Stormé DeLarverie: The Butch Lesbian Who Sparked the Stonewall Riots

Stormé DeLarverie: The Butch Lesbian Who Sparked the Stonewall Riots On the morning of June 28 , 1969 , in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, an era when same-sex relationships were still condemned and viewed as mental illnesses, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, and arrested some of the gay and lesbian patrons, and were taking them to police vehicles. Stormé DeLarverie, a butch lesbian and one of those arrested, protested that her handcuffs were too tight. She resisted the officers and was struck on the head with a baton, causing her head to bleed. As everyone was disoriented by the unfolding events, DeLarverie shouted,… "Why don't you guys do something?" before being forcibly put into the police van. Suddenly, the surrounding crowd, composed of both lesbians and gay men, rose up and fought back against the police. This marked the beginning of the LGBT rights movement in America and around the world. " Nobody knows who threw the firs...