Stonewall Uprising

Overview

Stonewall Uprising begins with a general overview of societal attitudes toward homosexuality in 1960s America. Archival footage from locally produced television programs, public service films warning of the "dangers" of homosexuality, an episode of CBS Reports titled "The Homosexuals", and interviews with Stonewall participants and observers Virginia Apuzzo, Martin Boyce, Raymond Castro, Danny Garvin, Jerry Hoose, Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt, Dick Leitsch, John O'Brien, New York Police Department deputy inspector Seymour Pine, Yvonne Ritter, Fred Sargeant, Martha Shelley, Howard Smith, Lucian Truscott, and Doric Wilson present both a national perspective and a personal one. The film also touches on pre-Stonewall activism, including the Annual Reminder pickets held in Philadelphia.

The film then shifts to the days immediately preceding the riot and the specific conditions in New York City, including a raid on the Stonewall Inn that had happened days before the raid that triggered the riot, to explain why conditions were ripe for some action to happen. Archive film from the riots, dramatic re-enactments and eyewitness testimony are presented, along with animation of the streets surrounding the Stonewall Inn showing how rioters were able to evade and outflank responding police.

It concludes with an examination of the aftermath of the rioting, including the energizing of the gay community as a political force and the establishment of Christopher Street Liberation Day, the genesis of gay pride parades in the United States.

Reception

In 2011, Stonewall Uprising received a Peabody Award.

David Mixner, the author, political strategist, civil rights activist and public affairs advisor, wrote on his blog,

...With much surprise, I learned so much new information from this film about the evening (of Stonewall)...Another surprise to me was the broad spectrum of citizens who participated in the riots that extended far beyond the young and drag queens.{{cite web

''American Experience''

Stonewall Uprising was shown on PBS's American Experience series on April 25, 2011, as season 23's episode 10.

The film was released on DVD on April 26, 2011, and the unedited interviews were made accessible in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting in 2018.

Notes

References

1. [https://movies.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/movies/16stone.html?scp=2&sq=stonewall%20uprising&st=cse "June 28, 1969: Turning Point in Gay Rights History"], ''[[New York Times]]''. Retrieved on June 16, 2010.
2. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100621054023/http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-15/film/queens-of-the-night-what-really-happened-at-stonewall "Queens of the Night: What really happened at the Stonewall Inn?"], ''[[Village Voice]]'' film review (June 16–22, 2010, Vol. LV, No. 24). Retrieved June 16, 2010.
3. {{IMDb title. 1562450
4. Wilton, Lisa. [http://www.calgarysun.com/entertainment/columnists/2010/09/02/15219246.html "Witnesses revisit '60s gay rights riots"], ''[[Calgary Sun]]'', September 1, 2010. Accessed September 8, 2010.
5. [http://www.davidcarterauthor.com/home.html/ David Carter] website bio
6. Lionelli, Gary [http://www.garylionelli.com/index/Suburbia.html ''Suburbia'']
7. (April 2011). "Stonewall Uprising: The Year That Changed America - Who was at Stonewall?". PBS.
8. (April 2011). "Stonewall Uprising: The Year That Changed America - Transcript". PBS.
9. "American Experience: "Triangle Fire;" "Freedom Riders;" "Stonewall Uprising"".
10. (April 2011). "Stonewall Uprising: The Year That Changed America". PBS.
11. (26 April 2011). "American Experience: Stonewall Uprising".
12. "Stonewall Uprising Interviews".