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Stonewall Inn Marks 50th Anniversary Since Riots Kicked Off Gay Rights Movement

(CBS NEWS) -- Friday marks 50 years since the start of riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, where a police raid led to backlash that fueled the modern-day gay rights movement.

In 1969, the NYPD had a public morals squad. Those officers are the ones who raided the Stonewall Inn. At that time, raids at gay bars were common across the country -- but that all changed when hundreds of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people joined together in protest, launching a fight for civil rights that continues half a century later.

Tree Sequoia was a 30-year-old bartender when police raided the Stonewall Inn. "We knew it was another raid ... Sequoia said. "And all of a sudden, we heard a crash. Somebody threw a rock through the window." 

This time, Stonewall patrons resisted arrest. The violence escalated, and hundreds eventually joined in. Mark Segal, who was also at Stonewall, said the riots turned him into an activist.

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