Even 40 years on, police officer Seymour Pine is still amazed. "We knew something had happened that had never happened before. We'd never had any trouble, but it just came out of nowhere," he said.

"It" was the Stonewall riot in the early hours of 28 June, 1969, in New York's Greenwich Village, when, sick of being harassed, the gay community fought back en masse for the first time and the grassroots gay and lesbian equality movement was born.

Deputy Inspector Pine led the raid on the Stonewall Inn that night, when his handful of club-wielding officers suddenly came under siege from an angry mob of gay men and women.

"It was never the same again," the 89-year-old retired policeman said from New Jersey last week, admitting that the police were anti-gay, but just "doing our jobs" when the raid turned into a riot.

Fashion writer Robert Bryan, 63, was a banker, deeply in the closet, when he stumbled on a rumpus outside the Stonewall Inn 40 years ago. At first, drag queens were can-can kicking and singing taunting songs at the outnumbered police, but it escalated as beatings began to accompany arrests, and Bryan joined in. "It was fun and exciting. But then people got more and more angry at the police violence, we had just had enough of being marginalised," he recalled last week. There was rioting for five nights.

The 40th anniversary will be celebrated at gay pride parades across the world this summer. The BBC is planning a major radio documentary about Stonewall and the New York public library will open a prominent exhibition called 1969: The Year of Gay Liberation.

"Equality? It's all over bar the shouting. We will prevail," said author Rita Mae Brown, who witnessed the Stonewall riots. She was then a major figure in the feminist movement and became an icon with her 1973 watershed lesbian novel Rubyfruit Jungle.

Victory for Brown now would be for a person's sexuality to be seen as irrelevant. "I don't want to talk about being gay. I want to talk about what's happening in Afghanistan, the environment, the economy... I hope people celebrate this summer and remember how far we have come, then get outside themselves to engage with other great problems in society," she said.

Excerpt courtesy of Joanna Walters / The Guardian © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

IDAHO - the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia - is nearly upon us. On Saturday 16th May 2009, events will be taking part around the world to combat prejudice against LGBT people. IDAHO was started by French campaigner and intellectual Louis-George Tin in 2004, and its date (the nearest Saturday to 17th May) marks the anniversary of the World Health Organisation removing homosexuality from its list of mental diseases in 1990.

In what many perceive to be the increasingly apathetic LGBT culture of the 21st Century, it is important to remind ourselves why such efforts are needed. In 2009, 86 member states of the United Nations still criminalise consensual same sex among adults. Among these 7 have legal provisions with the death penalty as punishment. In addition, there are 6 provinces or territorial units which also punish homsexuality with imprisonment. The clip below shows attitudes to gay rights in our near neighbour, Russia.

In the UK, although we now have great progress towards equality, cultural and institutional attitudes still need challenging - LGBT people still face violent homophobic attacks and children face homophobic bullying at school, whilst anyone following debates over homophobia at the BBC, for example, will realise that we still have some way to go.

So, on the 17th, rather than wasting 30 minutes on an expensive latte, why not join in the activities on Tyneside?

The Newcastle LGB Issues Network has organised a ‘One Minute’s Noise’ to be held at the Monument at 1pm on Saturday 16th May (gathering from 12.30pm) to demand an end to homophobia. Everyone can take part: they just need to turn up with bells, whistles, drums and any other noisy method to get people’s attention! There will also be an information stall where people can get more information about LGBT issues and the organisations that support us. For more information please contact Sian Broadhurst, Community Development for LGB Communities at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

South Tyneside is celebrating The International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) with a FREE event of music, poetry and prose by lesbian and gay writers and perfomers at 1pm on Saturday, May 16 in the theatre of South Tyneside Central Library on Prince George Square.  Artists include, Fiona Sally Miller, Richard Bliss and Mary Lowe. Contact Richard Bliss on 07803894804 for more information.

Meanwhile, a new campaign aims to encourage same-sex couples to publicly and unashamedly hold hands."A Day in Hand" is asking people to upload photos of public, same-sex holding couples to their official website www.adayinhand.com, register with the site and continue to spread the concept. Celebrities and public figures have been keen to get involved, with former London Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick  supporting the campaign.

Straight people are also being encouraged to join in with the campaign. The group's founder, David Watkins said “We want straight people to hold hands with someone of their same gender in public, and describe how it made them feel. This is an inclusive event and involving straight people will support a wider understanding of this issue. You don’t have to be gay to object to homophobia and inequality. Hand-holding crosses gender, age, orientation and geographical borders. We want to show that LGBT people are relevant to everyone, and that we live and breathe in all communities."