Leaders in LGBTQ History Documentation, Interpretation, and Outreach Create Stonewall 50 Factsheet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Cristiana Peña / Nick Porter
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STONEWALL: RIOT OR UPRISING?
BIRTH OF THE LGBTQ MOVEMENT OR TURNING POINT?

New Factsheet Answers All the Basic Questions about Stonewall as Pride Month and World Pride in NYC Draw Nearer

NEW YORK, NY — Monday, April 15, 2019 — The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, Making Gay History, the New York Public Library, GLSEN, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the Stonewall 50 Consortium announce the release of “Stonewall: The Basics,” a new FAQ-style primer on the historic Stonewall uprising.

“Stonewall: The Basics,” which is co-produced by leaders in LGBTQ history documentation, interpretation, and outreach is an easy-to-understand guide to the people, circumstances, and legacy of the Stonewall uprising, which began in New York City’s Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969.

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, and New York City is set to host World Pride this June,” said Ken Lustbader, co-director of the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. “With millions of people expected to visit the city for Pride month, we’re seizing on this opportunity to provide the most accurate documentation about this history-making event.”

“Stonewall: The Basics” provides answers to fundamental questions such as:

• What is the Stonewall Inn?
• Why was the Stonewall Inn raided by police?
• Who started the confrontation?
• Was Stonewall the start of the LGBTQ civil rights movement?
• Stonewall is a national monument. What does that mean?

“Stonewall, and the people and events surrounding the uprising, have evolved beyond history and fact to legend and myth,” said Eric Marcus, founder and host of the Making Gay History podcast. “‘Stonewall: The Basics’ clarifies the historical record. As interest in people, places, and moments significant to LGBTQ history grows in the run-up to June, this new factsheet will provide a starting point for anyone interested in knowing about Stonewall and the events that helped shape the trajectory of a movement that has spread around the world.”

“Stonewall: The Basics” is available online now as a download-ready PDF through the Stonewall 50 Consortium’s website.

Click here to preview “Stonewall: The Basics.”

“While Stonewall, as a place, looms large in our collective national imaginings, ‘Stonewall: The Basics’ is a tremendous reminder that it is people who make history,” said Eliza Byard, executive director of GLSEN. “The homeless LGBTQ teens, trans women of color, lesbians, drag queens, and more who resisted the police at Stonewall are part of a long legacy of community building, protesting, and history-making individuals who have shaped the LGBTQ movement, and who continue to do so to this very day.”

Additionally, the co-creators of “Stonewall: The Basics” encourage visitors to the Stonewall site to use the excellent self-guided walking tour map (linked below) from the National Parks Conservation Association and the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. Published in 2017 as the first walking tour map dedicated to telling the history of the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the fight for LGBTQ rights, the tour connects the public with nearly 20 historic sites significant to the LGBTQ community, anchored by the Stonewall National Monument in New York’s Greenwich Village. Collectively these sites contribute to the story of the LGBTQ civil rights struggle and the events and social changes that eventually led to the Stonewall uprising and its impact.

Click here to download the self-guided walking tour map.

The Stonewall Basics fact sheet was made possible through the support of the New York Community Trust. “Americans who felt like outsiders elsewhere are drawn to New York, where our diversity has allowed them to find welcoming communities,” says Kerry McCarthy, The New York Community Trust’s vice president for philanthropic initiatives. “We’re working to bring LGBTQ history out of the closet and into the spotlight, because LGBTQ history is New York City’s history and our nation’s history.”

About the Co-Creators

NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project

The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project is a nonprofit cultural initiative and educational resource that is making an invisible history visible by documenting historic and cultural sites associated with the LGBTQ community throughout New York City. For more, visit www.nyclgbtsites.org, or follow on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

Making Gay History

Making Gay History is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing the largely hidden history of the LGBTQ civil rights movement to life through the voices of the people who lived it—principally through the award-winning Making Gay History podcast and LGBTQ-inclusive educational materials. For more, visit www.makinggayhistory.org, or follow on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming, and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library serves more than 18 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org.

GLSEN

GLSEN works to create safe and inclusive schools for all. They envision a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression. Each year, GLSEN programs and resources reach millions of students and educators in K-12 schools, via action at the national, state, and local level. Over nearly three decades of work, GLSEN has improved conditions for LGBTQ students across the United States and launched an international movement to address LGBTQ issues in education and promote respect for all in schools. Find more information on GLSEN’s policy advocacy, student leadership initiatives, school-based programs, research, and professional development for educators at www.glsen.org.

National Parks Conservation Association

Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.3 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s natural, historic, and cultural heritage for future generations. NPCA led the campaign for the Stonewall National Monument. For more information, visit www.npca.org.

Stonewall 50 Consortium

The Stonewall 50 Consortium is an organization that brings together scores of nonprofit institutions and organizations committed to producing programming, exhibitions, and educational materials related to the Stonewall uprising and/or the history of the LGBTQ civil rights movement in the context of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in June 2019. The mission of the consortium includes helping participating institutions and organizations share ideas and best practices, facilitate potential collaborations, coordinate outreach efforts, and avoid scheduling conflicts and duplication of programming. For more information, visit www.stonewall50consortium.org.

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