Alexei Romanoff, left, who could also be one of many solely surviving individuals within the 1967 demonstration in opposition to a police raid of Silver Lake’s homosexual Black Cat Tavern reacts on the unveiling of a California Historical Landmark plaque figuring out The Black Cat Tavern as the primary public protest for homosexual rights in Los Angeles Sunday, October 1, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Just after midnight on New Year’s Day, January 1, 1967, patrons had been embracing and kissing as undercover police raided The Black Cat Tavern, a well-liked homosexual bar and restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake. Police arrested 14 males, and plenty of had been crushed and dragged outdoors. Six had been accused and charged with lewd conduct for same-sex kissing.
The subsequent month, on February 11, round 500 LGBTQ+ group members and allies gathered outdoors the bar in a peaceable protest. It was one of many earliest nationwide public homosexual rights demonstrations, predating the Stonewall riots in New York, and one in all Southern California’s earliest acknowledged public protests for homosexual rights, historians mentioned.
More than 55 years later, many nonetheless bear in mind what occurred. The famed tavern, now referred to as The Black Cat, has since been named the primary California historic landmark that honors LGBTQ+ historical past.
The state tribute was sealed with a plaque, which was unveiled at a ceremony near the bar on Sunday, Oct. 1. Around 50 folks attended the revealing, together with L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, in addition to Assemblymembers Wendy Carrillo and Lauren Freedman.
“It’s an honor that we still remember what has happened because if we don’t remember, it can revert back to the way it was,” mentioned 87-year-old Alexei Romanoff, one of many few dwelling Black Cat demonstrators, on the occasion. He owned one other Silver Lake homosexual bar that was raided on the identical night time, and was proud to indicate his help to the Black Cat by serving to manage the peaceable protest.
“We didn’t do anything by ourselves. It was always an effort of our communities and those who support us. It’s not only us, but those who support us.”
Sunday’s plaque unveiling kicked off the beginning of LGBT History Month, which celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, homosexual, bisexual or transgender icons for every day in October. It additionally comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several bills that bolster the state’s protections for LGBTQ+ people, and a few month after California turned the first state to recognize Transgender History Month, which begins subsequent August 2024.
But even because the state will get its first landmark honoring LGBTQ+ historical past, advocates say the group’s rights and freedoms are at risk throughout Southern California. The area has additionally develop into a battleground for LGBTQ+ points — from curriculum debates and student-led protests, to pride flag restrictions and controversial parental notification policies.
LGBTQ+ teams and allies are involved about rising discrimination, state and nationwide laws that appears to focus on their communities, notably trans teams, advocates mentioned. There can be an increase in anti-LGBTQ+ crimes — notably anti-transgender assaults — throughout California, the place general hate crimes rose 20%, the state Department of Justice reported.
Still, attendees at Sunday’s plaque unveiling had been glad to have one thing to rejoice.
Estaire Press, who attended to the revealing along with her spouse, realized about The Black Cat’s legacy within the homosexual rights motion round 10 years in the past. She mentioned the plaque is “more important than ever, given the recent attacks on LGBTQ rights.”
“We used to live in a county that would have problems,” Press, 71, mentioned. “I think it’s important that the vocal majority take steps like this to ensure that life in California remains open to everyone.”
Citing recent backlash centered on LGBTQ points at native faculty districts, from Glendale to Temecula, the place “children’s rights are limited… adults’ lives aren’t far behind.”
Silver Lake resident Daniel Henning recalled an organization referred to as P.R.I.D.E., Personal Rights in Defense and Education, which helped put collectively that first rally in 1967.
“It was the first time in the U.S. that pride was used in conjunction with the queer and trans community,” Henning mentioned. “The Black Cat is literally where pride began.”
The new plaque — sponsored by the California Landmark Foundation, the Bill Beaver Project, and the California Department of Parks — is on the intersection of Hyperion Ave. and Silver Lake Blvd., close to the location of the unique tavern.
The efforts cost round $440,000, in response to Kyle Jarrett of the Bill Beaver Project. Jarrett, who collaborated with the Historical Landmark Foundation for a number of plaque replacements, helped with the analysis and paperwork for the brand new Black Cat Tavern plaque, marking it California Historical Landmark #1063.
Ray Najera, govt director of the California Landmark Foundation, mentioned getting the state recognition took about two years. He mentioned there are a restricted variety of California-registered landmarks.
“It is important to teach an inclusive history of California because everyone deserves to have their history told,” Najera mentioned earlier than the ceremony. “The state landmark system has been in place for almost 100 years… this is a step in the right direction.”
The Black Cat was additionally designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument for its position within the fashionable LGBTQ+ civil rights motion, given by the town’s Cultural Heritage Commission in 2008. A marker names it “the site of the first documented LGBT civil rights demonstration in the nation.”
Black Cat protestor Romanoff was joyful on the unveiling, elevating his fists up in celebration. He has since become a prominent LGBTQ+ activist, combating for health equity and HIV/AIDS research funding. In the Sixties, Romanoff established clinics the place the group might get access to healthcare, which later turned the muse of the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
“We all stepped out and said ‘I’m not going to hide anymore’,” he mentioned.
