As Pride Month Commences, Sup. Preston Passes Historic Landmark Measure for Turk & Taylor Intersection, Key Site in LGBTQ Civil Rights Struggle

SAN FRANCISCO — Nearly 60 years ago, a seminal moment in the movement for LGBTQ rights took place at Compton’s Cafeteria, where a confrontation between a police officer and a drag queen exploded into a full fledged riot at the intersection of Turk and Taylor Streets. Now, following a unanimous vote of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the city is honoring the legacy of these activists by initiating the process to designate the intersection as an historic landmark.

“It’s important that the city recognize and lift up the courage of LGBTQ San Franciscans who stood up against police violence and oppression at Compton’s Cafeteria,” said Supervisor Preston, who sponsored the legislation. “I hope that by landmarking the intersection of Turk and Taylor Streets, we can help educate future generations on how important this space has been to the LGBTQ community.”

Although the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn in New York City is often cited as the start of the modern LGBTQ+ movement, the action at Compton’s predates by nearly three years what happened at Stonewall. “It deserves to be recognized in the historic context not only of the LGBTQ+ movement, but in the long story of resistance and political action of marginalized communities in San Francisco,” Preston said.

The corner continues to hold significance for queer and transgender communities. It is currently the site of the Black Trans Lives Matter mural, a visual demonstration calling for awareness of violence against trans women.

“It is time the Compton's Cafeteria Riots of 1966 receive the recognition it deserves - it is the first documented uprising of LGBT people in the United States, led by trans people, gender non-conforming people and queer folks in the Tenderloin, and it warrants the recognition decreed by the Board of Supervisors as a site of historical significance”, said Jupiter Peraza, Director of Social Justice Initiatives at The Transgender District. “The Turk & Taylor Street intersection is a true transgender and queer landmark, and the center of the Transgender District. This acknowledgment and designation of transgender history is truly historic, as most queer and transgender cultural assets have yet to be legally recognized.”

The resolution initiating the landmarking process was approved unanimously today, the first meeting of the Board of Supervisors during Pride month.

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