Years before Stonewall, a cafeteria riot became a breakthrough for trans rights

"The restaurant, open 24 hours, was popular with trans women and drag queens; they were not welcome in many of the nearby gay bars. Some of them were sex workers, and they could be arrested not only for that but for cross-dressing. One night, a police officer tried to arrest one of Compton's trans patrons on some charge or other, and she responded by throwing hot coffee in his face."

"Arrested for being who we wanted to be. Thrown in jail for obstructing the sidewalk. Thrown in jail for dressing like a woman, because in those days it was illegal. Anything they could think of to make their quota or just to make our lives a living hell, they would do."

"Others started tossing chairs, dishes, and sugar shakers around the cafeteria. Outside, they smashed squad cars' windows and set fire to a newsstand."

In August 1966, drag queens and transgender women who gathered at Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco's Tenderloin rose up against repeated police harassment and arrests. The 24-hour restaurant served as a refuge for people excluded from nearby gay bars. Many patrons faced arrest for sex work or for cross-dressing. When police moved to arrest a trans patron, she threw hot coffee in an officer's face, sparking a riot: chairs, dishes and sugar shakers were hurled inside; squad car windows were smashed and a newsstand set alight. Survivors recall widespread violence, expulsions from hotels, stabbings, and mutilations directed at LGBTQ+ people.

Read at Advocate.com