GANYC Stands with the LGBTQ+ Community and Condemns Attempts to Rewrite This Community’s History

Tour Guides from the Guides Association of New York City (GANYC) are the preeminent experts in our city’s history and culture, telling these stories – both past and present – on a daily basis. As New York City celebrates its 400-year anniversary of European settlement in 2025, GANYC acknowledges the city’s tumultuous past, which includes the oppression of and discrimination against marginalized and minority groups, and the ongoing efforts to give people from these demographics the rights and protections that all New Yorkers and Americans should enjoy. These fights, led by brave New Yorkers of all backgrounds, have made New York one of the most diverse, inclusive and multicultural cities on the planet. GANYC members are truth-tellers, and the GANYC Executive Board condemns the current attempts to falsely rewrite the history related to these groups, particularly the LGBTQ+ community.

On the early morning of June 28, 1969, what began as a regrettably commonplace raid on the Stonewall Inn, a former stable turned speakeasy on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, exploded into five days of riots. The Stonewall Uprising is acknowledged as the inciting event of the gay rights movement and remains one of the landmark civil rights moments in our city’s and our nation’s history.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer New Yorkers were united in their anger and their purpose, fighting back against police harassment and societal discrimination. At the center of the riot were transgender people, such as Martha P. Johnson.

It is not true that Marsha P. Johnson "threw the first brick at Stonewall" – the very first bottle, brick, or barb thrown is a detail lost to history. It is true that Marsha P. Johnson was on the front lines of the riots. She was a tireless and lifelong advocate for LGBTQ+ youth and those living with HIV and AIDS. She was a transgender woman.

Stonewall was dedicated as a National Monument in 2016, and Marsha P. Johnson Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn opened in 2020.

Transgender people are an indelible part of the gay-rights movement, the history of New York City, and human history. The 350+ tour guides of GANYC remain committed to imparting historical truths about our city and its courageous people to visitors and locals alike.