When we celebrate Pride, we are commemorating the anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion, a seminal moment in LGBTQ history.
The Stonewall Inn was, at the time, a bar owned by the Genovese crime family in New York City. It lacked fire exits, running water behind the bar, and a liquor license.
Indeed, it only remained open thanks to regular payoffs offered to the New York City Police Department. On June 28, 1969, four plainclothes and two uniformed officers entered the Stonewall Inn, squaring off with some 200 or so patrons in the bar.
The raid soon turned sour, with some customers refusing to go with officers, and others withholding their identification. Onlookers came to the bar as patrons and employees were shuffled into police wagons.