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In August of 1966, the Compton's Cafeteria Riot occurred in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. This incident was the first recorded transgender riot in United States history, preceding the more famous 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City by three years. Compton's Cafeteria was one of the few places where transgendered people could congregate publicly in the city, being unwelcome in gay bars at that time. Since Cross-dressing was illegal at the time, police could use the presence of transgendered people in a bar as a pretext for making a raid and closing the bar down. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Queer studies is the study of issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. ... Image File history File links Gay_flag. ... Gender often refers to the distinctions between males and females in common usage. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Transgender (IPA: , from trans (Latin) and gender (English) ) is an overarching term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies that diverge from the normative gender role (woman or man) commonly, but not always, assigned at birth, as well as the role traditionally held by society. ... LGBT history refers to the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender cultures around the world, dating back to the first recorded instances of same-sex love and sexuality within ancient civilizations. ... LGBT rights Around the world · By country History · Groups · Activists Declaration of Montreal Same-sex relationships Marriage · Adoption Opposition · Persecution Violence This timeline of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history details notable events in the Common Era West. ... The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also... LGBT rights Around the world · By country History · Groups · Activists Declaration of Montreal Same-sex relationships Marriage · Adoption Opposition · Persecution Violence LGBT social movements share related goals of social acceptance of homosexuality or transgenderism. ... Christopher Street Parade Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures concern the culture, knowledge, and references shared by members of sexual minorities or transgendered people by virtue of their membership in those minorities or their state of being transgendered. ... The idea of a gay community is complex and can be very controversial. ... Image:.jpg Six color rainbow gay pride flag flying over Castro Street, San Francisco, June 2005 The gay pride or simply pride campaign has three main premises: that people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity, that sexual diversity is a gift, and that sexual orientation and... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Gay slang in linguistics refers to a form of English slang used predominantly among LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people. ... A gay village (sometimes called a gay ghetto and increasingly gayborhood) is usually an urban geographic location with generally recognized boundaries where a large number of gay and lesbian people, as well as bisexual and transgender people live. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... World laws on homosexuality US laws on homosexuality Same-sex unions in Europe. ... Same-sex marriage is a term for a governmentally, socially, or religiously recognized marriage in which two people of the same sex live together as a family. ... A civil union is a legally recognized union similar to marriage. ... LGBT adoption refers to the adoption of children by homosexual, bisexual, or transgendered people. ... A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as sex crimes. ... The Tenderloin is a neighborhood in San Francisco. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... The Stonewall riots, which as a whole is often called the Stonewall Rebellion, were a series of violent conflicts between lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and queer persons and police officers in New York City. ... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham, NYC, City That Never Sleeps, The Concrete Jungle, The City So Nice They Named It Twice Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1676  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City... Transgender (IPA: , from trans (Latin) and gender (English) ) is an overarching term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies that diverge from the normative gender role (woman or man) commonly, but not always, assigned at birth, as well as the role traditionally held by society. ... A gay bar is a drinking establishment which can vary in character as much as any other type of bar, but which caters exclusively or primarily to a gay and / or lesbian clientele. ... This articles is about cross-dressing in general, that is the act of wearing the clothing of another gender for any reason. ...

On the first night of the riot, the management of Compton's called the police when some transgendered customers became raucous. When a police officer accustomed to manhandling the Compton's clientele attempted to arrest one of the drag queens, she threw her coffee in his face. At that point, the riot had begun, dishes and furniture were thrown, destroyed, and the restaurant's plate-glass windows were smashed. Police called for reinforcements as the fighting spilled into the street, at that time a police car had all its windows broken out and a sidewalk newstand was burned down. Drag queens are performers - usually gay men, sometimes transgendered women - who dress in drag, clothing associated with the female gender, usually highly exaggerated versions thereof. ...

The next night, more transgendered people, hustlers, Tenderloin street people, as well as other members of the LGBT community joined in a picket of the cafeteria, which would not allow transgendered people back in. The demonstration ended with the newly installed plate-glass windows being smashed again. Transgender is generally used as a catch-all umbrella term for a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups centered around the full or partial reversal of gender roles; however, compare other definitions below. ... Transgender is generally used as a catch-all umbrella term for a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups centered around the full or partial reversal of gender roles; however, compare other definitions below. ...

Effects of the Riot

The riot marked a turning point in the local LGBT movement. According to the online encyclopedia glbtq.com,[1]

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.

Serving as an overseer to the NTCU was Sergeant Elliott Blackstone, designated in 1962 as the first San Francisco Police Department liason to what was then called the "homophile community." [2] LGBT rights Around the world · By country History · Groups · Activists Declaration of Montreal Same-sex relationships Marriage · Adoption Opposition · Persecution Violence Sergeant Elliott R. Blackstone (November 30, 1924 - October 25, 2006) of the San Francisco Police Department was an outstanding longtime advocate for the lesbian, gay and transgendered community in... The San Francisco Police Department or S.F.P.D., is responsible for policing in the City and County of San Francisco. ... Cover of French homophile literary journal Arcadie, 1975 The word homophile is an alternative to the word homosexual, preferred by some because it emphasizes love (-phile from Greek φιλία) over sex. ...

Background

Many of the militant hustlers and street queens involved in the riot were members of Vanguard, the first known gay youth organization in the United States, which had been organized earlier that year with the help of radical ministers working with Glide Memorial Methodist Church, a center for progressive social activism in the Tenderloin for many years. A lesbian group of street people was also formed called the Street Orphans. Look up vanguard in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Aftermath

Although the riot was a turning point for the transgender community in San Francisco, for 40 years, it was an almost-forgotten incident until the 2005 film documentary Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria recovered the story for today's audiences. On June 22, 2006, a memorial plaque was placed on the wall of the cafeteria, which is still in business. Sgt. Blackstone, who retired from the police department in 1975, was among those honored during the commemoration. June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

External links

• CBS NEWS VIDEO: 1966 Gay Riots In SF
• GAY: San Francisco transgender activists reclaim queer history
• Gene Compton's Cafeteria Riot Online
• PLANETOUT: Historic 1966 transgender riot remembered
• SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: Pride parade salute for an unlikely ally Police officer who reached out in 1960s to be grand marshal
• Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria
• TRANNY TALK: Video of 40th Anniversary Commemoration
• USA TODAY: As gay pride hits stride, transgendered find more acceptance