History of the word Pride has roots in Los Angeles
19.07.2022 - 03:47
/ qvoicenews.com
For the gay patrons of the Black Cat tavern in Silver Lake, it was a rotten way to start 1967.
But the horrific events of that night inspired a gay political organization that adopted a defining word for the LGBTQ+ community.
As New Year’s Eve celebratory balloons fell from the ceiling at midnight on Dec. 31, 1966, undercover officers with the Los Angeles Police Department tore Christmas decorations from the walls and brandished their guns.
They attacked and handcuffed 14 people inside the neighborhood gay bar.
Two men arrested for kissing were forced to register as sex offenders.
Two Black Cat patrons escaped to another nearby neighborhood gay bar, New Faces. But police officers chased them, assaulted the bar’s owner, and beat her two bartenders unconscious.
One of the bartenders suffered a ruptured spleen from the police attack.
The gay-political activist group PRIDE (Personal Rights in Defense and Education) lead hundreds of people in protest after the Los Angeles Police Department raided the Black Cat bar in Silver Lake and brutalized patrons and the bartender. Feb. 11, 1967. Photo: ONE Archives at the USC Libraries
Black Cat protest
Violent police raids on gay bars were common in the 1960s not only in Los Angeles, but also across the county.
But this time, the gay community fought back.
On Feb. 11, 1967, and for several days after, more than 200 people peacefully marched at the Black Cat on Sunset Boulevard while heavily armed police hovered nearby watching them.
They protested not only the Black Cat raid, but also the Los Angeles Police Department’s broader campaign of routine harassment, terror, and brutality at LGBTQ+ establishments throughout the city.
The demonstrators also demanded the police end their abusive