This Day in History: The Stonewall Riots Begin (Sunday, June 28)

This Day in History: The Stonewall Riots Begin June 28, 1969 The riots are considered the first major protest of the LGBTQ community for equal rights.

They began after midnight at the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village.

Police raided the popular gay club for operating without a liquor license.

After decades of being targeted by the NYPD, the patrons began to fight back by throwing bottles at police.

Several days of protests followed, mobilizing into the Gay Liberation Front and other gay civil rights organizations.

The NYPD made a formal apology for its role in the riots — and for the laws that led to them — in 2019.