The Cold War, Prohibition, the Gold Rush, the Space Race. Every part of your life - the words you speak, the ideas you share - can be traced to our history, but how well do you really know the stories that made America? We'll take you to the events, the times and the people that shaped our nation. And we'll show you how our history affected them, their families and affects you today. Hosted by Lindsay Graham (not the Senator). From Wondery, the network behind American Scandal, Tides of History, American Innovations and more.Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of American History Tellers ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app.
FAN FAVORITE: Stonewall | Why Don't You Do Something? | 3
Resistance at restaurants in San Francisco and Philadelphia showcased the building tension as trans activists challenged long-standing policies of discrimination. But leading gay rights groups continued to stress a calm, non-confrontational approach to reform.That all changed in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, when police raided the Stonewall Inn. For police, it was just another raid, but this time would be different: the Stonewall’s patrons would fight back. The clashes on Christopher Street would become an uprising against police oppression with long-lasting reverberations for the LGBTQ rights movement.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy (https://art19.com/privacy) and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info (https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info).
9 Sept 2026
FAN FAVORITE: Stonewall | Turbulence | 2
As the 1960s dawned, LGBTQ activists began to voice frustration with the gradual approach to civil rights advocated by groups like the Mattachine Society. If LGBTQ people wanted to make real progress, they concluded, they would need to take direct action — starting with tactics shared with the Black civil rights movement. Through protests and sit-ins in places like New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco, LGBTQ activists started agitating for greater rights. They would tackle employment discrimination along with the widespread issues of police harassment, abuse, and entrapment, which targeted LGBTQ people nationwide. But as white gay activists pushed for acceptance by a white, middle-class American majority, transgender activists and people of color faced even greater challenges related to their race and gender identity. They would respond by forging their own communities and strategies to protect themselves from harassment and violence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy (https://art19.com/privacy) and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info (https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info).
2 Sept 2026
FAN FAVORITE: Stonewall | Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary | 1
In the summer of 1969, a police raid on the Stonewall Inn sparked a riot on the streets of Greenwich Village. The protest marked a turning point in the gay rights movement. But the famed resistance in New York capped a movement that had been building for nearly two decades in America, as LGBTQ people mobilized to fight widespread and pervasive discrimination.In the years following World War II, members of the LGBTQ community faced broad discrimination — from strict laws that oppressed them, churches that declared their very existence sinful, and a government that demonized them. They would push back against the American Psychological Association, the FBI and finally, the courts. Slowly, LGBTQ activism would emerge from out of the closet and onto the American scene.This series follows strands of the gay rights movement in America from 1950 until 1970. But it’s just the beginning of a story about a fight for social and political equality — a battle that’s still being fought today.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy (https://art19.com/privacy) and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info (https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info).
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