Tree Sequoia, 76, has worked at the Stonewall Inn, the site of the 1969 riots, for 45 years. Life before the riots meant you risked imprisonment, being outed and ostracized from your family, he recalls. And after the riots, Sequoia said, it was the first time that members of the LGBT community could walk the streets with pride. Many historians credit the Stonewall riots as the catalyst that ignited the gay rights movement, led by trans women like Sylvia Rivera.
On Tuesday, New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously granted granted the bar landmark status.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The Real Reason Florida Wants to Ban AP African-American Studies, According to an Architect of the Course
- Column: Tyre Nichols' Killing Is The Result of a Diseased Culture
- Without Evusheld, Immunocompromised People Are on Their Own Against COVID-19
- Here Are All the Movies and TV Shows That Make Up the New DCU
- TikTok's 'De-Influencing' Trend Is Here to Tell You What Stuff You Don't Need to Buy
- Column: America Goes About Juvenile Crime Sentencing All Wrong
- Why Your Tax Refund May Be Lower This Year
- Brazil Wants to Abandon a 34,000-Ton Ship at Sea. It Would be an Environmental Disaster
- The 5 Best New TV Shows Our Critic Watched in January 2023