Sip-In (Protest)

The Sip-In took place on April 21, 1966, when members of the Mattachine Society of New York, one of the country's earliest gay rights groups, set out to challenge the State Liquor Authority's practice of penalizing bars that served gay men and lesbians. Activists including Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, and John Timmons walked into Julius' Bar in Greenwich Village, announced they were gay, and asked to be served. When the bartender refused, reporters documented it. Inspired by the civil rights movement's lunch-counter sit-ins, the action helped push back the legal machinery of LGBTQ+ exclusion and was a key moment in pre-Stonewall activism. Julius' is now a recognized landmark.