"Gay Pride: A Turbulent Past, A Colorful Present,
A Promising Future"


By Master Erik, Publisher


When we think of all the fun in store with Pride Celebrations all over the world upon us, we should take a moment during the pomp and circumstance and reflect on three major conflicts that occured decades ago that not only made our celebrations possible, but also changed the face of LGBT civil rights. If it weren't for these valiant people who said "enough is enough", times would be even harder than they are right now!

"The Compton's Cafeteria Riots"


It was a hot Summer night 42 years ago in the Tenderloin District. And an uprising that night would become the first major struggle in the battle for LGBT rights and make things get even hotter!
"The Compton's Cafeteria Riots" was the first recorded Transgendered riot in US history, preceding the more famous "Stonewall Inn Riots" by 3 years.

Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco was one of a chain of cafeteria-style restaurants owned by Gene Compton from the 1940's to the 1970's. The Compton's in the Tenderloin---which was open from 1954 to 1972---was one of a few places where Transgendered and drag queens people could congregate publicly in the city, because they were unwelcome in the Gay bars lining Polk Street, which at that time was the mecca of the Gay/Lesbian community. Because cross-dressing was illegal at that time, police could use them as pretext for raiding the bars and closing them down, and the Gays didn't want that.

In August 1966, Compton's management called the SFPD because some of the Transgendered guests were beginning to get a bit loud and raucous, and wouldn't be quiet. When one of the responding officers on the scene---one known for manhandling the Compton's clientèle---attempted to arrest one of the drag queens, she threw her cup of hot coffee in his face! At that point, the riot began, with guests throwing dishes and furniture all over the place, and the restaurant's plate glass windows were smashed. The officers called for more police reinforcement as the fighting spilled out into the street, where a police car had all of its windows broken out and a sidewalk newsstand was burned down.

The next night, even more Transgendered people, Gay street hustlers, and Tenderloin street people, as well as other members of the LGBT community, joined in a picket of the cafeteria, which refused to allow the Transgendered people back in. That night's demonstrations ended with the newly-installed plate glass windows being shattered again!


The riots marked a turning point in the local LGBT movement. In the aftermath of the Compton's cafeteria Riots, a network of Transgendered social, psychological, and medical support services were established, culminating in 1968 with the creation of the National Transsexual Counseling Unit...the first such peer-run support and advocacy organization in the world.


Many of the militant street hustlers and drag queens involved in the riots were members of Vanguard, the first-known Gay youth organization in the United States; organized earlier that year by radical ministers Rev. Bob Humphries and Rev. Ray Broshears, and Glide Memorial Church--a center for progressive social activism in the Tenderloin for many years. A Lesbian group also formed called The Street Orphans, which would later become the old Gay Liberation Front in San Francisco...and today is now known as The Gay Activists Alliance.


Three years later and 3000 miles away, the second shot heard 'round the world for LGBT rights was fired, the resounding crash changing the face of LGBT America.

"The Stonewall Inn Riots"


The Stonewall Inn Riots were a series of violent conflicts between LGBT people and New York City police officers that began during a raid and lasted several bloody days. They were all centered at The Stonewall Inn, and are widely recognized as the catalyst for the modern-day LGBT Civil Rights Movement...what made this riot so significant was that before this time, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgendered had never before acted together in such large numbers to forcibly remove police presence and resist police harassment directed towards their community.


Law enforcement raids were commonplace in New York City, as was the case in other major cities across the nation; Gay bars and discotheques were routinely "ran through". Prior to 1965, the police would sometimes record the identities of all those present at a raid, occasionally providing the information to newspapers for humiliating publication...especially if it meant "outing" someone! Police also used any convenient justification to make arrests on charges of "indecency" within the LGBT community, including kissing, holding hands, cross-dressing---even merely being in the bar at the time of the raid! And they usually got away with it!


The question that still remains when talking about The Stonewall Inn Riots is why was The Stonewall Inn raided in the first place, if Gay bars were legal, on the rise, and profitable? John D'Emilio, a prominent New York historian, pointed out that New York City was in the middle of a Mayoral campaign and John Lindsay, who'd lost his Party's Primary Election, had reason to call for a cleanup of the city's bars. With that, there were a number of reasons why The Stonewall Inn was such an inviting target: (a) it operated without a liquor license, (b) it had ties to organized crime, and (c) by offering "scantily clad go-go boys as entertainment", brought an unruly element to the Sheridan Square section of Greenwich Village.


