José Sarria
José Sarria | |
---|---|
Born | José Julio Sarria December 13, 1922[1] San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Died | August 19, 2013 (aged 90) |
Other names | The Nightingale of Montgomery Street Empress José I, The Widow Norton |
Occupations |
|
Known for | First openly gay candidate for public office in the United States |
José Julio Sarria (December 13, 1922 – August 19, 2013),[1][2] also known as The Grand Mere, Absolute Empress I de San Francisco, and the Widow Norton, was an American political activist from San Francisco, California, who, in 1961, became the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States. He is also remembered for performing as a drag queen at the Black Cat Bar and as the founder of the Imperial Court System.
Family history
José Sarria was born in
Maria initially worked for the woman who sponsored her passage to the United States[10] and then took a job as a maid with a family named Jost. Julio was the maitre d' at the Palace Hotel.[11] Julio courted Maria until she realized she was pregnant. Their son José was born on December 12. His birth certificate reads 1923 but Sarria believed he was born in 1922.[12][13] Julio and Maria never married.
Early life
Sarria's mother continued to work for the Jost family, but it became increasingly difficult for her to fulfill her job responsibilities and care for an infant.[14] Maria made arrangements for him to be raised by another couple, Jesserina and Charles Millen.[15] Jesserina had recently lost her youngest child to diphtheria and suffered severe depression. Her doctor suggested she take in another child to raise and, after meeting with her, Maria agreed to let her raise José. José came to consider the Millens and their children to be his second family.[16] Maria bought a house and moved the Millens and José into it.[17]
Sarria did not have a relationship with his birth father, a man who showed no interest in him and failed to provide his family with financial support. Julio Sarria was eventually arrested for failure to pay child support. A judge ordered that he pay $5 to be released; this money was then turned over for Jose's care. Julio was arrested each month until he returned to Nicaragua in around 1926 or 1927; each time he paid the $5 and was released.[17] Julio died in Nicaragua in 1945. Years later, José learned that his father had acknowledged him as his first-born.[18]
Sarria attended the Emerson School for kindergarten and then, because he spoke only Spanish, was sent to private schools until learning English.[13] Sarria began dressing in female clothes at an early age and his family indulged him,[19] allowing him occasionally to go on family outings dressed as a girl.[13] In his youth, he studied ballet, tap dance,[20] and singing.[15]
When Sarria was around ten years old, he asked his mother how much money they had in the bank. Maria, who gave her money to her employer Mr. Jost to invest, asked to see the books. She discovered that Jost had been embezzling from her and from the other women whom she had referred to him. Jost was arrested, convicted and deported. Maria sued Jost's corporate partners and received a settlement but never recovered the bulk of the money. Unable to afford her house payments, Maria moved José and the Millen family to Redwood City in 1932.[21]
As a teenager, Sarria enrolled in Commerce High School, where he took advanced classes in French and German. With his Spanish and English, these brought his total languages to four.[22] His facility with languages led to his first serious relationship with another man. Sarria tutored Paul Kolish, an Austrian baron who fled to Switzerland when the Nazis invaded Austria. He brought with him his wife and son Jonathan, each of whom suffered from asthma and tuberculosis. When his wife died, he brought Jonathan to America.[23] Kolish found himself falling in love with his tutor and Sarria's family welcomed him and his son.[22] Sarria graduated from high school and enrolled in college to study home economics.[24]
Military service
Following the
Because of his fluency in several languages, Sarria was assigned to Intelligence School. However, following a routine background check for security clearance, he was advised that he would no longer be in the program. Sarria assumed that it was because investigators discovered his homosexuality. "I mean I had no lisp, but I wasn't the most masculine guy in town ... So I think that they figured that I was a little bit gay."[27] Sarria officially remained attached to the Signal Corps but was ordered to Cooks and Bakers School and trained as a cook.[25] After graduating from cooking school, he was assigned to train as a scout, but deliberately failed the training because of the dangerous nature of the assignment. He was then assigned to the motor pool.[28]
Through his work at the motor pool, Sarria met a young officer named Major Mataxis.
Upon Sarria's return from overseas, Kolish began to worry about their future. The United States had no legal recognition for same-sex relationships and Kolish looked for a way to provide for Sarria after Kolish's death. He proposed marriage to Sarria's mother Maria. Maria was willing, but José refused to allow it. Given no other choice, Kolish contacted his only remaining adult relative, a brother who lived in Hollywood, and left instructions for the care of Sarria and his family.[33]
On Christmas Day 1947, Kolish and his son were struck by a drunk driver while driving to spend the holiday with Sarria and his family. Both were killed.[34] The coroner determined that Jonathan died first, meaning that Paul's brother inherited everything. The brother ignored Paul's wishes regarding Sarria. "I would have gotten one of the houses", Sarria claimed, "but he only gave me a little money and one ring. He claimed that was all Paul wanted me to have. He was so evil. He said afterwards, 'If you expect anything else, you're not going to get it.' "[35]
The Nightingale of Montgomery Street
Following his military service, Sarria returned to San Francisco. He enrolled in college with plans of becoming a teacher. Sarria began covering for Moore when he was unable to work and soon Black Cat owner Sol Stoumen hired him as a cocktail waiter.
