Every June, a whole lot of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender folks, along with many allies, mark the Stonewall Riots of 1969 with parades (too corporatized, IMHO) and celebrations, and a look back at how far we've come in our liberation struggle.
One of the biggest celebrations at the end of each June is in San Francisco and one would expect the Chronicle newspaper, especially the arts desk, to be fully aware of when the riots occurred. Here is what freelancer and frequent contributor Pam Grady wrote on Sunday in the entertainment Pink Section:
"During a recent phone conversation, director Roland Emmerich revealed how hard it was finding a location to re-create the New York’s Greenwich Village neighborhood circa the summer of 1969, when riots erupted after a police raid of the Stonewall Inn — a gathering spot for gays, lesbians and transgender people — for his new drama 'Stonewall.'
"He finally found the right place in Montreal, where he re-created the events that are generally credited with igniting the LGBT pride movement. A line in can be drawn from those hot August nights to this summer’s historic Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage."
Hot August nights? Oops, no, the Chronicle is off by two-months. What surprises me is that this paper, in general, and the entertainment section, particularly, got such an important month wrong. As of this writing on Tuesday afternoon, no correction has been made at the Chronicle's original article.
A small mistake, granted, but a big reminder that we LGBT people need to remain vigilant about our history and how it is represented in the mass media.
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