At 1:30 a.m. on June 28th in 1969, New York City police officers raided a bar known to be patronized by gays and lesbians called the Stonewall Inn. That was common practice by police in those days, but this time the patrons pushed back, and a riot erupted.
A year later, the first gay pride parade marched through the streets of New York as a commemoration of the Stonewall riots.
One of the organizers of that first march was Fred Sargeant, a retired police lieutenant from Stamford, Connecticut, who now lives in New Haven, Vermont. He will be honored at this Sunday’s Gay Pride march in New York City.
Sargeant spoke with Vermont Edition about the protests and marches for gay rights before Stonewall.
Fred Sargeant is the partner of VPR senior vice president John Van Hoesen.
