Collective Queer Resistance, Compton’s Cafeteria 1966

[note jointly written by Richard and Jerimarie] This blog entry is written to celebrate the struggle of Trannies during one hot August night in San Francisco in 1966. If interested in a pivotal piece of Trans history, then we hope you will read on.

Today’s political landscape for queer rights is dominated by the struggle for Marriage Equality. And with this we see many gays and lesbians, as well as LGBT allies, demanding equal rights in Marriage. However, what gets lost in this drumbeat for “gay civil rights” is the more fundamental issue of Queer Human Rights! Simply consider the fact that in nearly 30 states one can still be fired, denied housing, credit, etc for their homosexuality and that in more than 40 states for simply being transgender. Yet we hear the drumbeat that queer oppression will vanish once Marriage Equality is bestowed upon gays and lesbians. And with this mainstream “Civil Rights” struggle many queers and trannies are simply left at the bus station of equality, still looking for their basic human rights. And it is these same non-homonormative, non-assimilist queers and trannies that led the rebellions that has allowed so many of these gays and lesbians to even be empowered with the words Marriage Equality. One of the earliest rebellions was Compton’s Cafeteria, documented in the film Screaming Queens, and occurring 3 years before the Stonewall Rebellion. The following is the story of these proud queers who in 1966 refused to be marginalized and denied their basic human rights ~ and sadly today many of those same queens are still denied their basic rights and Marriage is far from equality in their eyes.

The Compton’s Cafeteria riot is a story hidden away, forgotten and then recovered 2 years ago by Trans activist Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman in their much acclaimed movie, “Screaming Queens”. We present this tribute in August 2007 and a short retelling of this story to honor our sisters and brothers who fought the good fight and moved the movement. According to Stryker this was “the first known instance of collective militant queer resistance to police harassment in US history, and marked the beginning of the militant movement for Transgender rights.”

In 1966 we must remember that homosexuality was illegal and deemed a mental illness, it was illegal for men to dress as women or women as men, that same sex touching could bring down the wrath of the police and in many gay bars our drag sisters were not welcomed and bared from gathering on the premises. At this time there were well established “homophile” groups that had made some headway in reducing police harassment but largely left out of the “gay movement” were the street queens, disadvantaged queer youth, people of color, street hustlers, homeless gays and lesbians and many others. Certainly the cops of any major city were more than willing to abuse, harass, and arrest this section of the “gay community” and this harassment and abuse continues today in many forms from many different quarters.

Compton’s Cafeteria was in the Tenderloin District and was an all night eatery and meeting place for drag queens, prostitutes, gay street hustlers, and the down and out. On any given night of the week the cops would go up and down the streets harassing the people, and arresting some for cross dressing. When the cops entered Compton’s that night in their usual frame of harassing the clientèle, one cop went just a bit too far. When he grabbed the arm of one of the queens in an attempt to arrest her she threw her coffee in his face. At that point the riot began with the patrons throwing dishes and other tableware around, breaking furniture and smashing the plate glass window. According to reports from the riot, our glorious sisters used their heavy pocketbooks, high heel shoes and some very good hits below the belt to fight off the cops. The riot escalated in the street when the cops tried to arrest people fleeing from Compton’s. A police car had its windows smashed and a news stand was burned to the ground. The next night when the management of Compton’s refused to allow the drag queens back into the cafeteria, a picket line sprung up and once again the plate glass window was smashed.

Sgt. Elliot Blackstone of the SFPD who was a liaison to the “homophile” community starting in 1962 began to meditate the grievances that lead to the riot. According to information on Blackstone found at www.comptonscafeteriariot.org , Blackstone considered himself to be a “social worker with a badge” and he thought it made more sense to change bad laws than to punish people for doing things that were considered “criminal” but not wrong. The riot marked a turning point in San Francisco’s LGBT movement and the glbtq.com encyclopedia has this to say, “In the aftermath of the riot at Compton’s a network of transgender social, psychological and medical support services was established which culminated in 1968 with the creation of the National Transsexual Counseling Unit, the first such peer-run support and advocacy organization in the world”.