Assessor Torres Marks The Recognition of Transgender History Month

For Immediate Release

Date: Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Contact: Adam Mehis, 415-554-5502

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San Francisco, CA – Today Mayor London Breed officially recognized August as Transgender History Month. In August 1966, the Gene Compton’s Cafeteria Riots erupted as transgender people and gay men fought against police brutality, poverty, discrimination, and oppression. Compton’s Cafeteria was located on Turk and Taylor in the Tenderloin neighborhood where a plaque serves as public memory on the sidewalk to commemorate the event. While many people are familiar with New York City’s Stonewall Riots, San Francisco’s uprising predates it and San Francisco has been recognized as one of the first cities where disenfranchised LGBTQ+ community members fought back against transphobia and homophobia. In partnership with the Transgender District and the Office of Transgender Initiatives this remembrance is the country’s first recognition of Transgender History Month.

“San Francisco has been a refuge for many communities, including LGBTQ+ communities, and this commemoration memorializes a pivotal event in the Tenderloin and a community that sparked a struggle for human rights," said Assessor Joaquín Torres. “We celebrate these acts of defiance to honor LGBTQ+ people’s fight for our common humanity and the authenticity and audacity that created the beginnings of a nationwide movement.”

In fiscal year of 2021-2022, San Francisco allocated funds through the budget to fund guarantee income for transgender community members, expand digital and health services for LGBTQ+ seniors, support small businesses, arts organizations, and cultural programs, including $12 million to support the acquisition of the first LGBTQ+ museum in the country, and continual funding for programs to break the cycle of violence and discrimination that particularly Black transgender women encounter.

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