人兽性交

In every state except Illinois, simply being gay was a crime. At the time, New York City was seen as a relatively safe haven for 人兽性交+ folks across the nation. But law enforcement routinely seized on state laws authorizing the arrest of anyone for 鈥渃rimes against nature鈥� or not wearing at least three articles of gender-appropriate clothing.

The city even made it illegal for licensed bars to serve gay or gender-nonconforming people. The Mafia, seeing a profit in accommodating a shunned clientele, ran several bars that catered specifically to this guarded community. Such was .

Despite Stonewall鈥檚 reputation as a 鈥渘icer鈥� establishment on Christopher Street, the mob-run bar exploited its customers. The drinks were watered down. There was no toilet or even running water 鈥� and no fire exit. But what patrons accepted in exchange was a space for 人兽性交+ people to gather during a time when聽gathering in public was a dangerous proposition.

Stonewall offered dancing and had a bare light bulb that hung from the ceiling and would flash a signal to alert patrons of a police raid, so they could physically separate on the dance floor in hopes of avoiding arrest.

Usually, corrupt cops would tip off Mafia-run bars before a raid occurred 鈥� allowing time to stash alcohol in these and hide other illegal activity.

But the raid that took place in the early morning hours of , was different. There was no tipoff. The arrests were not orderly. People refused to produce IDs. And, the reaction from patrons was not acquiescence.

Invigorated and empowered by the Black Power, anti-war and women鈥檚 liberation movements, the Greenwich Village community had had enough. Instead of running, attempting to escape arrest, a joyous crowd gathered in the street and fought back. Police were forced to seek shelter inside the Inn until backup arrived. What followed were six nights of rioting that would spark a civil rights movement to replace public shame with individual pride.

On the first anniversary of the riots, folks gathered for the first annual Pride to celebrate their identities openly and to formally launch the gay liberation movement.

As the movement grew in the following decades, opposition emerged from the Christian right, giving rise to anti-人兽性交+ hate groups like the and the , whose president, , was聽recently聽 of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Despite the efforts of those groups to vilify 人兽性交+ people, public attitudes toward the community have changed dramatically since Stonewall. And with that change has come steady progress toward equality.

The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental health disorders in 1973. Lambda Legal won the first HIV/AIDS discrimination lawsuit in 1983. The Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act went into effect in 1995. The Supreme Court affirmed marriage equality in 2015. Due to the advocacy of and others, laws banning conversion therapy are sweeping the nation.

has even recently apologized for the 鈥渄iscriminatory and oppressive鈥� laws and enforcement actions of the NYPD.

Though the fight for 人兽性交+ equal rights we owe a great deal of this progress to the courage and determination of these activists.

As we near the 50^th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, we want to specifically name and honor some of the transgender women of color whose contributions to the movement were undervalued for so long: .

This is especially important considering that, if they were alive today, they would be very likely denied the equal rights they fought hard to secure for the entire 人兽性交+ community.

There remains rampant discrimination against cisgender people of all non-hetero sexual orientations and people of gender identities and expressions that veer from expectations based on the gender assigned at birth. housing or employment discrimination, which is particularly pervasive in the . Moreover, 鈥渓icense to discriminate鈥� bills and policies have been given new momentum by the Trump administration鈥檚 glaring on 人兽性交+ rights and legal protections.

However, transgender women of color still face some of the highest levels of discrimination and in the nation. Among the transgender population, trans women of color experience disproportionately high rates of poverty, and employment discrimination. Many face abysmal .

Between 2014 and 2018, at least were murdered in the United States. Of those, 110 were people of color. So far this year, 10 transgender people have been 鈥� all of them black women.

It is also likely that violence against trans women of color is underreported, as a full when interacting with police, including purposefully misgendering them.

And, the 人兽性交+ movement itself has struggled with , failing sometimes to recognize that many who identify as 人兽性交+ are also marginalized by multiple other systems of oppression 鈥� such as white supremacy, wealth inequality and ableism. Some within the community have also been , themselves perpetuating harmful myths and fueling transphobia.聽

This Pride Month, we celebrate the progress made while also acknowledging that there is still much work to do in the fight for equal rights. Let us make visible the important contributions of women like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera as well as the unchecked violence that still plagues women like them.聽

The Editors

P.S. Here are some other pieces we think are valuable this week:

• 听蹿谤辞尘 The New York Times
• 听蹿谤辞尘 Reveal News
• 听蹿谤辞尘 National Geographic
• 听蹿谤辞尘 The New York Times

人兽性交's Weekend Reads are a weekly summary of the most important reporting and commentary from around the country on civil rights, economic and racial inequity, and hate and extremism. Sign up to receive Weekend Reads every Saturday morning.

Photo by Diana Davies, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library