| The narrative that the modern LGBTQ rights movement began in the summer of 1969 after a routine police raid on a gay bar in Lower Manhattan has been entrenched in popular memory. This perception can be partially attributed to the Pride parades that are held annually around the world in commemoration of this event. While it serves as a rallying banner for LGBTQ and minority rights, the narrative that gay liberation began at Stonewall is fundamentally ahistorical. The history that culminated in the Stonewall Uprising is illustrated by the stories of those that sought equality and dignity decades before the Morals Squad of the NYPD raided the Stonewall Inn.Key Words: LGBTQ, Stonewall Inn, queer history, queer psychology, queer labor, queer politics, gender identity, sexual identity, sexual inversion, collective violence, social protest, Mattachine Society, Lavender Scare, McCarthyism, gay liberation, romantic friendship |