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Colleen Ragan Talks About Stonewall During Pride Week

Wikimedia Commons
Diana Davies
/
New York Public Library

It was a late summer night in 1969, when the New York City Police Department raided the Stonewall Inn.  The inn was a popular hangout for the city’s LGBT community, at a time when very few establishments were welcoming.  Rapid City is celebrating its 8th annual pride week with a speaker who was at the Stonewall Inn 50 years ago.

What would become known as the Stonewall Riots served as a turning point for the Gay Rights Movement and acted as a catalyst for LGBT activism across the country.

Colleen Ragan remembers the night clearly.  She says she had no idea at the time how important that night would be.

Ragan says she traveled from New Jersey to New York with one of her friends dressed in drag. She says they visited the Stonewall Inn for a night of partying and the city’s reaction to the gay community was a shock to her.

“I didn’t even get – really – that it was against the law to go out in drag.  I mean who cared? I didn’t – you know – I was a kid, what do I know? And most of my friends were gay or attached to the theater in some way and so outrageous behavior was the norm for me and the more outrageous the happier I was,” Ragan says.

Ragan says it was a dangerous time and people found comfort in the closet.  She says homosexuality was highly stigmatized and being openly gay was enough to get someone fired or assaulted.

She says she is excited for the opportunity to reach out to LGBT youth who may be struggling with their own identity.

She says even though young people are more accepting than previous generations, gay and transgender kids can still suffer from a sense of isolation.

“Just don’t be out there by yourself. Find people you can really trust and be proud of who you are.  Be as honest as you can be. You know, to me it’s the same advice you would tell anybody else,” Ragan says.

Ragan says it’s important for gay and transgender youth to understand and appreciate their history and remember the people who first fought for the right to love who they wanted.

Ragan is speaking Friday, 6 PM at the Dahl Arts Center and noon Saturday at Memorial Park.