Compton's Cafeteria Riot

-CONTENT WARNING: descriptions of transphobia and violence

-QUESTION for audience: who has ever heard of this event? what are your initial thoughts/assumptions?

-images are of three protests in black and white. (left to right) the first is of roughly 50 people at a gay pride parade holding various signs in front of a building whose sign cannot be fully read. the second features a group of about 5 with the focus on an unidentified individual wearing a lightly colored coat. someone holds a sign reading “drag it out in the open”. the third feature a group of about 10 holding signs that read “stop police entrapment” and have images of the male, female, and intersex symbols intertwined beneath a fist and enclosed by a circle.

-QUESTION for audience: brainstorm other instances of lawful discrimination and/or unjust laws and consider their impact on the communities they effect(ed)

-these problems, while specific to the ‘60s, have not gone away and are very much still present in today’s world

-image is a black and white photo of Gene Compton’s Cafeteria whose sign reads “Gene Comptons”

-video link: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/05/05/404459634/ladies-in-the-streets-before-stonewall-transgender-uprising-changed-lives

-image is of a 1966 street sweep organized by Vanguard. in this black and white photo, dozens of people walk through the streets with brooms in hand. they pass what appears to be a theater whose sign reads “Vietnam in turmoil”.

-image is of the Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. it resides on the corner of a street and is two shades of tan.

-image is of a stone plaque dedicated to Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in San Francisco. the header reads “Gene Compton’s Cafeteria Riot 1966”, the paragraph reads “Here marks the sight of Gene Compton’s Cafeteria where a riot took place one August night. When transgender women and gay men stood up for their rights and fought against police brutality, poverty, oppression and discrimination in the Tenderloin. We, the transgender, gay, lesbian and bisexual community, are dedicating this plaque to these heroes of our civil rights movement.”, and the footer reads “dedicated June 22, 2006”.

-image is of Felicia “Flames” Elizondo speaking into a microphone at a 50th anniversary event. she wears a red shirt, has her hand over her heart, and stands in front of a pride flag hanging from a pole.

-QUESTION for audience: reflect on how easy it is to erase history and take a moment to imagine what would be known about this event without Dr Stryker’s documentation. what other events have been or have almost been erased or forgotten by history?

-all my sources for information that contributed to the slideshow are listed in the linked document (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FHT_RsconnsjZIrEBD7qb2Oi1TUysib6OgzNclhsang/edit?usp=sharing) - not listed here, because a bit long - and those who would like to learn more are encouraged to explore them!

-for more info/elaboration, check out the presentation's Speaker Notes (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-xCT962CBaYi9j548P7Ae5jWkKwLwipgFR3H2cxpESE/edit?usp=sharing)