Over time, the sordid personal life led by the most passionate artist or composer fades into oblivion, leaving only his or her artistic output. From this, future generations of fans develop a sense of respect that, although it comes from the output per se, usually is projected upon the artist as well. Such is the case, I suspect, of the Stonewall bar. I was in New York for the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, and visited the small, crowded, yet clean bar. It satisfied what I expected to find, because I knew it only as the legendary bar “where it all began” so long ago.
Stonewall goes far beyond giving the reader a good look at the sordid bar that was Stonewall prior to earning its place in history. After all, watershed events are not usually about the buildings they take place in, but rather, the people involved. This book does not give generalized, omniscient details of the various flavors of groups and their radical/activist members. Instead, it gives an extremely personal account of six specific individuals, from their youth through the end of 1971. The author takes great pains to explain why he chose this rather avant garde method, and frankly, it works.
The “cast” is a diverse group. Each has a unique and generally dysfunctional upbringing, and each has passion, talent, and of course, a few vices. At first, the characters are visited wholly separately, and only for a few pages at a time, which is a little bit like reading six books at once. This makes the book appear very long indeed, as transitions between characters require some recall on the part of the reader. However, as the story builds towards the riots, and the lives of the cast begin to intersect, the action moves along more quickly. The account of the riots themselves is breathtaking.
The book occasionally grinds in the details, but to good effect. For instance, the vast canvas of gay related organizations is daunting to keep separate, but the effect is clear: There were lots of gay organizations in existence before the riots, as well as after, which came into existence on the vision of a single individual and grew. Then there was in-fighting due to differences in vision, and some groups split, some floundered, and some died. As each of the six tries to find a group to which they feel most at home, it becomes amazing and wonderful to note how much progress has been made in the face of such ego. Indeed, the riots were not the launch point of gay liberation, but merely an excellent shake-up of it, infusing it with lots of new blood and hope.
Stonewall is an excellent historical reference for the gay liberation movement in mid and late 60s. It also makes a good primer for anyone wishing to become an activist, again, from the historical perspective it gives. Without the riots, the Stonewall bar would probably have faded into oblivion as a dirty little dive not worth remembering. Instead, it became the point in time where gay people stopped taking abuse passively, and started fighting in numbers for equality. It, and the people who were there, are worth remembering.