Just after midnight on New Year’s Day, January 1, 1967, patrons were embracing and kissing as undercover police raided The Black Cat Tavern, a popular gay bar and restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake. Police arrested 14 men, and many were beaten and dragged outside. Six were accused and charged with lewd conduct for same-sex kissing.
The next month, on February 11, around 500 LGBTQ+ community members and allies gathered outside the bar in a peaceful protest. It was one of the earliest national public gay rights demonstrations, predating the Stonewall riots in New York, and one of Southern California’s earliest recognized public protests for gay rights, historians said.
More than 55 years later, many still remember what happened. The famed tavern, now called The Black Cat, has since been named the first California historical landmark that honors LGBTQ+ history.
The state tribute was sealed with a plaque, which was unveiled at a ceremony near the bar on Sunday, Oct. 1. Around 50 people attended the unveiling, including L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, as well as 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,” said 87-year-old Alexei Romanoff, one of the few living Black Cat demonstrators, at the event. He owned another Silver Lake gay bar that was raided on the same night, and was proud to show his support to the Black Cat by helping organize the peaceful 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 start of LGBT History Month, which celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender icons for each day in October. It also comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several bills that bolster the state’s protections for LGBTQ+ people, and about a month after California became the first state to recognize Transgender History Month, which starts next August 2024.
But even as the state gets its first landmark honoring LGBTQ+ history, advocates say the community’s rights and freedoms are in danger across Southern California. The region has also become a battleground for LGBTQ+ issues — from curriculum debates and student-led protests, to pride flag restrictions and controversial parental notification policies.
LGBTQ+ groups and allies are concerned about growing discrimination, state and nationwide legislation that seems to target their communities, particularly trans groups, advocates said. There is also a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ crimes — particularly anti-transgender attacks — across California, where overall hate crimes rose 20%, the state Department of Justice reported.
Still, attendees at Sunday’s plaque unveiling were glad to have something to celebrate.
Estaire Press, who attended to the unveiling with her wife, learned about The Black Cat’s legacy in the gay rights movement around 10 years ago. She said 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, said. “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 issues at local school districts, from Glendale to Temecula, where “children’s rights are limited… adults’ lives aren’t far behind.”
Silver Lake resident Daniel Henning recalled an organization called P.R.I.D.E., Personal Rights in Defense and Education, which helped put together 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 said. “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., near the site of the original tavern.
The efforts cost around $440,000, according to Kyle Jarrett of the Bill Beaver Project. Jarrett, who collaborated with the Historical Landmark Foundation for several plaque replacements, helped with the research and paperwork for the new Black Cat Tavern plaque, marking it California Historical Landmark #1063.
Ray Najera, executive director of the California Landmark Foundation, said getting the state recognition took about two years. He said there are a limited number of California-registered landmarks.
“It is important to teach an inclusive history of California because everyone deserves to have their history told,” Najera said before 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 also designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument for its role in the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement, given by the city’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 at the unveiling, raising his fists up in celebration. He has since become a prominent LGBTQ+ activist, fighting for health equity and HIV/AIDS research funding. In the 1960s, Romanoff established clinics where the community could get access to healthcare, which later became the foundation of the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
“We all stepped out and said ‘I’m not going to hide anymore’,” he said.
