Preserving LGBTQIA+ History at California Landmark

By Kennedy Dunn, Rutgers University

Located on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Los Angeles, The Black Cat is a monument to the city's pivotal role in the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights. When the modest Art Deco building was built in 1939, it originally housed a grocery store but by 1966, the building was a gay bar. At the time, homosexuality was criminalized in California, and the community faced constant harassment from the Los Angeles Police Department. The Black Cat was meant to be a safe space for the gay community.

A year after the bar's opening, there was a large New Year's Eve celebration taking place. Once the clock struck midnight and patrons began celebrating the new year, a dozen undercover police officers began a raid on the bar. As customers and staff attempted to fight back against the raid, they were only met with brutal force. Fourteen people were beaten and dragged outside to be arrested. Six of the 14 people arrested were brought to court and found guilty of lewd conduct and same-sex kissing. This conviction forced them all to publicly register as sex offenders for life.

In response to the violent acts in their community, members of the community and local activist organizations arranged for a protest to occur outside The Black Cat just a little over a month after the initial raid. On February 11, 1967, hundreds of individuals were met by armed LAPD officers. The event remained peaceful, even through intimidation and aggravation attempts by the police.

In light of the protest, two of the men who were convicted as a result of the initial raid filed appeals. While their appeals were unsuccessful, they set a precedent of transformation that occurred politically and socially for the LGBTQIA+ civil rights movement. This demonstration predated the Stonewall uprising in New York City by two years, making it one of the first moments in U.S. history that the LGBTQIA+ community publicly protested their constant persecution and harassment.

The Black Cat was recognized by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as a Historic-Cultural Monument in 2002. Later, in 2022, the State of California designated the bar as a Historical Landmark. It remains the only California Historical Landmark to honor the state's LGBTQIA+ history. Today, the bar continues to serves the local community as an upscale bar and restaurant.

Learn more about The Black Cat.

Image by: joey zanotti from Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, USA