What Came Before Stonewall?

Stonewall, the very well-known raid and uprising in the queer community, gets a LOT of coverage by people within the community. But what happened before Stonewall? There was a whole other chunk of raids and riots that go unnoticed by many, I'm going to be covering these events.

Black Cat Raid (1967) -

The Black Cat Tavern in LA was a hot spot and haven for the queer community. But, on New Year's Eve 1966, it became one of the many symbols of oppression. Police began storming the tavern, claiming lewd conduct violations. Patrons were beaten and arrested, an escalation in the negative treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals by police.

Two months after the raid (February 11, 1967), a protest was organized by advocates. They met outside of the tavern weeks later and the protest began. This protest served as a sort of forerunner to the protests that sparked from the Stonewall uprising.

The Black Cat Tavern incident was formally recognized in 2008 as the building was named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument for the role it has in the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. 

These events inspired a new branch of the queer rights movement including legal and social changes that would improve queer lives.

Compton's Cafeteria Raid (1966) -

In the early 60s, the Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco worked as a Red Light district. Sex work, drugs, and gambling were the basis for the community that resided there. It was a place for queer people to live more openly. Compton's Cafeteria was a space off the street for drag queens, trans people, and gender nonconforming people. 

Workers would often call the police to have the restaurant cleared, this invited officers to harass queer patrons. Even arrests were made under the pretenses of “female impersonation”. This never really riled up patrons too much.

But, in August 1966, a police officer grabbed a drag queen, she threw a cup of coffee in his face in response. This started the revolt. Patrons began lashing out and smashing glasses. Police retreated to the streets to request backup, and the fighting continued. A police car was damaged, and a sidewalk newsstand was burned down. Many protesters were arrested.

The following day, more protesters arrived. The group involved trans people, hustlers, people working the Tenderloin streets, and other members of the queer community. They picketed outside of Compton’s as they were not allowed to enter. The picketing ended once the newly installed windows had been broken. The restaurant's business declined after the riots, eventually closing in 1972. 

Black Nite Brawl (1961) -

The Black Nite Brawl was, like many of these events, hidden by history. This uprising is remembered by only a small group of elderly queers. It was the first LGBTQ uprising in Wisconsin history. 

We find ourselves in August 1961, four sailors went to a Milwaukee gay bar on a dare. Upon starting a fight with the bouncer, they were chased off by a patron armed with beer bottles. The sailors left embarrassed as they were beaten up by a gay man, they were to return and finish the job they started. They planned to “teach those sick f****ts a lesson”.

Before they had arrived the second time, Josie Carter, a gender non-conforming black queen, had told the customers rolling in about what had happened. The sailors had threatened her, her boyfriend, and her bar and had given one of the sailors a concussion in response. Josie wound up the patrons of the bar in case the sailors were to return. 

Wally Whetham, the owner of Black Nite, wanted to lock up for the night and send people home, but patrons stated they were done with running. A year before, a police raid in Juneau Park had resulted in the death of a gay brewery worker; he was beaten to death by the police. Gay men were victims of sting operations, disowning, demoralization, and disrespect. Violence was on their doorstep now and they had had enough. 

The sailors found themselves back at the bar with more help, unaware of what was in store for them. As Josie said, “we did not run from a fight. We did not run from nothing,”. The sailors tore up the bar trying to look for Josie and her husband. But, this wasn’t the 4-1 fight in a nearly empty bar this time, nearly 75 patrons were there and they were angry. The brawl didn’t last long, but the damage spoke for itself. It was brutal and bloody, but the survivors do not regret what they did.

Cooper's Do-Nuts Riot (1959) -

Over 60 years ago, LA police officers routinely harassed queer people that gathered at Cooper Do-Nuts, a 24-hour doughnut shop in LA’s gay circuit known as the Run.

On the night of the riots, five people were “randomly” selected for an ID check by two officers. John Rechy, a gay writer who was hustling at the time, was at Cooper’s when the riot went down. The people who were arrested consisted of “two hustlers, two queens and a young man just cruising”. Tempers started flaring as the officers attempted to push all five individuals into the back of a singular cop car. 

Onlooking patrons, many who had been treated the same way by cops in the past, began throwing donuts at the officers. This then escalated to plates, trash, and cups of hot coffee. The officers left, leaving behind the five people they were planning on arresting.

The officers returned later with reinforcements. The protest that followed is known as the “Cooper’s Do-Nuts Riot”. This protest is largely undocumented but what is known is that the event temporarily closed off traffic on Main Street.

A lot is left unknown about the protest and there isn’t a historical marker, but this event is still a significant part of the LGBTQ protest and civil disobedience movement that continued to grow. 

Hazel's Inn Raid (1956) -

In the 1950s, the Lavender Scare threatened queer people in San Francisco and all throughout the Bay Area. This anti-gay panic resulted in police officers raiding gatherings of homosexuals. The fear of being arrested brought local queers further south, settling on Hazel’s Inn which was found to be a tolerant establishment. 

Hazel’s slowly started growing into a destination for queer people, drawing in nearly 500 people on weekends. Unfortunately, this also drew the attention of the police. Plainclothes officers surveyed the bar at least seven times between January and February of 1956 after being tipped off by neighbors. This surveying led to Sheriff Earl Whitmore leading a 35-person raid on Hazel’s Inn, this included military police, officers from highway patrols, and alcoholic beverage control agents. 

Shortly after midnight on February 20th, 1956, the raid began. Approximately 300 patrons were rounded up and 90 individuals (77 men, 10 women, and 3 minors) were picked out for arrest. The bar’s owner, Hazel Nickola, was arrested for “operating a dance without a permit”, and the Inn’s three bartenders were arrested for allegedly serving alcohol to minors. 

The San Francisco residents among the 90 arrested were booked in Redwood City and charged with “lewd vagrancy”. This was a catch-all charge used in the 1950s to target African Americans, poor people, and homosexuals. Juveniles were sent to juvenile hall and Nickola was released on $250 bail. 

Nickola went to court to try and defend herself through Nickola v. Munro. There were two counts:  "On or about February 18, 1956, and for some time prior thereto, on that portion of the premises upon which alcoholic beverages were sold the above-named licensee permitted the above- described licensed premises to become and remain a resort for sexual perverts” and “on February 17, 1956, the licensee sold and furnished an alcoholic beverage to one Grant Dailey, a minor”. Nickola unfortunately lost her license to sell alcohol and her establishment went downhill as business declined. 

Pepper Hill Club Raid (1955) -

The Pepper Hill Club was located at 200 North Gay Street on the fringes of “The Block”, Baltimore’s sex and entertainment district. This also wasn't too far from the main police station and city hall. 

On October 1st, 1955, police arrived on the premises of the Pepper Hill Club. They were met with a “living wall” of disorderly patrons. The police had very little control over the patrons and they were also unable to distinguish any homosexuals in the mass of bodies. An officer heard a man ask another man if he still loved him and the arrests began. The raid netted 162 gay men. Six police wagons took 24 trips to deliver all of the arrested men to the police station. 

139 of the 162 arrested showed up to court the following Sunday. The court, surprisingly, ruled mostly in favor of those arrested. Despite not condoning what had allegedly gone on at the club, Judge James K. Cullen said that the manner in which the police acted “negatived the disorderly house charges". The courts ruled that, even though homosexuality was immoral (to them), there was not enough evidence to prove anyone’s guilt. 

This was definitely a huge deal considering how long ago this was.

Conclusion

Despite their limited coverage, these events will not be forgotten. They will never stop being the forerunners to the bigger and more well-known raids and riots. Remember these as we continue to fight for rights that are being stripped away.