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| Jeremiah
Jay Newton ("JJN") is gayly proud to be an actual veteran of the
historic 1969
Stonewall
Rebellion. The uprising was "the launching of the largest
civil rights
movement in the world", as stated by Jeremiah. The Stonewall Club
was not new to
"Jerry" as he had
been a happy patron since it opened as a Gay club in January
of 1966. He vividly recalls "Long Live Our Love", "Strangers In
The Night", "My World Is Empty Without You", "The More I See You",
"These Boots Are Made For Walking", "Standing In The Shadows Of Love"
and "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" among many other early
1966 hits at The Stonewall Inn. Despite -- or because of -- the
local Mafia ownership,
Jeremiah recalled, "It was always a fun and safe place to go and have
fun".
Jeremiah was very good friends
with the legendary transexual Candy Darling. He was part of
the Andy Warhol circle of friends. Jeremiah knew Williamson
Henderson
from The Stonewall as a regular, memorable, young patron. In
those Gay years,
you would nod or say "hi" when you saw someone you recognized from the
clubs or the streets. Jeremiah also knew the infamous Terri J.
Van Dyke from the
Gay streets such as Christopher Street and Greenwich Avenue. They
would later become longtime
friends. Jeremiah remembers other
Gay Greenwich Village characters such as "Rollerina", who skated
through the streets at
night in a tattered wedding dress, wearing big rhinestone glasses and
waving a silver star wand. During
the day, "she" was a Wall Street banker. In 1969, Jeremiah
vividly
recalls the new, shiney, flashy blue Cadillac convertible with the
top down
(even
in April) parked somewhere on the Stonewall block. "Anyone seeing
that
car, then or now, would be hard-pressed not to remember it."
After
partying in the neighborhood and at other Gay clubs, Jeremiah was
outside
The Stonewall on the very first hot night of the rebellion on Friday,
June
27, 1969. . |
|
Jeremiah Newton has written extensively for publication over the decades about the
historic 1969 Stonewall Rebellion. His articles and interviews have appeared
in as widespread a newspaper as The New York Times and the New
York Daily News to Gay-owned and Gay-operated newspapers
in New York City such as Gaysweek, the New York Native and the New York Blade News, to a local community
paper, the New York Press. On "Stonewall Sunday" for the 25th
anniversary of Stonewall in 1994 ("Stonewall 25"), the New York Sunday News
did a big centerfold feature story with extensive interviews
with Jeremiah, Williamson, Bob Kohler, and others, plus a great photo of
the 1969 "Stonewall Car" with Queen Allyson Allante. For the All Things
Considered publication, on June 22, 1994, Jeremiah did a very
special interview: "Judy Garland Inspired Gays of the Stonewall
Rebellion". (See eLibrary.com.) |
| Jeremiah Newton was instrumental in the re-launching of the STONEWALL Veterans' Association ("S.V.A.") as a fully-active entity at the pivotal time of "Stonewall 25", an international event anchored in Manhattan, New York -- "where it all ignited"! Jay, as many of his friends and colleagues call him, was keenly and disheartingly aware that now "there were many outside Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Transgender (GLBT) forces, selfish GLBT groups and egotistical GLBT characters were trying to steal the limelight place in history of the Stonewall Veterans". He convinced Williamson Henderson, Terri Van Dyke, Bill Salzman and others in the S.V.A. that we must vigorously put an end to the disrespectful situation. The Heritage of Pride ("HOP") group, which organizes (since 1986) the annual gay parade in Manhattan, was the worst offender of the attempted hijacking of "Stonewall". Thus, Jeremiah helped re-establish the S.V.A. as a very "significant, visible and activist force in our great City and beyond". Those exact quoted words were delivered in writing to the S.V.A. prior to and since "Stonewall 25" by none other than the great New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch. Please see the S.V.A. "Public Officials" support letters section of our website to read the full EIK letter. |
| After the -- not one but two -- huge, historic "Stonewall 25"
marches, Jeremiah was on stage at The Rally in Central Park with 24
other Stonewall Veterans on Sunday, June 26, 1994. In fact, Jay
was crucial in ensuring that the Stonewall Vetz were formally and
properly presented on stage --
and to speak and to complete their presentation! Originally, the odd
"planners" thought the Stonewall Vetz should be seen (and used and
exploited) but not heard. "What were they thinking?", querried
Jeremiah. The fact is, they weren't! Jay & The
Stonewall Veterans (the
GLBT namesake of the singing group Jay & The Americans) were
having none of that rude dish. The echoing, harmonious chants of
"Thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you....", by
the estimated one million strong, enthralled audience, remain a
heartfelt inspiration for Jeremiah to remain active in preserving the
vital legacy of "Stonewall", the S.V.A. and promoting the stature, the
rights and the activities of the
Stonewall veterans.
