1965 California Dance Hall Raid
Overview On New Year’s Eve 1965, a costume ball was held in San Francisco’s California Hall (“Police raid. . .at California Hall”). The dance was unique in design, as it included “homosexual” explicitly in the advertising and description, which was unheard of at the time. The dance was attended by 500 people, ranging from clergymen and their wives, LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals, and drag performers (“Police raid. . .at California Hall”). Despite gaining prior approval to host the event, more than 20 officers blocked the intersection the dance hall was positioned on during the event and proceeded to harass and photograph event attendees (“A Night for Gay Rights”). The police intervention turned the attention of the public eye and has been argued to have contributed to the gay liberation movement (“Police raid. . .at California Hall”). The details of this event and personal accounts have been recorded in the documentary entitled Lewd and Lascivious (“Lewd & Lascivious”).
Homophile Groups Involved Six homophile groups were involved in the planning and execution of the dance: The Council on Religion and the Homosexual, The Daughters of Bilitis, The Mattachine Society, The Society for Individual Rights, The Tavern Guild of San Francisco, and The Coits (“1965 New Year’s Day Ball”). The Council on Religion and the Homosexual (CRH) was a group of clergymen and homosexual leaders that benefited each other mutually: the clergy were able to expand their religious ministry and the homosexual leaders were protected by the “cloak of the cloth” (“Council on religion and the homosexual”). The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), named after the poetry collection Songs of Bilitis by Pierre Louys, was the first lesbian-centered organization founded in the United States (Sonnenberg, 2015). DOB was founded by two lesbians, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, in 1955 in an effort to create a safe space for lesbians to socialize and promote lesbian rights within the homophile movement at the time (Sonnenberg, 2015). The Mattachine Society was a group formed in Los Angeles in 1951 with the goal of spreading awareness and educating on homosexual-related matters (Sonnenberg, 2015). The Society for Individual Rights (SIR) began in September of 1964 and was described as more democratic and inclusive than other homophile organizations and was the largest of its kind in the country within two years of its founding (Brent, 1998). In 1962, the Tavern Guild of San Francisco was created as an organization of bars and employees. The organization included 86 different businesses and 184 people by the mid-1980s (Ferrannini, 2019). The Tavern Guild served to help solidify the gay community by protecting gay bars and bartenders (“Tavern Guild of San Francisco”). Unlike the other groups described, the Coits organization is largely undocumented.
Event Description In the 1960s, dances were a significant aspect of LGBTQIA+ culture in San Francisco because homosexual bars had rules against touching and dancing (“Lewd & Lascivious”). Thus, the dances offered a safer social outlet and were often charity functions. The 1965 California Dance Hall Raid raised money for the Council for Religion and the Homosexual (CRH). Before the night of the event, CRH clergymen negotiated with the San Francisco police department and the city’s government in hopes of keeping the law from stopping or interfering with the event (“Police raid. . .at California Hall”). Despite this, the police were present outside of California Hall during the event and repeatedly went inside the event to do inspections. Several attendees, some of whom were lawyers, and volunteers at the event were arrested for allegedly interfering with the police inspections or for disorderly conduct (“Lewd & Lascivious”).
Aftermath The arrests and police involvement in the event led to a press conference run by the Council for Religion and the Homosexual to spread awareness on the issue (CRH) (“Police raid. . .at California Hall”). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) supported the arrested lawyers, which was notable as it was the first time the ACLU had taken a case surrounding gay rights (“Police raid. . .at California Hall”). After the ACLU won the case, the San Francisco police department appointed a liaison to increase communication between the department and the LGBTQIA+ community. The Bay Area Reporter referred to the 1965 California Dance Hall Raid as “San Francisco’s Stonewall” (“1965 New Year’s Day Ball”).
References
1965 New Year’s Day Ball. Pride is a Protest. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://prideisaprotest.com/1
Brent, B. (1998). Society for Individual Rights (SIR). FOUNDSF. Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Society_for_Individual_Rights_%28SIR%29
Council on religion and the homosexual collection. Online Archive of California. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt3000311n/
Ferrannini, J. (2019, October 30). LGBTQ History month: Tavern Guild Linked SF Gay Bars for first time. Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://www.ebar.com/story.php?ch=news&sc=news&sc2=&id=283778
New Year's Eve Jan. 1 1965: A Night for Gay Rights. FOUNDSF. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=New_Year%27s_Eve_Jan._1_1965%3A_A_Night_for_Gay_Rights
Police raid at New Year's day ball at California Hall. Omeka RSS. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/exhibits/show/crh/rooms/police-raid
Sonnenberg, Z. (2015). Daughters of Bilitis. FOUNDSF. Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Daughters_of_Bilitis
Tavern Guild of San Francisco. Archival and Manuscript Collections. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://findingaids.library.northwestern.edu/agents/corporate_entities/1534
YouTube. (2020, September 12). Lewd & Lascivious. YouTube. Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsAZGyDTSEI
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