50th Anniversary of "The Black Cat" Demonstration in Los Angeles

[body2body]

Februarary 11th was the 50th anniversary of the Demonstrations in Los Angeles that protested Police brutality, and entrapment. Early on New Years Day 1967 patrons of the Black Cat on Sunset Blvd. in Silverlake were celebrating, two men kissed, and undercover police went to arrest them for lewd conduct. All hell broke loose. The trouble spread down the street to the New Faces bar. There were many men arrested that night. The two men who kissed were convicted and forced to register as sex offenders. The result of this incident was LA's first Gay Rights demonstration on February 11, 1967. Tonight there was gathering of several hundred people to commemorate the demonstration resulting from the Black Cat riot. One of the speakers was Mitch O'Farrell, openly Gay member of the Los Angeles City Council.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat_Tavern

[rvwnsd]

Thanks for posting this. A nice reminder that "liberal" California wasn't always (and in many respects still isn't) as liberal as we might think.

[+ glennnn]

I wish these occaisions were known ahead of time so more of us could participate. Maybe I'm the only one missing the boat. Can someone suggest some sites/blogs I should be reading to keep up with gay news?

[rvwnsd]

I wish these occaisions were known ahead of time so more of us could participate. Maybe I'm the only one missing the boat. Can someone suggest some sites/blogs I should be reading to keep up with gay news?

Here's a link to the LA Times story that was published four days ago.

 

Every month Chicago Gay History posts a tidbit about gay history (and it isn't always Chicago-centric)

 

You can also google "Gay History in the US"

[bigvalboy]

Thanks for posting this. A nice reminder that "liberal" California wasn't always (and in many respects still isn't) as liberal as we might think.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Curtain