Summary
Stonewall was a gay bar in New York City in the late 1960s. It was also the site of a riot between gay patrons, protesters, and police when the bar was raided for violating the liquor license law. The police were really trying to deal with the mafia owners of the club, but the liquor license issues were a simple way of getting to them.
The riot at the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969 became a rallying point for the LGBTQ+ community and led to marches and changes to the nation’s laws. What Was Stonewall? covers a brief history of the gay community and the ways gay people and their allies have pursued social justice for the whole community.
Review
When I first saw the cover for this book earlier this year, I had to go searching for the title’s answer. I had never heard of Stonewall. By June of this year, the 50th anniversary, I was more familiar with the event. But I was still curious what information could be gleaned from this resource.
I enjoy this whole line of nonfiction books. They are relatively short (this is 107 pages with illustrations on each spread), and make for a good introduction for elementary and middle school readers on a vast number of subjects.
This covers the Stonewall riot pretty well. Only a handful of people are noted by name. Three chapters cover the uprising. The rest set the event in an historical context and talk about how the LGBTQ+ community continued to organize and pursue rights like employment security, the ability to serve in the military, and the right to marry. These are still timely topics today as the Supreme Court is hearing discrimination cases right now.
The language bounces from formal (defining terms, etc) to casual (“Heads were busted.”). And some topics are covered so quickly that it left me with a slight feeling of reading whiplash. I think this is a decent starting point for readers and adults interested in providing some LGBTQ history. But those longing for a meaty, nuanced discussion might find this lacking.
