It's a hot August night in San Francisco in 1966. Gene Compton's Cafeteria, in the seedy Tenderloin district, is hopping with its usual assortment of transgender people, young street hustlers, and down-and-out regulars. I was there, by the way, (watching the excitement and confusion and screaming from across the street) and it was a terrific and wonderful demonstration of LGBT Pride - long before anyone ever thought of an organized Pride parade.
The Compton's Riot was arguably the first act of civil disobedience in the struggle for GLBT civil rights in America - and it happened in San Francisco BEFORE it happened in New York at the Stonewall Tavern.
The Compton's Riot was arguably the first act of civil disobedience in the struggle for GLBT civil rights in America - and it happened in San Francisco BEFORE it happened in New York at the Stonewall Tavern.
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About the image: a plaque erected on the corner in the Tenderloin where Gene Compton's Cafeteria once stood.
The management of Compton's Cafeteria, annoyed by the noisy crowd at one table, calls the police. When a surly cop, accustomed to manhandling Compton's clientele, attempts to arrest one of the queens, she throws her coffee in his face. Mayhem erupts - windows break, furniture flies through the air. Police reinforcements arrive, and the fighting spills into the street. For the first time, the drag queens band together to fight back, getting the better of the cops, whom they kick and stomp with their high-heeled shoes and beat with their heavy purses. For everyone at Compton's that night, one thing was certain - things would never be the same again.
This documentary introduces viewers to a diverse cast of former prostitutes, drag entertainers, police officers, ministers and neighborhood activists, all of whom played a part in the events leading up to the Gene Compton's Cafeteria riot. With extraordinary candor and from differing points of view, the subjects recount the difficulties they encountered in the Tenderloin, as well as the sense of community they created there in the mid-1960s.
The documentary also goes on to show the connection between transgender activism and the larger social upheavals affecting the United States in the 1960s: the civil rights and sexual liberation movements, the youth counterculture, urban renewal, and Great Society antipoverty programs. It sets out to foster a better understanding of the experiences of transgender people and to inform a broad audience of their often-difficult lives and unheralded accomplishments. Along the way, the program also illuminates the interplay of urban politics, community mobilization and social services in creating the modern inner city.
Screaming Queens is a KQED production by Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman.
The film airs on San Francisco's PBS station, KQED, tomorrow, June 15th and again on June 21st. For more information and viewing times, please visit Truly CA on the KQED website.
You can also visit the documentary's website at screamingqueensmovie.com where you can buy a copy of the documentary.
Resources:
History of the Compton's Cafeteria Riot
Biography for Susan Stryker, Ph.D.
Biography for Victor Silverman, Ph.D.
GLBT Historical Society
The management of Compton's Cafeteria, annoyed by the noisy crowd at one table, calls the police. When a surly cop, accustomed to manhandling Compton's clientele, attempts to arrest one of the queens, she throws her coffee in his face. Mayhem erupts - windows break, furniture flies through the air. Police reinforcements arrive, and the fighting spills into the street. For the first time, the drag queens band together to fight back, getting the better of the cops, whom they kick and stomp with their high-heeled shoes and beat with their heavy purses. For everyone at Compton's that night, one thing was certain - things would never be the same again.
This documentary introduces viewers to a diverse cast of former prostitutes, drag entertainers, police officers, ministers and neighborhood activists, all of whom played a part in the events leading up to the Gene Compton's Cafeteria riot. With extraordinary candor and from differing points of view, the subjects recount the difficulties they encountered in the Tenderloin, as well as the sense of community they created there in the mid-1960s.
The documentary also goes on to show the connection between transgender activism and the larger social upheavals affecting the United States in the 1960s: the civil rights and sexual liberation movements, the youth counterculture, urban renewal, and Great Society antipoverty programs. It sets out to foster a better understanding of the experiences of transgender people and to inform a broad audience of their often-difficult lives and unheralded accomplishments. Along the way, the program also illuminates the interplay of urban politics, community mobilization and social services in creating the modern inner city.
Screaming Queens is a KQED production by Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman.
The film airs on San Francisco's PBS station, KQED, tomorrow, June 15th and again on June 21st. For more information and viewing times, please visit Truly CA on the KQED website.
You can also visit the documentary's website at screamingqueensmovie.com where you can buy a copy of the documentary.
Resources:
History of the Compton's Cafeteria Riot
Biography for Susan Stryker, Ph.D.
Biography for Victor Silverman, Ph.D.
GLBT Historical Society
San Francisco History Links and Resource Guide
San Francisco Film Festivals 2008 - Links and Info
San Francisco LGBT Pride 2008
California's Marriage Equality Supreme Court Case - Links, Fact and Resources
Restaurants in San Francisco - Inside Local Tips - the Ultimate Guide
Stop the Homophobic California Amendment Drive!
Folsom Street Fair - San Francisco 2008 - Links, Dates, Sex Info
.
San Francisco Film Festivals 2008 - Links and Info
San Francisco LGBT Pride 2008
California's Marriage Equality Supreme Court Case - Links, Fact and Resources
Restaurants in San Francisco - Inside Local Tips - the Ultimate Guide
Stop the Homophobic California Amendment Drive!
Folsom Street Fair - San Francisco 2008 - Links, Dates, Sex Info
.
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