On an August evening in 1966, three years before the Stonewall riot in New York City, the patrons of the Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district fought back against police harassment. This was among the first documented cases of LGBTQ resistance to police aggression, and a pivotal moment in transgender history. It’s a major reason why August is now celebrated as Transgender History Month in San Francisco.
The riot at Compton’s Cafeteria was largely forgotten for decades until a chance encounter in our archives led Susan Stryker to rediscover the event. It took her years of research to uncover the truth, using the scant documentary evidence that remained, paired with oral history interviews and word of mouth, to put the pieces together.
History is continually being rewritten and reevaluated as new evidence comes to light. This is especially true of LGBTQ history, which has been forcibly destroyed or hidden by zealots intent on erasing us from the landscape. That’s why the GLBT Historical Society exists—to ensure that we, and those who come after us, will have access to the truth of our history.
Two of the photographs here are extremely rare images of the interior of the Compton’s Cafeteria where the riot took place, part of the GLBT Historical Society’s extensive photographic archives. Today, these photos, the original paper that led Susan on the process of discovery, and the oral histories and evidence she collected throughout her research, are preserved in our archives. There they join thousands of other archival objects that reveal a rich tapestry of LGBTQ history and culture.
We make these community treasures available to all at our archives downtown and our museum in the Castro district. To book your visit, or to make a contribution to support our work, visit https://www.glbthistory.org/
Community Treasures from the GLBT Historical Society Archives
Special thanks to Andrew Shaffer
Published on August 10, 2023
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