Queer Resource Center Stonewall at 50

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In July 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular bar and refuge for New York City’s LGBTQ+ community. It was an era in which homosexuality and homosexual acts were criminalized in the United States, and police raids on LGBTQ+ gathering places were commonplace. But this time the patrons of the Stonewall Inn, as well as neighborhood residents, resisted the police — sparking days of protests.

This period of time became known as the Stonewall Rebellion (also referred to as the Stonewall Uprising or Stonewall Riots), and is seen by many as the catalyst for the modern gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.

At Amherst, we will honor the 50th anniversary of Stonewall — and celebrate the LGBTQA+/Queer community — with a series of events and programs.

The Stonewall Committee

The Stonewall Committee is an Amherst College-wide committee composed of staff, faculty, and students dedicated to celebrating and recognizing the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion. The Stonewall Committee hosts and co-sponsors a range of events, conversations, and learning opportunities for the campus community to investigate and engage with the legacy of Stonewall in the United States and around the world. Meet the committee members.

Our Values

The Stonewall Committee values and aims to highlight historically marginalized voices in our effort to showcase the richness and complexity of the Stonewall Riots/Rebellion and its context. Centering these stories is critical to a greater understanding of the history and change we are celebrating and the work still to be done. We will accomplish this by including stories of:

• Queer and Trans People of Color
• Global LGBTQA+/Queer Activism and Pride
• Marginalized identities within the LGBTQA+/Queer Community

These values inform and enrich Stonewall Committee programming across subcommittees.