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SAGA to screen “Stonewall Uprising” April 18

Event Date
-
Location
Andrew A. Mazarra Administrative Services and Conference Center (ASCC) (Bldg. L) Berry Amphitheater
Stonewall cover

The 2010 Peabody Award-winning documentary Stonewall Uprising will be screened Monday, April 18, at noon to 2:00 p.m. in the Berry Amphitheater on the first floor of the Andrew A. Mazzara Administrative Services & Conference Center (ASCC) on the main campus of HFC.

Based on the book Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution by the late David Carter and directed by documentary filmmakers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner, this documentary examines the events surrounding the Stonewall demonstrations that occurred on June 28, 1969. These protests were a series of demonstrations by the gay community in direct response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar and tavern in Greenwich Village, New York City. Patrons of the Stonewall Inn, as well as other people in the gay community, fought back against police violence, and these events were then labeled "riots," using a term that was common at that time. For many years, some of the city's police officers had treated patrons of gay establishments with physical and emotional violence. The Stonewall demonstrations are widely considered a turning point in the 20th century fight for LBGTQ+ rights in the United States.

Archive film from the demonstrations, dramatic re-enactments, and eyewitness testimony are presented in this documentary, along with animation of the streets surrounding the Stonewall Inn showing how protestors were able to evade some of the responding police. It concludes with an examination of the aftermath of the events, including the energizing of the gay community as a political force and the establishment of the Christopher Street Liberation Day, which is the genesis of many gay pride parades in the U.S. today.

This screening is free. It is sponsored by SAGA, and is one of several HFC is holding from now until the end of the month in celebration of Campus Pride Month.

For questions or more information about any of HFC’s Campus Pride Month events, including this one, contact Troy Gibson at trgibson3@hfcc.edu.