Compton's Cafeteria Riot

by Marcus de Maria Arana

Buried in the back pages of history was the story of the Compton's Cafeteria Riot in 1966 in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. This is a story of tired, poor, disenfranchised, almost desperate people, transgender women, who dared to fight back against the police for what very little they had a 24-hour cafeteria that provided cheap food and a warm place away from the harsh streets of the Tenderloin.

After years of being harassed on the streets and singled out in the bars by the police, these women had tiptoed through their own neighborhood every single day and night, always having to worry if they would be stopped for "walking while trans." Holding their heads high, they often endured being called "he-shes" and "freaks" by many of the cops, and most transwomen lived in fear during every police stop that they might be exposed as trans-gender or humiliated on the streets in front of their neighbors and the local merchants, terrified that a pat search by the police would turn into a sex or gender check. Horrified at the thought of what will happen if they are taken to jail, transwomen feared being groped by police officers or having their wigs pulled off or their skirts pulled up by their jailers while being taunted by the catcalls of male prisoners.

All of these women had to run the daily gauntlet of public attitudes about them, ranging from cold disapproval to absolute hostility. Some of these women had been raped and/or beaten by homophobic and transphobic men in the streets. And, because these women felt they could not rely on being protected by the police, the very institution that was supposed to stand up for the underdog, there was no more room to give, no more compromises to make, and nothing left to lose that particular night when desperation and frustration came to critical mass. Tired of being harassed by cops, and rejected and scorned by society at large, these brave women fought against the police one summer night wielding nothing more than their heavy purses, high heels, and righteous indignation. And, in doing so, they sent a clear message to the world, "We're not going to take it anymore!"

One very important outcome of their brave insurrection was a profound change of personal and public consciousness. For the first time, on a larger level, a great social shift had occurred. No longer did transgender, or LGB people for that matter, have to view themselves as the problem. No longer did anyone need feel apologetic about who they were or whom they loved or what their gender presentation meant to anyone but themselves. It was a deeply felt, internal shift of personal consciousness that said, "If you are uncomfortable with who I am, that's your problem…not mine."

A second important outcome was the change in public consciousness as many people started to grasp the fundamental concept that everyone deserved to be treated fairly, equally, and with respect. That crucial social shift opened up room for courageous and caring allies, like Elliot Blackstone, a San Francisco police officer who understood the needs of the community that really motivated the riot, and who became an essential liaison be-tween the transgender women in the Tenderloin and SFPD.

As an out and proud transgender man since 1994, I know that I have personally benefited by the expression of their rage that night - I work for San Francisco, a city that protects gender identity in its civil service and public nondiscrimination laws and that offers transgender health benefits to its employees.

I also can see how the SFPD was directly impacted by the history of the foundation laid down by Elliot Blackstone. I am working on a project with another Female-To-Male person, Stephan Thorne, the SFPD Officer who transitioned on the job. We are training every single SFPD officer, from the Chief and Command Staff to every Officer on the street and Recruit in the Academy, on transgender community awareness. These trainings and policy changes have been achieved with the full and enthusiastic approval of the San Francisco Chief of Police.

I see transgender women and men being appropriately housed with other women and men in all homeless shelters, as a matter of San Francisco policy created by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, and I can trace the influence of that long-distant night in August 1966 when fear created by intimidation was no longer an option. I will always be grateful to the courageous transwomen and their allies for fighting back, and to the heroic SFPD Officer who came forward to help raise awareness of their plight. Thank you for giving us so much, at a time when your effort was not widely praised for its proper place in the venerated history of civil rights movements. Compton's Cafeteria Riot was the birthplace of the transgender rights movement in America!

NOTE: Marcus de Maria Arana is a Discrimination Investigator at the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.