Author Question: Discuss the significance of the events at the Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village on June ... (Read 90 times)

strangeaffliction · **on:** Jul 2, 2018

Discuss the significance of the events at the Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Discuss the predictable stages of a social movement.

What will be an ideal response?

frankwu0507 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 2, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Feedback: On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn of New York's Greenwich Village, which was known as a gathering place for homosexuals. Instead of dispersing, as gays had always done in similar situations, the 200 patrons threw objects at the police and set fire to the bar. The riot lasted only 45 minutes, but it gave impetus to a number of collective efforts by gays to publicize police harassment of the gay community, job discrimination, and other indignities they faced. The Stonewall resistance came to symbolize the birth of the modern gay rights movement. Following Stonewall, gay liberation groups emerged in many cities and on university campuses. Many neighborhoods in major cities became openly homosexual, with gay churches, associations of professionals, health clinics, and networks of gay-owned businesses to supply the community's needs. The proliferation of these organizations for lesbians and gays provided a supportive climate, allowing many of them to come out of the closet. The Stonewall riot is seen as the precipitating event of the gay rights movement, which most recently saw the U.S. Supreme Court declare same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.

Answer to Question 2

Feedback: Social movements move through predictable stages: (1) Some societal condition threatens or harms some segment of society, resulting in unfocused social unrest. (2) Grievances become focused and a leader emerges; it is a time of excitement over the possibilities for collectively bringing about needed social change. (3) Resources are mobilized; a formal organizational structure is developed with rules, policies, and procedures; power is centralized and levels of organization are delineated. (4) If the movement is successful, the final stage is institutionalizatio n, in which the social change is integrated into society.