously posted here on Queerty.
