The Black Cat celebrates Silver Lake's historic past

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The Stonewall riots of 1969 were a catalyst sparking the modern gay civil rights movement. But this infamous New York bar wasn’t the first site of a big, gay protest. A major raid and revolt in Silver Lake two years before Stonewall helped set the stage for action.

Five minutes after patrons of the Black Cat celebrated the coming of 1967, plainclothes police officers began beating them to the floor. Sixteen were arrested, including three bartenders, and six men were charged and found guilty of lewd conduct.

Gay and lesbian bars were often targets of police raids in the 60s, but amidst the tensions building from the civil rights movement, the New Year’s raid was a step too far. For weeks after the event, activists protested, distributed leaflets, and founded what would become The Advocate — the first major gay publication, still in circulation.

Decades later, the Black Cat is under new ownership and is open to the public as an eatery and lounge.

The city of Los Angeles has made the bar an official historical and cultural landmark, and bar manager Joe Groke says they must honor the space's heritage.

"We have to keep the original sign, we have to keep the front facade the same, the bar has to stay the same location," Groke explains. "So all that is protected from change. A lot of people in the neighborhood are really protective of the history."

The Black Cat is flanked by framed signs of protests on the wall, and receives visitors paying homage to the riots. And that's where comparisons to the Black Cat of the 60s ends.

"We're not technically a gay bar," Groke admits. "But we're not a straight bar either. We're welcome to everybody."

A good anthem for the site of a civil rights landmark.