Editing Stonewall riots (section)

===Greenwich Village===
[[File:Washington square park.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A color photograph of Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village|[[Washington Square Park]] in Greenwich Village]]

The [[Manhattan]] neighborhoods of Greenwich Village and [[Harlem]] were home to sizable gay and lesbian populations after [[World War&nbsp;I]], when people who had served in the military took advantage of the opportunity to settle in larger cities. The enclaves of gay men and lesbians, described by a newspaper story as "short-haired women and long-haired men", developed a distinct subculture through the following two decades.{{sfn|Edsall|2003|pp=253–254}} [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] inadvertently benefited gay establishments, as drinking alcohol was pushed underground along with other behaviors considered immoral. New York City passed laws against homosexuality in public and private businesses, but because alcohol was in high demand, [[speakeasies]] and impromptu drinking establishments were so numerous and temporary that authorities were unable to police them all.{{sfn|Edsall|2003|pp=255–256}} However, police raids continued, resulting in the closure of iconic establishments such as [[Eve's Hangout]] in 1926.<ref name=Gattuso>{{cite web|last=Gattuso|first=Reina|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-was-first-gay-bar|title=The Founder of America's Earliest Lesbian Bar Was Deported for Obscenity|website=[[Atlas Obscura]]|date=September 3, 2019}}</ref>

The social repression of the 1950s resulted in a cultural revolution in Greenwich Village. A cohort of poets, later named the [[Beat Generation|Beat]] poets, wrote about the evils of the social organization at the time, glorifying anarchy, drugs, and hedonistic pleasures over unquestioning social compliance, consumerism, and closed-mindedness. Of them, [[Allen Ginsberg]] and [[William S. Burroughs]]—both Greenwich Village residents—also wrote bluntly and honestly about homosexuality. Their writings attracted sympathetic liberal-minded people, as well as homosexuals looking for a community.{{sfn|Adam|1987|pp=68–69}}

By the early 1960s, a campaign to rid New York City of gay bars was in full effect by order of Mayor [[Robert F. Wagner&nbsp;Jr.]], who was concerned about the image of the city in preparation for the [[1964 World's Fair]]. The city revoked the liquor licenses of the bars and undercover police officers worked to entrap as many homosexual men as possible.{{sfn|Carter|2004|pp=29–37}} [[Entrapment]] usually consisted of an undercover officer who found a man in a bar or public park, engaged him in conversation; if the conversation headed toward the possibility that they might leave together—or the officer bought the man a drink—he was arrested for [[solicitation]]. One story in the ''[[New York Post]]'' described an arrest in a gym locker room, where the officer grabbed his crotch, moaning, and a man who asked him if he was all right was arrested.{{sfn|Carter|2004|p=46}} Few lawyers would defend cases as undesirable as these and some of those lawyers kicked back their fees to the arresting officer.{{sfn|Duberman|1993|pp=116–117}}

The Mattachine Society succeeded in getting newly elected mayor [[John Lindsay]] to end the campaign of police entrapment in New York City. They had a more difficult time with the [[Alcohol laws of New York|New York State Liquor Authority]] (SLA). While no laws prohibited serving homosexuals, courts allowed the SLA discretion in approving and revoking liquor licenses for businesses that might become "disorderly".{{sfn|Duberman|1993|p=183}}{{sfn|Carter|2004|p=48}} Despite the high population of gay men and lesbians who called Greenwich Village home, very few places existed, other than bars, where they were able to congregate openly without being harassed or arrested. In 1966 the New York Mattachine held a "sip-in" at a Greenwich Village bar named [[Julius (New York City)|Julius]], which was frequented by gay men, to illustrate the discrimination homosexuals faced.<ref>Jackson, Sharyn (June 17, 2008). [http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-06-17/news/before-stonewall/ "Before Stonewall: Remembering that, before the riots, there was a Sip-In"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110712032306/http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-06-17/news/before-stonewall/ |date=July 12, 2011}}. ''The Village Voice''. Retrieved September 8, 2008.</ref>

None of the bars frequented by gay men and lesbians were owned by gay people. Almost all of them were owned and controlled by [[American Mafia|organized crime]], who treated the regulars poorly, watered down the liquor, and overcharged for drinks. However, they also paid off police to prevent frequent raids.{{sfn|Duberman|1993|p=181}}