As this trailer points out, it’s more than 40 years since a raid on the Stonewall Inn in New York sparked riots that led to the emergence of a strong gay rights movement. However in 2009 – on the 40th Anniversary of Stonewall, no less – police raided a newly opened gay bar in Fort Worth Texas. Raid Of The Rainbow Lounge, narrated by Meredith Baxter is a documentary looking at the events of that night and if effect it had.
During the police’s 40 minutes in the bar, multiple people were detained or arrested and a young man was sent to the ICU with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain. Many accused officers of targeting the gay community. Allegations of police brutality flooded the Internet. Police reported that during the raid, multiple patrons allegedly grabbed them in a sexually interested manner and “pretended to have sex with them from behind”. They also accused one patron of grabbing a male officer’s crotch (and seemed to have no thought that even if that had happened – which most patrons said hadn’t – whether they response was proportionate). The Fort Worth Police Chief defended his officers’ actions against the patrons and made public remarks and allegations that many considered homophobic.
Following the sordid allegations and outrage, many changes occurred in the city and Fort Worth became a leader in LGBT equality. In the wake of the raid, the city instituted mandatory diversity training for all city employees, revised their bar check policy, expanded the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance to include the transgender community, and began offering domestic partner benefits to city employees. However, those improvements did not happen overnight and without controversy.
The trailer certainly makes it look like a film that’ll be worth watching. It’s currently doing the film festival rounds, and will hopefully find a wider release soon. The film has already won many awards along the way. This includes two Best Film and three Audience Choice Awards.
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