At around this time, Sarria was arrested for
One night at the Black Cat, Sarria recognized the piano player's rendition of
Sarria encouraged patrons to be as open and honest as possible. "People were living double lives and I didn't understand it. It was persecution. Why be ashamed of who you are?"
It sounds silly, but if you lived at that time and had the oppression coming down from the police department and from society, there was nowhere to turn ... and to be able to put your arms around other gay men and to be able to stand up and sing 'God Save Us Nelly Queens' ... we were really not saying 'God Save Us Nelly Queens.' We were saying 'We have our rights, too.'[45]
Sarria fought against police harassment, both of gays and of gay bars. Raids on gay bars were routine, with everyone inside the raided bar taken into custody and charged with such crimes as being "inmates in a disorderly house". Although the charges were routinely dropped, the arrested patrons' names, addresses and workplaces were printed in the newspapers.
Political candidacy
During an intensive period of police pressure after the 1959 San Francisco mayoral election, in which the supposed leniency of city government toward homosexuals became an issue,[51] Sarria ran for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1961, becoming the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States.[52] Although Sarria never expected to win[44] he almost did win by default. On the last day for candidates to file petitions, city officials realized that there were fewer than five candidates running for the five open seats, which would have guaranteed Sarria a seat. By the end of the day, a total of 34 candidates had filed.[53] LCE co-founder Strait began printing the LCE News in part to support Sarria's candidacy.[54] Sarria garnered some 6,000 votes in the citywide race,[52] finishing ninth.[44] This was not enough to win a seat but was enough to shock political pundits and set in motion the idea that a gay voting bloc could wield real power in city politics.[55] "[He] put the gay vote on the map", said Terence Kissack, former executive director of the GLBT Historical Society. "He made it visible and showed there was a constituency."[44] As Sarria put it, "From that day on, nobody ran for anything in San Francisco without knocking on the door of the gay community."[56]
In 1962, Sarria along with bar owners and employees formed the Tavern Guild, the country's first gay business association.[57] The Guild raised money for legal fees and bail for people arrested at gay bars and helped bar owners coordinate their response to the harassment by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the police.[58]
Sarria continued to perform and agitate at the Black Cat until, after some 15 years of unrelenting police pressure, the bar lost its liquor license in 1963.[59] The Black Cat stayed open as a luncheonette for a few more months before finally closing for good in February 1964.[60]
José I, The Widow Norton
With the demise of the Black Cat, Sarria helped found the
Crowned Queen of the
Sarria's assumption of the title of Empress led to the establishment of the
Restaurateur
In 1964, Sarria went into business with restaurateur Pierre Parker, who owned restaurants called "Lucky Pierre" in
While working at the Fair, Sarria learned that his longtime companion, Jimmy Moore, had died. Moore had been a frequent drinker throughout their relationship and had been arrested a number of times for public drunkenness. A judge finally told Moore that the next time he was arrested he would be given the maximum sentence. Moore was arrested again and, scared of a long prison term, hanged himself in jail.[70] Although devastated, Sarria could not come home from the exposition. At the end of the season he returned and he and Moore's father consoled each other. "And so, that ended my big romance. The great love of my life. It carried on for nine years."[71]
Sarria and Parker worked together through both seasons of the New York fair,
Later life
Sarria and members of the Imperial Court appeared along with other notable drag queens in the 1995 film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. They played the judges of the "Drag Queen of the Year Contest" that opened the film.
In 2005, Sarria found himself at the center of a legal controversy over his role on the jury in the 1991 murder trial of Clifford Bolden. Bolden had been
Sarria was honored in 2005 with the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee's Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal Award.[78] On May 25, 2006, Sarria's lifetime of activism was commemorated when the city of San Francisco renamed a section of 16th Street in the Castro to José Sarria Court.[42] A plaque outlining Sarria's accomplishments is embedded in the sidewalk in front of the Harvey Milk Memorial Branch of the San Francisco Public Library, which is located at 1 José Sarria Court.[79] In 2009, the California State Assembly honored Sarria during an official celebration of LGBT Pride Month on June 21.[80]
Sarria reigned over the Imperial Court System until February 17, 2007, abdicating the throne in favor of his first heir apparent, Nicole Murray-Ramirez, who assumed the title Empress Nicole the Great, Queen Mother of the Americas.[81] This abdication marked the end of a 42-year reign of pioneering political activism and unforgettable queer pageantry.[82]
