BEFORE STONEWALL

Director: Greta Schiller and Robert Rosenberg

1984, 87

Cast: With: Ann Bannon, Martin Duberman, Allen Ginsberg, Barbara Gittings, Harry Hay, Mabel Hampton, Dr. Evelyn Hooker, Frank Kameny, Audre Lorde.

 

Newly restored for the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall! In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting spearheaded by the city’s drag community. With this outpouring of courage and unity the gay liberation movement had begun. Before Stonewall reveals the dramatic story of the public and private existences experienced by LGBTQ Americans since the early 1900’s. Ranging from horrifying to humorous, this groundbreaking movie reveals the once hidden history of homosexuality in America with eye-opening footage and amazing interviews with those who moved our world that much closer to equality for all. A Queer Thursdays presentation.