* In January of 1995, Jeremiah was elected as the second President of the STONEWALL Veterans' Association, to succeed the ground-breaking, enduring and successful tenure of Williamson Henderson. In kind, Jeremiah then persuaded the latter to be Vice-President. Jeremiah served as the S.V.A. President for nearly three years until October 1997. In most organizations, especially a specialty group like the S.V.A. with its unique and challenging responsibilities, there is a limited pool of candidates who can be a fully knowledgeable and effective leader. So, the S.V.A. members demanded that Williamson be President again. Jeremiah returned again to the S.V.A. a year later in 1998 and was elected as Vice-President for 1999.  "The Stonewall Trio" in 1998 at a Gay Pride Celebration at City Hall [Photo by Leigh McManus] In mid-2002 when Williamson opted not to be a nominee for S.V.A. President, at the former's urging -- and in their seemingly ping-pong ball presidency -- Jeremiah agreed to carry the proud torch once again. Basically, it worked well for the S.V.A. that Jeremiah and Williamson maintained an almost tag team as S.V.A. President. Jeremiah -- in a field of three candidates -- was once again elected President by the S.V.A. members as of the mid-year S.V.A. meeting on Saturday, July 27, 2002. 
Jeremiah Newton, born in Queens County, proudly touring with Williamson, Terri
Van Dyke, Ray McCaffrey and Princess Jenni in the 1969 "Stonewall Car" leading the Queens Gay Parade on 37th Ave. in Jackson Heights on Sunday, June 2, 2002 [Photo by Danny Dromm] The annual International Gay Business Expo & Entertainment Festival in Manhattan, New York, at the Javits Convention Center is a favorite happening involving the S.V.A. "It is very interesting, very exciting, very friendly and, for us, another occasion of a Stonewall veterans mini-reunion. The S.V.A. has a big exhibit and the famous 1969 "Stonewall Car" is on display for all to see and touch every year", proudly declared Jeremiah. Among the many 2003 S.V.A. public events, special meetings and GLBT pride parades that Jeremiah is looking forward to is his hosting, on Friday, June 20th, the annual "STONEWALL Veterans' Association Symposium XXXIV" at the Gay Community Center in Manhattan. The forum with a panel of actual veterans of the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion is most educational for the public. The following week is the Mayor's "Gay Pride Celebration" at Gracie Mansion, which always includes all of the elected officers of the S.V.A. |
| Jeremiah J. Newton is the Film, Television and Video
Industry Liaison for New York University's prestigeous Tisch School of
the Arts on Broadway in Manhattan, New York. In 1996, Jeremiah was one
of the three writers of the independent hit film, "I Shot Andy
Warhol". He arranged for fellow Stonewall vet Williamson Henderson
to audition for the lead role of Andy Warhol. However, according to
various reports and printed
sources at the time, British
acting icon "Sir" Richard Harris (of "Camelot" fame)
pulled Hollywood strings and his son Jared Harris got the Warhol part.
The producers, nonetheless, acknowledged that Williamson has much
more of the Warhol look, the personna and the acting experience.
The movie company greatly appreciated Jeremiah's sharp
eye in presenting the former.
In the movie, Jeremiah, as an 18-year-old, was portrayed by
Danny Morganstern. "The film is largely drawn from my personal
journals that I have been keeping for nearly 40 years", stated
Jeremiah. Jeremiah is currently working on a project with Lorna
Luff, a daughter of Gay icon Judy Garland. |
It’s curious that after 35 years, Jerri Hose has finally resurrected
himself with a personal attack on me. Let me offer my sincere
condolences that “Jerri” allowed himself to be interviewed for dubious David
Karter’s dubious book. And my deepest regrets to the “author”, who has hatefully
succeeded in pitting one veteran of the Stonewall Rebellion against
another. How sad that within the gay movement, some of its worst
enemies have been other gays.
“Passionate” Jerri Hose keeps referring to the Stonewall Rebellion as
a “riot”. This word was tacked on to those tumultuous nights and early
morning hours by the New York City police and the straight homophobic media specifically to
discredit us. Was the Boston Tea Party a "riot" or was it a "rebellion"?
There was no looting, pillaging or burning flames at the 1969 Stonewall
Rebellion. The police were not beaten up; we were! By using the word
“riot”, Mr. Hose discredits his own actions and the rest of the veterans.
As
for myself, I am innocent of “building myths” regarding my
participation in the Stonewall Rebellion. Quite the contrary, I
have
always stated that I was part of the crowd of hundreds as an observant
but frightened teenager who did not want to get arrested. Does
this
make me less relevant because I was not throwing pennies or
empty bottles? Or that Hose does not remember me at the
Stonewall Inn? Do I
remember Mr. Hose? I certainly do, but let’s not go there.
I am proud to say that for the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, I
wrote the first major account of the rebellion using my memory, my
diaries (I’ve been keeping them since 1965) and newspapers from the
time.
True,
the Gay Liberation Front had many heroes and villains, but as a group
it imploded in short order with many of the men denigrating the women, rampant
drug use and strong Marxist leanings that created major cracks in its
already weakened foundation.
Now, as far as Karter’s “in-depth interviews” to which Hose alludes,
the STONEWALL Veterans Association, myself included, chose for many relevant and legal reasons not to deal
with Karter. If you are interested in learning more, join the S.V.A. at one of
our meetings at the Community Center, the last Saturday of each month at 4:15 p.m..
| Happily pictured above are (l-2-r): Princess Jenni
June, Vice-President of the Imperial QUEENS & Kings of New York;
Bert "Berti/Bertha" Coffman, 3rd Vice-President of S.V.A.; Williamson Henderson,
S.V.A. Executive Director, and Jeremiah Newton, S.V.A. President, on Monday
evening, May 19, 2003, at the famous Joe Franklin's Celebrity Club Restaurant in midtown Manhattan.
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30 December
2009
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Photo Album |