The Stonewall Uprising of June 1969 was a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBTQ) community in Greenwich Village, New York City. Patrons of the Stonewall Inn, gay street kids from the surrounding area, and members of the community who came from neighboring gay and lesbian bars, fought back against an early morning police raid, refusing to be arrested for simply patronizing a gay bar and being out in public. The Stonewall riots are widely considered to be the most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States.