🏳️‍🌈🏺 defending our spaces

🏳️‍🌈🏺2-Gay in History🏺🏳️‍🌈

From Black Nite to Berlin: Fighting Back through the years

On August 5, 1961, a group of sailors stormed into the Black Nite bar in Milwaukee—a beloved queer haven—armed and looking for violence. But the patrons, led by barstool-wielding Black lesbian Josie Carter, fought back. Queer resistance was almost unheard of at the time, eight years before Stonewall.

In the 1970s, as the gay community became more visible in San Francisco, so did violence. Pentecostal Rev. Ray Broshears organized the Lavender Panthers, an armed neighborhood watch to defend queer lives.

By the 1990s, groups like Q-Patrol and the Pink Pistols formed to protect “gayborhoods.” Today, Drag Defense teams across the South show up to shield shows and Pride events from hate.

But violence is surging again.

In Berlin, the queer café Das Hoven has endured over 40 attacks in just over a year—most recently last week—all because of its neon sign: “QUEER AND FRIENDS,” and the far-right AfD party’s hate-filled rhetoric (yes, the one Elon Musk endorsed).

From Pulse to Club Q, and with dozens of Pride events threatened or canceled, LGBTQ+ spaces are under siege. In the U.S.—despite weak reporting and Trump closing the Anti-Hate-Crime Office—anti-LGBTQ violence is at record highs. In the UK, hate crimes rose over 40% in just one year. Extremist groups are being fueled by right-wing rhetoric calling us “groomers”—or worse.

But remember our history. When hatred tries to scare us back into closets, fight back.

As we mark the anniversary of the Black Nite Brawl, we honor every queer space brave enough to exist—and those bold enough to resist.

Pride is still a protest.

Get involved, check the community window at Thirsty’s for self defense and collective action groups here in Richmond.