Fri Aug 24, 2012 at 04:00 PM PDT
The Coffee and Donut Riots
by rserven

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/24/1123726/-The-Coffee-and-Donut-Riots

On June 18, 2010 I published a diary about the Compton's Cafeteria Riots of 1966.  On August 20, 2012 there was a gathering/march in San Francisco honoring the survivors of those riots and the decades to follow.

[...]

Most of you know that June is designated as LGBT Pride month because of the Stonewall Riots, which began on June 28, 1969.

At Wikipedia, one can find the following statement:

    They are frequently cited as the first instance in American history when people in the homosexual community fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted sexual minorities, and they have become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.

The only problem with the words above is that they are not quite true.  Almost three years before, there had been a blow struck for freedom on the other side of the country.

This is a pleasant (sort of) reminder for those of us in California that our current fortunes have been worked on for many years. We do have job protection here, and while individual areas may not be "as friendly" we now have emerging respect and protection.  Just remember though it has come with a price.

In 1965, there was the Dewey Lunch Counter Sit-In in Philadelphia. There was also the Cooper's Donut Riot in Los Angeles in 1959. There's so little information on this because it was covered much by mainstream media.