What was Stonewall? and The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets."On that hot summer night, to the cops' surprise, the people at Stonewall fought back."And they fought back hard."

Titles: What was Stonewall? and The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets

Authors: Nico Medina and Gayle E. Pitman


LGBTQ+ Representation: Both books describe the Stonewall riots and the Pride movement, so all the letters are represented.


What they're about (in 75 words or fewer): What was Stonewall? begins with a glossary of LGBTQ+ terms, gives a brief history of the gay rights movement prior to the Stonewall riots, describes the uprising at Stonewall, and explains major obstacles and successes of the LGBTQ+ rights movement. The Stonewall Riots provides a more detailed version of the events, told through 50 primary documents, photographs, artifacts, and eyewitness testimonies. Gay rights activists are introduced in both books.


What I think: I wanted to read these books because I wanted to see how the riots were explained to children (ages 6-14, approximately) but also because I knew only a few facts about the Stonewall riots, namely:

• They occurred in June of 1969
• Marsha P. Johnson "threw the first brick" 
• No one died (!)
• Drag queens protested the cops in the form of a Radio City Rockettes-style kick line
• The protests lead to the first Pride March in NYC

And . . . that was pretty much it. I bought both books in hopes that my children will read them (they haven't, yet. I hope they will!)

What was Stonewall?, written for early elementary school students (my third grader in particular loves the whole series of Who books), actually provides more information than I was expecting it to. The story explains some of the prejudice the gay community experienced in the twentieth century, and briefly touches on organizations such as the Mattachine Society, Daughters of Bilitis, and ACT UP. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the details included about the Pride movement in general. Of course, since it's a book for younger readers, the information is very basic, and like most history books, simplifies some events that were not quite as simple.

Although the book does mention Sylvia Rivera's 1978 Christopher Street Liberation Day rally speech, that is one of the few times that any racism and gatekeeping among the LGBTQ+ movement is mentioned. The book ends with President Obama's dedication of the Stonewall National Monument.


The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets is written in a way that I find very interesting and enjoyable. Instead of just a history book or timeline of events, Pitman includes primary sources such as eyewitness accounts, newspaper articles, arrest records, photographs, and artifacts such as 1960s-era police hats and nightsticks, parking meters, Volkswagen Beetles, and more.

Pitman's book is for a bit of an older audience than the Medina book, but is still appropriate for children to read. I appreciated how the the gay rights movement was a part of (but also clashed with) the Civil Rights Movement.

Incidentally, I am baffled by people who can be so anti-racism yet so pro-homophobia. Does not compute.

Some of the more interesting facts about Stonewall that I learned through Pitman's book:

• The Stonewall Inn did not have running water and was kind of a disgusting place
• Judy Garland died on the day of the riots (although her death causing gay men to fight back "due to their grief" is debatable)
• There were no "literal" bricks thrown (because there weren't any bricks available)
• Gay bars were mafia-controlled (this should not have surprised me, but it did)
• No one is quite sure who started the fights (and the "Stonewall lesbian" has not been conclusively identified)
• Protests and raids took place before Stonewall; it was not the first time LGBTQ+ people stood up for themselves (which again, shouldn't have surprised me)
• Good lord the New York Daily News and the Village Voice were super homophobic. Reading those articles made me want to riot!

Both books are on the 2020 Rainbow Book List. 


My final takeaway (in 75 words or fewer): These events are important parts of the Civil Rights Movement and should be taught in schools. Period.


Memorable quotes/passages from the book:

• "'The bar itself was a toilet,' said one Stonewall regular, 'but it was a refuge . . . from the street'" (What was Stonewall? pg. 34).
      
• "More importantly, everyone had come together--black, white, brown; lesbian, gay, trans. 'We became a people,' said one activist. 'All of a sudden, I had brothers and sisters'" (What was Stonewall? pg. 59).
    
• "Throughout history, activists have used many tactics to resist oppression, and humor is one of them. Humor is creative, nonviolent, and often unexpected. It is a form of political mischief-making" (The Stonewall Riots, pg. 88).
    
• "Think of all the people involved in the Stonewall Riots and the gay liberation movement . . . All of them used their voices, and organized, and agitated, and fought for what was right. That's what makes social change possible" (The Stonewall Riots, pg. 161).

Other reviews: What Was Stonewall? Goodreads and Scholastic

The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets: On a Mission to Read and Kirkus


More information about Stonewall:

• Stonewall Inn
• "Memories from that Night at the Stonewall Inn, from Those Who Were There"
• "8 Facts About the Stonewall Riots"
• "The Stonewall Riots: What Really Happened, What Didn't, and What Became Myth"
• "How the Stonewall Riots Changed the Course of History"
• "Moments of Pride: Revolution"
• "Stonewall Inn: 50 Years After Riots, Hope and Spirit Lives On"

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This book is available here: https://library.greensboro-nc.gov/

Learn more about the Rainbow Book List here: http://www.ala.org/rt/glbtrt