DAVID VELASCO BERMUDEZ

A personal account of June 28, 1969. 

            The Stonewall Rebellion.

My Name is David Velasco Bermudez. I am a veteran of the Stonewall rebellion. This is my true account of what I experienced in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 while in the Stonewall.

     I arrived with a couple of friends at the Stonewall inn approximately around 12:30 am. At the door the bouncer checked ID’s and had you sign the book when entering. Fat Tony, the bar manager was there. The Stonewall was packed. Some were there to celebrate the life of Judy Garland who was laid to rest the day before. Others were there because the Stonewall was our safe place. A place we could be free to be ourselves. The Stonewall was a mob owned, dirty, with no running water with just two tubs of water and a brush behind the bar to wash the glasses. The jute box was playing as usual, but none of us knew that this night would change gay history forever.

     We went to our usual spot in the bar where the Latinos hung out. It was in the back where there was a booth. We could see most of the club from there. It must have been around 1:30 am when all of a sudden the bright lights went on. Someone yelled, "It’s a raid". When I looked up I saw Officer Pines, two or three uniformed officers and it looked like a couple of plain clothes detectives. The Stonewall had already been raided the week before. The drill was usually the same. Everybody would line up, show their ID’s, take a lot of bull shit and insults from the cops, and the drag queens would be arrested. Not this time. The air was heavy, and we were tired of the constant harassment and beatings.

     I heard someone scream "Get your fucking hands of me". Before you knew it, all hell broke loose. My friends and I said "Let’s get the hell out of here". If we were arrested our names would be in the paper’s and no question we would have been fired from our jobs and thrown out of our apartments. As we got to the middle of the bar I got slammed on the back of my head. It was one of the plain clothes men. I started to fight back then somebody else jumped him so we headed for the door. When I got to the door there was a guy pinned down on the floor by a uniformed cop with his bully club on the guys throat. I started yelling he is going to kill him.

     I grabbed the cop to try and pull him off, but I got hit again by someone else. I was sort of dazed. My friends grabbed me and brought me out side. We started to cross the street to the park when I looked back. The paddy wagons and police reinforcements were getting there. People on the street started to join in. The rebellion was now turning into a riot. The spark was lit. The gay liberation movement was born.

David Velasco Bermudez: 1969 Stonewall veteran