victoria cruz said the streets were angry after years of mistreatment by police and -- >> i sat rightnd living legend, she was there that night when police raided the bar. >> all of a sudden, a brick flew out. >> from the crowd? >> from the crowd that was on that corner there. >> reporter: they threw bottles, beer cans, and middle fingers at police. they were led by trans legends like marsha p. johnson and sylvia rivera, shaking their fists at a society that told them they were sick or didn't exist. in new york city at the time, kissing someone of the same sex or holding their hand in public was against the law. bars like stonewall were a safe place. >> it was the first time we stood up for our rights. for that, i wanted to see it. they weren't expecting that to happen at all. we didn't fight back. they used to raid the bars, they used to harass you. if you had makeup on and you looked good, they made you wash your face with the dirty water that washed the floors. >> reporter: the fight in the streets went on six nights. when it ended, a number of gay rights organizations were born. i