Stonewall: Writing Us Out of History

We all know the story of Stonewall, of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. But what about the following year, when the first Pride parade was held in 1970 and we were told… "Don’t attend!"

NYC Pride March

NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project

Overview

New York City’s first ever Pride March was held on Sunday, June 28, 1970 (the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprising), and, much to the organizers’ surprise, attracted thousands of participants.

Known at the time as the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, the route began on Washington Place between Sheridan Square and Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village, moved north up Sixth Avenue, and ended with a “Gay-In” in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow.

But there were some who were not invited to march… trans people, butch lesbians, and flaming gays.

They only wanted those who could assimilate into society. They only wanted those who were "respectable" to mainstream America.

"Y'all better quiet down!... You all tell me, go and hide my tail between my legs, from the gay liberation, because you're tired of seeing drag queens and street people... I have been beaten. I have had my nose broken. I have been thrown in jail. I have lost my job. I have lost my apartment for gay liberation, and you all treat me this way? What the fuck's wrong with you all?"

— Sylvia Rivera, June 1973

They tried to shout her down… but she would have none of it. They tried to take the microphone back… but she held on tight. As the National Women’s History Museum notes:

The Stonewall Inn uprising was also a turning point in the visibility of the gay rights movement. The first pride parades started in 1970, but Rivera and other transgender people were discriminated against and discouraged from participating. In 1973, Rivera participated in the Gay Pride Parade but was not allowed to speak, despite the amount of work and advocacy she had done. She grabbed the microphone anyway, telling the spectators and other marchers, “If it wasn’t for the drag queen, there would be no gay liberation movement. We’re the front-liners.” She was booed off the stage.

And now, Trump has had us taken off the National Historical Landmark plaque at Stonewall.

Park Service erases 'transgender' on Stonewall website, uses the term 'LGB' movement

NPR News

Juliana Kim

February 14, 2025

The National Park Service website exploring the history and significance of the Stonewall Uprising has been stripped of any mention of transgender people.

The page was also updated to remove the "T" from the previously used acronym "LGBTQ+" — now, referring to the community as either "LGB" or "LGBQ." References to the word "queer" have also been removed.

When describing the Stonewall Uprising, the website now reads: "Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) person was illegal, but the events at the Stonewall Inn sparked fresh momentum for the LGB civil rights movement!"

Two steps forward, three steps backward.