Monday, August 20, 2012

The Salt Shakers Broke, But they Were United that Day!



We marched because in the early 1960’s Vanguard (queer street youth) of the Tenderloin marched with pastors and seniors to get federal funds for the area and demand that the city pick up the actual trash rather than sending the police to sweep them out of the area.

They Won!  Poverty funds they won provided the funding for many of the homeless organizations that still exist in the Tenderloin, and the meal night they created at Glide Memorial is nationally known.
We gather at Turk and Taylor to remember the 46th Anniversary of the Compton Cafeteria Riots.  Documented in Susan Stryker’s Screaming Queens, the riots came were a response to police harassment and discrimination by the owners of all-night coffee shops.  Transgender activists and the Vanguard youth threw salt and sugar shakers out windows and fought back against police.  

The Work Continues!  LGBTQ homeless youth in the Tenderloin still struggle with police harassment and discrimination by business owners.  Today it is estimated that 1 in 4 youth who come out to parents will become homeless and that 40% of the estimated 3,200 homeless youth in San Francisco are LGBTQ. 

A contemporary group of LGBTQ homeless youth, supported by the Welcome Ministry and the GLBT Historical Society have been working in the last three years to share the story of the 1960’s Vanguard youth and meet regularly as the new group Otro Vanguard.  They helped to plan today’s action with Pastor Megan Rohrer and Felicia Flames. 

You can watch a live stream of the rally here:

The presentation begins about 20 minutes into the video. Enjoy!

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