The Stonewall was frequented mainly by Black and Hispanic Gay and Transgendered men and drag queens. Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine, who led the raid on Stonewall Inn the first night, said he was "ordered to close the place down by all means necessary because it was the central location for gathering information on Gay men who worked on Wall Street." A recent increase in the amount of thefts from Wall Street brokerage houses led police to believe that "Gay men, forced by blackmail, were behind the thefts."

Regardless, there was one main factor that differentiated the raid the night of June 28, 1969 from other raids at The Stonewall Inn. Because raids happened regularly, managers usually knew what to expect when one was about to occur--a small band of uniformed NYPD would come in, harrass and identify patrons, and leave. Likewise, raids tended to happen earlier in the evening, which allowed the bar to continue to operate with normal business for the busiest hours of the night. This particular night, though, eight NYPD officers entered the bar at 1:20am with a warrant authorizing search and seizure for illegal sales of alcohol....


...and only one was in uniform! Police questioned the patrons as usual, checked identification, and then began escorting them out of the bar! Some were even arrested! The crowd became very agitated at this uncharacteristic treatment, and began to cause chaos outside of the bar. While the police loaded Gay and Transgendered people into awaiting vehicles, the existing crowd responded with catcalls, and then suddenly erupted into violence. They threw glass bottles at the policemen and even used a parking meter as a battering ram to try and get back inside.

Heterosexual folk singer Dave Van Ronk, who just happened to be walking by the bar at the time of the out break, was grabbed by police, dragged inside The Stonewall, and severely beaten.

The crowd's attacks on the police were unrelenting; word quickly spread of the riots and many local residents, as well as patrons of nearby Gay bars, rushed to the scene. When the police officers went inside the bar, the angry clientele blockaded the front doors and then torched the place! Eventually, the crowd was so strong that each time the police would disperse the mob, a new group would re-form behind their backs, preventing them from actually breaking up the rioting. A crowd of 2000 angry Gays, Lesbians, and Transgendered fought long and hard against 400 police officers throughout the night; police pushed, shoved, and even clubbed them. Protesters frequently chanted "Gay Power!" and "Gay Pride" throughout the ordeal.


Police began singling out butch Lesbian women, effeminate men and gender non-conformists throughout Greenwich Village and beating on them--most of them not even affiliated with the riots---simply because of their appearance, their mode of dress, or who they were hanging around with at the time. on the first night alone, 13 people were arrested and 4 police officers, along with an undetermined amount of protesters, were injured. It is known, however, that two Stonewall Inn patrons were severely beaten by the police.

The crowd returned again the next night. While less violent than the first night, the crowd had the same degree of energy, as skirmishes ensued until approximately 4:00am. The third day of rioting fell 5 days after the raid and initial clash. On that Wednesday, 1,000 people congregated at the bar and caused extensive property damage. The NYPD sent additional forces in the form of the Tactical Control Force---a specially trained riot-control squad originally formulated to counter Vietnam War protesters. However, they failed to break up the crowd, who sprayed them with rocks and other projectiles. Eventually, the scene quieted.


The forces that were simmering before the riots were no longer beneath the surface. The community created by the "homophile organizations" of the previous two decades had created the perfect environment for the formation of the Gay Liberation Movement. By the end of July 1969, the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was formed in New York, and by the end of the year would be seen in cities and universities all across the country. Similar organizations were also sprouting up in Canada, Great Britain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.


The following year, in commemoration of The Stonewall Riots, the New York GLF organized a peaceful march at the end of June from Greenwich Village to Central Park, as a showing of LGBT Pride...the first ever LGBT Pride Parade and the first official celebration of Gay Freedom Day.

On March 8, 1972 at Glide Memorial Church, 41 persons gathered in a meeting with Rev. Broshears and Rev. Humphries to make plans for the first "SF Gay Freedom Day Parade and Dance". As Rev. Humphries noted, "The last Sunday in June has become Gay Freedom Day in America, so we San Franciscans should also join with a parade too."


