Fifty years later, the NYPD apologized for the raid on Stonewall
On June 28,1969 historic protests began at Manhattan’s Stonewall Inn, after police raided the popular bar that was a gathering place for the LGBT community.
Police claimed it was because the bar was violating liquor laws, but police action targeting the community was a common tactic at the time.
Except rather than go quietly, patrons fought back. For days, hundreds rioted outside the bar, with many being arrested or injured.
Those protests at Stonewall gave birth to the LGBT movement. Not only did it give rise to influential LGBT rights groups, but the first anniversary of the riots was marked with parades through New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago — celebrations which became what is now International Pride Month.
Yesterday, the NYPD’s Commissioner James O’Neill apologized for the violent raid. The apology came hours after the organization responsible for NYC Pride said it had voted unanimously to demand an apology.
Additional readings:
👉 In 2015, the Stonewall Inn was declared a New York landmark.
👉 When the Supreme Court passed its historic decision on marriage equality, people gathered at the Stonewall to reflect on the struggle.
Mexico arrested two caravan organizers amid pressure from the Trump administration to stop immigrants
Authorities in Mexico have arrested two organizers of last spring’s large Central American caravan that drew the ire of President Donald Trump, accusing them of transporting immigrants in exchange for money.
Mexican prosecutors revealed that two Honduran immigrants said Irineo Mujica, the director of Pueblo Sin Fronteras, and Cristóbal Sánchez, the founder of Migrant Culture Collective, promised to smuggle them into the US if they paid for it.
The arrests come as the US intensifies pressure on Mexico to stop the surge of immigrants from arriving at the southern border. Activists pointed out that the arrests happened on the same day Mexico's secretary of state met with Vice President Mike Pence.
SNAPSHOTS
Listen to the voicemail Trump’s lawyer left Michael Flynn’s lawyer after Flynn cut a deal. A transcript of the call was already made public — an edited version appears in Mueller’s report — but for the first time, a judge ordered the release of the audio recording. In it, Trump's lawyer at the time, John Dowd, asked Flynn's lawyer to “remember what we've always said about the president and his feelings toward Flynn.”
The woman who accused one of the world’s biggest soccer stars of rape says she’s being threatened. Najila Trindade said that she’d traveled to Paris with the intent to have sex with Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian star Neymar, but he’d turned violent after she insisted he use a condom. She told us that since she came forward, her life has become a “hell.”
This valedictorian’s mic was cut off as she mentioned Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice. As Rooha Hagher mentioned the names of the unarmed black boys who were fatally shot, her mic was cut off. Hagher said she was previously told to cut the line because it would incite anger toward white people, but she didn’t.
This horrifying Florida Man story involves boats, guns, cocaine and hostages. This is one of those stories that are impossible to sum up — it involves a group of fishing charter guests who say their Florida captain drove his boat in circles for hours, refusing to dock and ignoring their pleas. That’s the start.
A woman leaned over Beyoncé to talk to Jay-Z, and the Beyhive responded with a wave of harassment. After a video emerged online of Nicole Curran, wife of Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob, leaning over Beyoncé to talk to Jay, the moment sparked a huge backlash online. Soon, every single one of Curran’s Instagram photos was overtaken by Beyoncé fans posting the bee emoji.
His DNA solved a century-old jailhouse rape. The victim: his grandmother.
When people turn to DNA testing companies, it’s usually to illuminate the unlit corners of ancestry, the stories you don’t quite know.
This incredible story begins with Hiram Johnson. All Hiram knew was that his grandfather probably wasn’t black. The reason he knew so little is because Hiram’s father, Fred, would not talk about his roots.
Then, one day, a starting point came: Fred said his mother, Bernice, had been convicted of killing a neighbor and served two years in an infamous Mississippi prison. She gave birth to him shortly after her release. So his father — Hiram’s grandfather — could have been anyone. Another inmate, a guard, the warden, even the governor.
The thread that begins there ends in an extraordinary story. It involves two men who seek the certainty of DNA, and end up finding a much messier reality of the legacy of racism in America.
Take a minute for yourself and enjoy these longreads
Let Drake Be An Asshole (Please). The Toronto Raptors are in the NBA finals. The Toronto Raptors are in the NBA finals. This is a big deal for us Canadians, only upstaged by the fact that Drake is being wildly annoying on the sidelines during the games. But Scaachi Koul makes the case for why Americans should stop complaining and tolerate his antics. I emphatically agree.
How The Story Of R. Kelly’s “Sex Cult” Finally Went Public — And Quickly Exploded. Jim DeRogatis spent 20 years reporting on R. Kelly, and nine months trying to find an outlet that would publish the story that would finally get the world’s attention. That story was published by BuzzFeed News. Read an excerpt from his book Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly, where he details the fascinating and arduous journey of finding a news organization, and how the story blew up.
Olivia Wilde’s Directorial Debut Is Changing The Game For Queer Teen Movies. I hope you’ve had a chance to see Booksmart by now, because it’s so good. But on top of being good, it also does something revolutionary. Here’s how Adam B. Vary described it: the movie “centers its characters’ queerness while also treating it as a simple fact, not an issue to be surmounted or hardship that has to be endured. In doing so, the film — and its stars — are charting a new future for queer films and queer actors.”