Over time, the Stonewall Riots of 1969 have been heralded as the start of the modern LGBTQ+ movement; however three years earlier, in August 1966, the Compton’s Cafeteria Riots in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco helped to set the stage for the resistance. Though the exact date is unknown, the uprising of a group of trans women, drag queens and gay community members “was one of the first known acts of resistance by queer people to police brutality…[which] remain[s] a huge issue for LGBT people of color.” (“Don't Let History Forget About Compton's Cafeteria Riot”, Advocate.com)
Though Compton’s Cafeteria was known as a popular queer gathering spot, workers would often call the police to clear the restaurant of “gender-nonconforming youths” (“Compton's Cafeteria Riot (1966),” Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History (Vol. 1), inviting police harassment, violence and improper arrests in the 1960s. The lore around the incident suggests that “a trans woman fed up with the harassment and abuse is said to have thrown a cup of coffee in an officer’s face, sparking a chaotic riot and unprecedented moment of trans resistance to police violence.” (“Compton's Cafeteria riot: a historic act of trans resistance, three years before Stonewall,” TheGuardian.com)
Opposition to the trans community was so pervasive that the media largely ignored - and police buried - any records of the activism. The first record of the riot is an article written by gay activist Rev. Raymond Broshears for the program of the first San Francisco gay pride parade in 1972, which is the year Compton’s Cafeteria closed its doors. In 2005, after years of research and investigation, which stemmed from finding Broshears’ article, Dr. Susan Stryker and Pomona College History Professor Victor Silverman produced the Emmy-winning film Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria. The documentary, made with financial support from Pomona College, uncovers forgotten details of the riot through archival footage and first-hand accounts and can be streamed online.
The area around Compton’s Cafeteria is now the first legally recognized transgender district in the world. Founded by three black trans women in 2017, the Compton’s Transgender Cultural District (now The Transgender District) aims “to create an urban environment that fosters the rich history, culture, legacy, and empowerment of transgender people and its deep roots in the southeastern Tenderloin neighborhood.” (“About the District”, The Transgender District) Just outside of the district’s boundaries, the Tenderloin Museum’s permanent exhibition collection includes work related to activism, including the Compton’s Cafeteria Riots. On Friday, August 28, 2020, The Transgender District will host a 54th Anniversary Party via Zoom and Facebook Live to commemorate the Compton’s Cafeteria Riots.
Additional details were gathered from the following sources: