In the days following, thousands took to the streets demanding civil rights for LGBT people, protesting “…against centuries of abuse official betrayal of their human rights in virtually all segments of society from government hostility to employment and Housing discrimination, Mafia control of Gay bars, and anti-Homosexual laws”. But, unlike prior raids, people fought back. The Jraid of the Stonewall Inn was like many previous raids instigated on the premise of illegal alcohol sales.
And, not only was homosexuality still illegal at the time, but so was wearing too many “gender-inappropriate” items and masking one’s facial appearance (See: New York Penal Code 240.35, Subsection 4). Until 1966, bars across the country were not legally allowed to serve alcohol to gay patrons, which prompted many establishments-like the mafia-owned Stonewall Inn, a premier NYC gay bar-to operate and serve alcohol without a license. The inaugural event that sparked a movement, originally named “Christopher Street Liberation Day”, brought an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people marching for equality.
The news of the march spread quickly through hand-typed press releases and community fliers. Jmarked the first Pride March on the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan.