Stonewall is a book that should—no, must—be read by all gay people. It is a history of the events of the gay rights movement seen through the perspective of six of the many influential activists of the turbulent ’60s and ’70s. The structure of the narrative is unusual: it traces the personal stories of three gay men and three gay women from their respective childhoods (Part One, Growing Up) through Young Adulthood, The Early ’60s, The Mid ’60s, The Late ’60s, 1969, and Post-Stonewall: 1969-70. The book concludes with a brief “where are they now” Epilogue:1993.
The book first and foremost is a social history. As such it lends itself to reading in sections. Some have chosen to read it by following one character through the seven parts, others, more traditional, followed the action as ordered by the author. Unlike fictional work where “truth” is revealed from the viewpoint of the novelist, or memoirs where past events are seen through the biases of the rememberer, Stonewall delivers a perspective as broad as the six figures it follows with appropriate screening from the historian (as is to be expected).
The scholarship is first rate. The notes are appended, rather than at the foot of the page. They enlighten and supply specifics without bogging down the reader who may be more interested in the historical happenings and less in the details. It is good that these were included for those with a pedantic bent.
In 1969 this reviewer was living in Manhattan in a straight relationship and working as a probation officer. This book therefore has particular significance for me. The bulk of Stonewall chronicles the events of the ’60s from the gay perspecitve as it should. But for the larger society, including many homosexual men and women, multiple world-shaping things were happening and it seemed like major events were piling up, one on the other, before we could absorb the significance of any one of them.
The baby-boomers, largely responsible for the major events of the second half of the 20th century, were at their most rebellious age, late teens and early twenties. The federal government had mired itself down in the vastly unpopular war in Vietnam, and social pressures to end the war and to change society were everywhere. As the war dragged on and the major news media reported casualty figures daily, mainstream America was wearied and divided across generational lines. In March 1968, a young, ill-trained Lieutenant, William Calley, was reported to have massacred many Vietnamese women and children at Mylai. Drugs were everwhere and drug use was no longer restricted to “those hippies”. The New York police, District Attorneys, court and other law enforcement personnel regularly used marijuana, and heroin use was rampant among some. Popular entertainers, like Janice Joplin, were acknowledged drug users and the mood of the society was one of heady excitement, a mood which wasn’t short lived, but seemed to go on and on.
Against that backdrop, the events of June 28, 1969 and the days which followed were not perceived as significant: they were just another social upheaval, one more major change in an already desensitized city. Within the next several months several rich violent activists, the Weathermen (the Weather Underground), would blow themselves to pieces along with their elegant townhouse in Greenwich Village while making bombs. The pressures of the youth culture (never trust anyone over 30) would advance rock into the New York Metropolitan Opera. The rock opera “Tommy” opened in June 1970.
Having lived through those exciting, euphoric times in the city, reading Stonewall was an opportunity to put into perspective the events surrounding the gay experience of the time, to understand more clearly the roots which have led to open and affirming churches, accepted social organizations like SGM, and legal recognition of same-sex unions.
For those of us who lived through those days, Stonewall is an aide-memoire, a reminder of where we were just 30 years ago.
For our younger brothers, it is an important lesson in social action and a reminder that there is a price to be paid for all our freedoms not the least of which is the right to be openly gay.
During the times of Stonewall, Jerry Rubin wrote an activist manual called Steal This Book. Thirty years later this reviewer says: Read THIS book!!