(June 28, 1969) Series of violent confrontations between police and gay rights activists in New York City.
In response to the second raid in a week by police on the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village that had been selling liquor without a license, about 1,000 transvestites, gays, and lesbians taunted police and threw debris; police responded with violence. Similar riots occurred on succeeding nights and were followed by protest rallies. The event marked the awakening of gay rights organizations throughout the U.S.; it is commemorated annually in Gay and Lesbian Pride Week. In 1999 the U.S. National Park Service placed the Stonewall Inn on the National Register of Historic Places. See also gay rights movement .