San Francisco 50 years ago was at a turning point in LGBT history. A front-page police scandal involving gay bars was the talk of the town. Gay bar owners accused eight police officers of demanding bribery payments in exchange for lax enforcement of moral laws. In 1960 you could be arrested for touching or for propositioning someone of the same sex. Gay bars were often closed if their customers got into such trouble on the premises. But gay bar owners turned the tables on the San Francisco Police Department. This battle with the cops nine years before Stonewall created a model of gay activism that continues today. The consequences of this scandal ought to inspire us as we tackle marriage equality, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and bigoted religious institutions.
In February1960, Officer Waldo Reesink was arrested after being paid marked bills in a sting. He had been taking bribery money not to arrest people at the Handlebar. In early May, Black Cat bar owner Sol Stoumen worked with police to nail Alcohol Beverage Control agent Lawrence Cardellini. Police gave Stoumen a concealed walkie-talkie and money doused with fluorescent powder. Cardellini's arrest was just the second. Soon, other gay bar owners came forward and more police officers were arrested. By the end of May 1960 eight cops were looking at prison time.
Newspapers played with the slang term for bribery �" "payola" �" and dubbed it the "gayola" scandal. The newspaper reporting was a turning point in media coverage of the LGBT community. The media criticized the police and depicted gays in a positive light. Before the gayola scandal gays were reported as causes of crime, or an embarrassment to the city. Queers were to be locked up, driven out of the city, or at least silenced. Now, the media portrayed them as victims of out of control cops and good citizens seeking to clean up corruption in the SFPD. After a very public trial and all the legal maneuverings most of the cops walked away, but not all. Reesink went to jail for a year and a jury found Cardellini guilty. These convictions were victories for a community used to abuse by police.
The newspapers opened the world of gay bars to San Franciscans. Witnesses' accounts reported in the newspapers painted a picture of San Francisco's gay bars. Reporters were often ambivalent, at times empathetic with defiant first-hand accounts of bar owners and patrons. The stories proved to be a powerful means for destroying stereotypes. While the descriptions must have shocked some readers, the arrogant, self-righteousness reporting on the cops attracted sympathy for gay people. There were stories about cops taking money, intimidation and challenges to police harassment, and emotional stories of romance. Straights read about a humanized minority in San Francisco with names and kind faces seeking justice.
Straight witnesses also associated themselves unashamedly with the community. A woman the papers called the Widow Brown came forward. She could not have been portrayed in a more sympathetic light. Her large smiling photograph exuded warmth and grace. The July 30, 1960 San Francisco Examiner described her entrance in court warmly. "A matronly blonde widow wearing a chic black ensemble, she walked demurely to the witness stand as though going to a clubwoman's tea," the paper stated. She also readily admitted her bar catered to homosexuals. Her friendly picture, the reporters' positive description and her public admission all validated straight acceptance for the LGBT community. In 1960!
Reporters showed new role models for the LGBT community. During the trial many gay people came forward to testify at a very public trial. Bar owners, bartenders, bar backs all identified as gay, and knew their names and faces would appear in the paper the next day. They bravely stepped forward in front of photographers' cameras and told reporters their stories. In 1960 identifiable friendly gay faces were in the San Francisco Chronicle and the Examiner. This was at a time when coming out meant losing your job and being disowned. They were brave pioneers. Most queer people in San Francisco must have paid close attention to this media scandal. One gay resident who was around during the gayola scandal said he was glad someone was willing to stick their neck out even if most gay people were too afraid. The gay people who came forward became public models of pride.
Gay witnesses voluntarily identifying themselves also told stories during the trial about dealing with obnoxious cops. Edmund Bauman was depicted testifying as unflappable, feisty, and not readily pushed around. In 1960 there were almost no neutral or positive stories about gay people. Stories about people are the tools through which people in the budding LGBT community came to understand themselves. These events helped queer San Franciscans identify themselves as not only unashamed but also able to confront unfair law enforcement. From this event in 1960 organizations soon followed to take on police harassment of bars. The League for Civil Education formed. In its publications the league educated queers about their rights and exposed undercover cops by publishing the cops' names and photographs. Many bar owners coordinated during the gayola trial. The Tavern Guild soon transformed from a drinking club to a powerful organization dedicated to pushing the cops out of the bars. Some original Tavern Guild members are identified in gayola coverage. Gayola coverage identified an emerging paradigm in the city's relationship with its local, queer subculture. Gayola contribution to the LGBT community lasts still and can still inspire.
Craig Scott is a graduate student of history at San Francisco State University working on an oral history book on San Francisco in the 1970s. He is looking to conduct oral histories with people who have stories to share from their time in SF during the 1970s and can be contacted at: <"a href=mailto:[email protected]">[email protected].