Who's Riot? Our Riot!

Reclaiming Stonewall

Radical Queer Politics Now!

by Sherry

As spring of this year rolled around I became increasingly aware that June 1994 would mark the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The anxiety this provoked in me stemmed from a deep sense of dissatisfaction and disillusionment with the mainstream lesbian and gay movement. The 25th anniversary of the riots forced me to reassess the way I view political, social and cultural struggle. The anniversary compelled me to reevaluate myself, my relationship to the lesbian and gay community, and to society as a whole. It forced me to look at the riots in a larger social context. Increasingly, I felt a huge gulf between my vision of how Stonewall should be commemorated, and the way in which it was being celebrated by the larger lesbian and gay movement.

For me, Stonewall means more than a date on the calendar when queers are allowed to be proud. Stonewall was a rebellion of the oppressed taking to the streets and fighting back. After much thought, I knew I needed to become involved in the commemoration of the riots that largely shaped my queer identity, but it wasn't that simple. I wanted something more than the empty politics the "official" Stonewall 25 organizing committee was offering. And I certainly knew I didn't want to commemorate Stonewall by buying a t-shirt or dancing on a battle ship.

Fortunately, many other queers also wanted to celebrate the radical spirit of Stonewall. These radicals were sickened by Stonewall 25's appropriation and marketing of Stonewall. Outraged queers banded together determined to build an alternative to what was being offered by Stonewall 25 and the rest of the mainstream movement.

Stonewall Now!, a New York-based coalition made up of radical queers, sought to recapture the radical spirit of Stonewall. The coalition was made up of people who were disgusted with the single-issue, assimilationist direction the lesbian and gay movement has taken, and outraged by a large segment of the community's willingness to dance on a US warship used to bomb Vietnam during the 1960s. Stonewall Now! included people from QUISP (Queers United in Support of Political Prisoners), Radical Fairies, Love and Rage, ISO (International Socialist Organization), ACT UP, college students, and other fed-up queers. The two main events that Stonewall Now! worked on were an anti-US militarism forumand a militant rally and demonstration.

The "Stonewall was a Riot" action took place 10 pm Saturday, June 25, in Sheridan Square. Stonewall Now! had planned this action for months and much time and work had been invested in it. The main objective of our march was to recapture the spirit of the Stonewall rebellion. To be militant and "to assert our right and ability to take control of our lives." Demonstrators gathered in Sheridan Square ready to take to the streets. Unfortunately, the police were not going to grant us our demands so willingly, especially since we didn't have a permit to be in the streets. The demonstration was scheduled to stop at an Operation Rescue Church; then the piers; then a site of a recent queer bashing; and finally, at the 6th police precinct. The police tried to contain the demo but we got past them and eventually shut down part of the West Side Highway.

For the most part, the demo was very empowering, except when we left the ghetto and tried to take Chelsea. Once we were out of the Village, the police were less willing to tolerate 500 screaming queers. Fortunately none of the demonstrators was hurt or arrested. The demonstration was largely a success, even if it didn't quite ignite the response most of us were hoping for.

After Stonewall weekend was over, the same questions kept coming up: Where do we go from here? Where is the queer movement going? Do we still want to work together? Was the coalition successful? I'm still left with these and other questions concerning the queer movement. As for Stonewall Now!, the coalition immediately broke up after the weekend. Members didn't find it necessary to continue or to form a new radical group. Some Stonewall Now! members, however, formed a radical queer study group called Outrage! [See article by Jesse, above]

Four months after the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, radical queer activism (at least in New York City) seems dead. Most so-called "radical" activist groups are focusing on November's elections, visibility, and lobbying. As long as queers expend their energies in futile legislative struggles, liberation will take a backseat to reformism and begging and pleading for a "place at the table."

As queers, we need to focus on queer identity as being anti-assimilationist and in opposition to oppressive institutions. We need to stop trying to gain rights within the system. Our struggle for sexual liberation needs to be seen as connected to other struggles. Queers need to position ourselves in a wide revolutionary struggle, instead of focusing on isolated single issues. Building solidarity and trying to create working relationships with other oppressed communities is where our energies need to be spent, not in trying to gain acceptance in inherently oppressive institutions.