Our group drew a still larger crowd. The cops hustled half of the bartenders into a squad car and drove off, leaving several policemen behind, barricaded inside the Stonewall with the remaining staff. Everyone booed the cops, just as though they were committing a shameful act. We kept exchanging peripheral glances, excited and afraid. I had an urge to be responsible and disperse the crowd peacefully, send everyone home….
But in spite of myself, a wild exhilaration swept over me….
Text from “The Beautiful Room Is Empty” by Edmund White, 1988.
His account of the Stonewall Uprising which took place on June 28, 1969.
Photo by Rick Stachura. 7th Avenue South and Charles Street. June 24, 2018.