The Stonewall Visitors Centers in New York City has been open less than a year. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

At some point, you can’t keep being bullied. At some point, you have to fight back. At some point, you have to say no.

For those in the gay community that day came June 28, 1969. Known as the Stonewall Uprising because of the name of the New York City bar, that show of united defiance to their oppressors was a monumental turning point in the gay rights movement.

Prior to then, it was illegal almost everywhere in the United States to live openly as a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transexual person. Republican President Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 signed an executive order banning homosexuals from federal employment. Until 1973 the American Psychiatric Association considered homosexuality a mental disorder.

Gay marriage became legal in the United States in 2015. Today, that decree is being threatened in state houses, with some Supreme Court justices open to revisiting this right.

Through the Trump administration’s anti-diversity-equity-inclusion stance means the Stonewall website no longer has the word transgender.

Clearly, the fight for the rights of the LGBT community is far from over.

The Stonewall National Monument was designated by President Barack Obama in 2016. The visitors center at the site opened in June 2024.

It’s a testament to how far the gay community has come even though those rights now seem precarious.

Stonewall National Monument is a 7.7-acre site in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

The plaque on the building of the Stonewall Inn, which is a New York historic landmark, says, “The events that began at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 marked a monumental change for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) Americans. Stonewall, which occupied 51-53 Christopher Street, was a gay bar that was raided on June 28, 1969. Patrons and a crowd outside resisted, and confrontations continued over the next few nights in nearby Christopher Park and on adjacent streets. This uprising catalyzed the LGBTQ civil rights movement, resulting in increased visibility for the community that continues to resonate in the struggle for equality.”

A pamphlet from the visitors center still has the T in the text—though guessing the next printing won’t include that letter or what it means.

It says: “Through the 1960s almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) person was a violation of law, rule, or policy. New York City’s prohibitions against homosexual activities were particularly harsh. People were arrested for wearing fewer than three articles of clothing that matched their sex. Serving alcoholic beverages to homosexuals was prohibited. For married men and women who lived homosexual lives in secret, blackmail was a constant threat. Discrimination and fear were tools to isolate people when homosexuality was hidden. After Stonewall, being ‘out and proud’ in numbers was key strategy that strengthened the movement.”

People fought back that June day nearly 56 years ago. But like all marginalized people, the fight must continue until all bigotry is abolished.