36 years later...here we are!

As for what happened to the Stonewall Inn? It closed its doors in late 1969. Over the course of the next 20 years, the space was occupied by various establishments---many of them unaware of the building's history or of its connection to the famous Stonewall Inn Riots. In the early 1990's, after its first renovation, a new Gay bar---simply named Stonewall---opened in the western half of the original Stonewall Inn. A second renovation in the late 1990's brought in new crowds to its new multi-leveled floor layout. The club remained popular until management lost its lease in 1996. New management opened the latest version of The Stonewall in February 2007, which I understand is doing quite well these days.


For the most part, things were calmed down after the closing in 1969, until a fateful evening almost 10 years later to the day, once again in San Francisco....

"The White Lights Riots"

Photography By Dan Nicolletti and Uncle Donald

On the evening of May 21, 1979, a crowd of Gay men formed at the corner of Castro and Market Street, the entrance to the Castro District. They were angry, shocked and confused. San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly Gay San Francisco City Supervisor and a well-known Castro businessman and resident, were assassinated by Dan White, another City Supervisor.

White--a former SFPD officer who crawled through an open window in City Hall to avoid his handgun and ammo in his pockets setting off metal detectors, and killed Moscone and Milk at point-blank range in their offices--was just found guilty of manslaughter instead of murder; a ruling that was seen as not only controversial due to his defense team's presenting of the infamous "Twinkie Defense", but also overly lenient given the heinous, pre-meditated nature of the crimes committed.

Pride Celebration; Birmingham, UK




Pride Celebration; Reykjavik, Iceland




Pride Celebration; Paris, France




Pride Celebration; Rome, Italy

Pride Celebration; Madrid, Spain

Pride Celebration; Managua, Nicaragua

LGBT Pride Month celebrates diversity and civil rights for all. Pride events---especially lavishly coordinated city parades---have become an annual ritual, and have not only grown to include thousands of participants, but also hundreds of thousands of cheering spectators lining city streets.

Many of the participants dress in bright colors, head-to-toe leather, or sometimes next to nothing at all! Gay Pride is also an opportunity to express the vivid personalities which reflect the diverse LGBT communities and their supporters throughout the world. During this time (and in some places year round, such as San Francisco's Castro District), the skies, the buildings---and even the people---are adorned with the Pride Flag, the symbol of solidarity and freedom.

Gilbert Baker, standing with one of the original Pride Flags

Baker, along with 30 volunteers, made the first 2 prototypes---they were gigantic, hand-stitched, and hand-dyed. Inspired by the 5-colored Flag of Race, the original Pride Flag had 8  multi-colored stripes, each stripe representing a particular component of the LGBT community:

The Original 8-Color Pride Flag


HOT PINK - Sex
RED - Life
ORANGE - Healing
YELLOW - The Sun
GREEN - Nature
TURQUOISE - The Arts
INDIGO - Harmony
VIOLET - Spirit


The following year, as a result of the incredible demand for the Pride Flag, Baker contacted San Francisco Paramount Flag Company to inquire about mass-production of his flag for use in the 1979 Parade. However, he was suprised to learn that due to production issues and the fact that hot pink was not a readily available commercial color, his original 8 colors could not be used. Hot pink was removed from the flag, and indigo was replaced by royal blue.

Today's Pride Flag

The second change came after Harvey Milk's assassination. To manifest community solidarity, Baker wanted to divide the colors as they marched down the street in San Francisco with 3 colored stripes on each side of the street; so turquoise was removed, giving us the 6-stripe version we now see and use today. The Pride Flag quickly spread from San Francisco to across the world, becoming universally known as a symbol of LGBT pride, solidarity, and diversity.

One-mile long Pride Flag; New York, NY; 1994

During New York City's 1994 LGBT Pride Parade commemorating the 25-year anniversary of The Stonewall Inn Riots, over 10,000 people carried a 30-foot wide by one mile long Pride Flag through the streets of Manhattan.


But regardless of the attire, the city, or the country, all of the marchers and spectators join in on the festivities to remind the world that Gays, Bisexuals, Lesbians, and Transgendered people deserve the same rights as others...and people should be free to live their own lifestyle, void of judgment and hate.