It was the Summer of '69...Part 1

It was a year that gave us many memories...especially for those who experienced. In January, the New York Jets led by their confident quarterback, Joe Namath, upset the favored Baltimore Colts in Superbowl III. Richard Nixon was inaugurated as the 37th U.S. President and the man he served under as Vice President during the 1950s, Dwight Eisenhower, passed away. Falling the Jets lead, the New York Mets had their own "New York miracle" defeating another favored Baltimore team, the Orioles, 4 games to 1. However it would be the events of the summer that would define a generation.

Those who grew up during the 1960s experienced quite a bit. They saw the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the two assassinations in 1968of civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. and presidential candidate and brother of JFK, Robert F. Kennedy. And of course the Vietnam War was waging throughout the decade. And the decade would certainly go out with a bang with the events of June,July, and August 1969. On June 28, the Stonewall Riots in New York would launch the gay rights movement in the U.S. Shortly thereafter on July 16 Apollo 11 carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins took off for the moon and arrived there four days later making history. Roughly 3 weeks later on August 9th and 10th, cult leader Charles Mansion and members of "his family" carried out two nights of heinous, unmerciful killings in southern California. And less than a week later, the cultural event of the summer, Woodstock, took place over four days from August 15th to the 18th in upstate New York. These events defined a time of love, peace, anger, and unpredictability. The years have passed, but why have the events of one summer lasted so long? What are their significance to us all these years later? I embark to answer those questions.

Before starting...just for kicks a little music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f06QZCVUHg

The Stonewall Riots (June 28, 1969)

The 1960s created a sense of unease as several individuals were voicing their opinions more than ever before. 1969 would be no different as the beginning of the modern day gay rights movement as we see it today was launched. The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous and violent demonstrations against a police raid that had occurred in the morning hours of June 28th at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in New York City. During the same time that African Americans and other minorities were facing difficulties, the gay and lesbian community was no different to the mistreatments. They faced a legal system that was very anti-homosexual. It was the successes and impacts of the other discriminated groups' movements combined with the neighborhood environment of Greenwich Village that allowed for the right elements to combine to cause the riots. Similarly to those other discriminated groups, very few establishments welcomed openly gay individuals and bars was the usual exception. The Stonewall Inn was one of those places that was open to the gay community and its patrons were a collection of drag queens, transgenders, and gay youth. As was common in the 1960s, police would raid gay bars, but this time officers lost control and the gay community had been pushed once too much. The riots would lead to gay and lesbian organizations forming activist groups, where they would focus on establishing a place where they all could go without the threat of law enforcement officials arresting them.

What came out of the riots and days after June 28, 1969 would be an establishment of organizations for gay rights being founded as well as annual marches and parades within a couple years. Until the Stonewall riots the gay community hadn't had a real voice, but with there "push-back" against police they launched a movement that hasn't looked back and progress continues to be made. Those who were there and those who have been aspired by those individuals there have continued their fight for equal rights, especially when it comes to legalizing same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, despite the progress that came out of the events of that day and days after; we still see the gay community not being fully recognized as human beings. The Stonewall riots truly symbolize a tipping point in the story of the gay community wanting to be just like anyone else and we have seen other incidents since and will continue to see upheaval until we finally act and view everyone as equals.




Less than a month after the Stonewall riots we would witness another event that would shape the summer of 1969...man would go to the moon. TO BE CONTINUED...