Taking it to the streets and the schools

On summer evenings in 1969, America's battle lines were clear. It was a season of civil unrest from New York to California. In Pittsburgh, demonstrators staged a sit-in at a U.S. Steel construction site to force the hiring of blacks in the industry. Across the nation, groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union challenged drug laws. And on Long Island, whites in Central Islip rallied to close Soul Village, a youth center used primarily by blacks in what had been a downtown neighborhood dominated by whites.

At June's high school graduations across the Island, the auditoriums were a mix of students with long hair and sandals and those with short hair and polished shoes. College campuses erupted in disputes over race, politics and Vietnam. After black students staged a sit-in, Cornell University agreed to increase minority representation on the faculty.

Judy Winer of Woodmere remembers her commencement ceremony at Queens College that June, when dozens of graduates protesting the war stood up and walked out to hold a "counter-commencement."

"Nowadays, these things barely raise eyebrows," she said, "but in 1969, it was scandalous." She remembers hearing the audience whispering in shock as they watched the departure of young men and women in caps and gowns.

The summer's demonstrations happened in unexpected places. One erupted at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. The bar had become a gathering place for gays and transvestites, and before dawn on June 28 the police moved in to arrest 13 people on charges ranging from resisting arrest to disorderly conduct. Dozens reacted by throwing bricks, bottles and a parking meter - and the confrontation was soon celebrated as the birth of the gay rights movement.

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