2021
If you would like to know more about my piece "The Night of Unsung Heroes", read this! Compton's Cafeteria was a chain of cafeterias owned by Gene Compton in San Francisco from the 1940s to the 1970s, and this one was on the corner of Taylor and Turk. The painting is an ode to The Compton's Cafeteria riot, which occurred in August 1966. The riot was a response to the violent and constant police harassment of drag queens and trans people, particularly trans women. The incident was one of the first LGBT-related riots in United States history, and marked the beginning of trans activism in San Francisco. My undying gratitude goes out to the people who stood up for their rights then, so we could have more now.
The best resource I've found about this is the documentary by Susan Stryker "Screaming Queens". From Kanopy's description, the documentary "tells the little-known story of the first known act of collective, violent resistance to the social oppression of queer people in the United States - a 1966 riot in San Francisco's impoverished Tenderloin neighborhood, three years before the famous gay riot at New York's Stonewall Inn.
Screaming Queens introduces viewers to street queens, cops and activist civil rights ministers who recall the riot and paint a vivid portrait of the wild transgender scene in 1960s San Francisco. Integrating the riot's story into the broader fabric of American life, the documentary connects the event to urban renewal, anti-war activism, civil rights and sexual liberation. With enticing archival footage and period music, this unknown story is dramatically brought back to life.
Screaming Queens is a production of Victor Silverman and Susan Stryker produced in association with ITVS and KQED, with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting."