Pride Month: The First Pride was a Riot!

Hello everyone, and happy Pride Month! June means pride celebrations around the world (though they are not limited to June!). This week is also my wedding anniversary; 15 years ago Nathaniel and I had two weddings (and it’s not JUST because we are extra). As gay weddings weren’t recognized in New York, we had a legal ceremony in Connecticut and our religious ceremony in New York a week later. We recently did a family photo shoot and while I do not like posting pictures of my son, here is a cute one of the two of us, after 15 years of marriage and 20 years of being together.

For Pride month, I wanted to explore some of queer history that I think a lot of people are not as aware of. This week, I want to focus on riots in the 60s. Pride month is in June because the Stonewall riots were the last Sunday in June (the NYC Pride Parade is still the last weekend in June in honor of the Stonewall riots). The first pride parade was in 1970, in honor of the stonewall riots (you can see a video of the first parade here). But Stonewall was not the first riot (the first one was possibly the Cooper Do-nuts riot, but there are questions about when and even if it really took place), only the most famous ones. Below, I want to talk about other riots and movements that played a part in the pre-Stonewall.

1966-Compton Cafeteria Riots, San Fransisco:

In August of 1966, tired of being harassed by police, a transgender woman threw a cup of coffee at the face of a police man at the Gene Compton Cafeteria in San Fransisco. As discussed in the 2016 documentary, Screaming Queens (which you can find here on youtube), this riot took place in the Tenderloin section of San Fransisco, a couple of miles away from the Castro. Arguably, this riot started the transgender rights movement in San Fransisco. The area around the Compton Cafeteria is now the Compton’s Transgender Cultural District. There is also an historic marker:

1961-Black Nite Brawl, Milwaukee:

Black Nite was a bar in Milwaukee that was always a welcome environment for LGBTQIA+ people. One night, on a dare, four servicemen went to the Black Nite on a dare but were removed by a bouncer when they refused to show identification. They left, injured, and went to the emergency room. They then showed up again and brought dozens of other men to tear the place apart. In this case, the patrons were not arrested but, instead, the police arrested the servicemen.

1965-Dewey’s Lunch Counter Sit-in, Philadelphia:

Dewey’s was a hamburger chain with a location in Philadelphia. This particular restaurant decided to decline service to anyone who appeared gay, lesbian, or gender nonconforming. On April 25, 1965, the Janus Society protested this with a sit-in, leading to 150 people being arrested. The Janus Society started handing out leaflets to protest, and another sit-in was held on May 2, 1965. No one was arrested and Dewey’s changed it’s policy.

Conclusion:

Stonewall riots are an important turning point in the LGBTQIA+ civil rights movement, but not the first riot. Compton, Dewey’s, and Black Nite (and possibly Cooper Do-nuts) were three riots/movements that were important for supporting early LGBTQIA+ rights. Throughout this month, I look forward to celebrating Pride by talking about different parts of Queer history that we don’t always hear about!