Stonewall riots

The Stonewall riots began when police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village in New York City, a common occurrence at a time when homosexuality was widely criminalised. Instead of dispersing, patrons and neighbours resisted, and the confrontation turned into several nights of protest on Christopher Street. Drag queens, lesbians, gay men and transgender people took part, and figures such as Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera are often associated with the events. The riots helped inspire the Gay Liberation Front and the first Pride marches the following year, and they are widely seen as a turning point in the modern LGBT rights movement.

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