Beginning of the Stonewall Riots

Date: June 28, 1969 • Location: East Village, United States

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1969–1970.

Stonewall riots begin in New York City, marking the start of the Gay Rights Movement.

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City, U.S. Although the demonstrations were not the first time American LGBTQ people fought back against government-sponsored persecution of sexual minorities, the Stonewall riots marked a new beginning for the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.