Compton's Cafeteria Riot

The Compton's Cafeteria Riot took place in August 1966 in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, three years before the Stonewall uprising. When police tried to arrest patrons at Gene Compton's Cafeteria, one of the few late-night spots that tolerated their presence, transgender women, drag queens, and gay hustlers fought back against the constant harassment. It is remembered as one of the first known instances of collective queer and trans resistance to police violence in the United States. The riot was documented in "Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria," a 2005 film by Victor Silverman and Susan Stryker, and the surrounding blocks were later designated the Transgender Cultural District.