Sarria left San Francisco in 1996, settling in the Palm Springs, California,[64] area for more than a decade before moving to Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico, a suburb of Albuquerque.[83][84][85] On granting Sarria its Lifetime Achievement Award in March 2012, Albuquerque Pride noted that he was living in Los Ranchos in "a cute little casita and is enjoying his time raising chickens."[86] The "casita" was the guest house adjacent to the home of Tony Ross and his husband PJ Sedillo (also known as Fontana DeVine, Imperial Dowager Empress VI of the United Court of the Sandias); Ross and Sedillo served as Sarria's caregivers in the last three years of his life.[87]
Death
Sarria died of adrenal cancer at the age of 89 or 90 on August 19, 2013, at his home in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque.[85]
Sarria's imperial-drag-themed funeral was held on September 6, 2013, at
Immediately following the funeral, a cortege of approximately 500 mourners accompanied Sarria's body to
Archives & memorabilia
Sarria documented his public and private activities throughout his life, amassing an extensive collection of archival materials and artifacts. He donated the majority of his papers and memorabilia, along with a sampling of his costumes, to the GLBT Historical Society, an archives and research center in San Francisco. An initial donation came in 1996 followed by another substantial body of material in 2012.[83][95]
In addition, Sarria gave a small selection of costumes, accessories and documents to the Oakland Museum of California—including a cape and headdress that he wore in performances of his comic version of Aida at The Black Cat.[96][97] An article published in The Atlantic in 2011 asserted that Sarria had also donated materials to the Smithsonian Institution.[98] This claim appears to be erroneous, as Sarria stated in 2012 that he declined the Smithsonian's request.[83]
In 2016, a group of individuals associated with various Imperial Courts created the José Sarria Foundation to further Sarria's memory and legacy. One of the aims of the group is to gather and preserve a collection Sarria's costume jewelry and other personal belongings that were auctioned by his estate.[99] Established as a 501(c)3 public charity in the state of Washington, the organization outlines its mission as follows: "The foundation is dedicated to keeping José Julio Sarria's memory alive for future generations ... continuing his life's work of philanthropy, balanced with a healthy dose of fun."[100]
Public commemorations
The San Francisco Pride Board created the José Julio Sarria History Makers award to honor LGBT people who make newsworthy accomplishments that were not going to get the recognition. It was created shortly before Sarria's death.[101]
Sarria is one of the LGBT historic figures honored on the Rainbow Honor Walk in San Francisco's Castro District. A bronze plaque in Sarria's memory was dedicated as part of the honor walk on Castro Street in November 2017.[102]
On Wednesday, June 12, 2019, José Sarria was featured in the daily segment: "Pride Month F.Y.I." on the television talk show The View during a Pride Month salute. A leading LGBTQ pioneer was featured every day during the month of June on the show.[103]
In June 2019, Sarria was one of the inaugural fifty American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" inducted on the
In 2022, Sarria was honored with a star on the Walk of Stars in Palm Springs. His star is on Museum Way near a statue of Marilyn Monroe.[108]
Fictional portrayals
In 2017, Michael DeLorenzo portrayed Sarria in the miniseries about the history of the modern LGBT movement called When We Rise.
In 2020, Sarria was portrayed in the HBO docu-drama Equal.
Notes
- ^ a b Ancestry.com. California Birth Index, 1905–1995 [database online]. Provo, Utah, US: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ "Imperial Council SF Founder". Imperial Council San Francisco. 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
- ^ a b Aldrich, et al. p. 370
- ISBN 0789002590.
- ^ Gorman p. 17
- ^ Gorman p. 19–20
- ^ a b Gorman p. 20–1
- ^ Gorman p. 23
- ^ Gorman pp. 24–5
- ^ Gorman p. 26
- ^ Gorman p. 27
- ^ Pettis, Ruth M (2004). "Sarria, Jose (1923?)". glbtq. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
His birth certificate states December 12, 1923, but Sarria suspects that his mother added a year to deflect attention from her unmarried state.
- ^ a b c Boyd p. 20
- ^ Gorman p. 31
- ^ a b c Bullough p. 376
- ^ Gorman p. 35
- ^ a b Gorman p. 36
- ^ Gorman p. 72
- ^ Shilts p. 51
- ^ Boyd p. 22
- ^ Gorman pp. 45–7
- ^ a b Gorman p. 63
- ^ Gorman pp. 60–1
- ^ Gorman p. 77
- ^ a b c Bullough pp. 376–7
- ^ Gorman pp. 80–1
- ^ Gorman p. 87
- ^ Gorman p. 90
- ^ Gorman p. 91
- ^ Gorman p. 92
- ^ Gorman
- ^ Gorman p. 95
- ^ Gorman pp. 66–7
- ^ Gorman p. 69
- ^ Gorman p. 70
- ^ a b c d Bullough p. 377
- ^ Shilts pp. 51–2
- ^ Gorman p. 139
- ^ Loughery p. 216
- ^ Boyd p. 21
- ^ a b c d Shilts p. 52
- ^ a b Dufty, Bevan (May 26, 2006). "Honoring a gay pioneer's contribution to San Francisco". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
- ISBN 978-0226922454.
- ^ a b c d Olsen, David (May 24, 2006). "'Why be ashamed?' Desert resident was first openly gay political candidate". The Press-Enterprise. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ Mariposa Film Group (1977). Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (Theatrical film). United States: Mariposa Film Group.
- ^ Shilts p. 54
- ^ Shilts p. 53
- ^ Gorman p. 179
- ^ Marcus p. 136
- ^ Bullough p. 378
- ^ Shilts pp. 55–6
- ^ a b c Miller p. 347
- ^ Witt, et al. p. 8
- ^ Carter p. 104
- ^ Shilts pp. 56–7
- ^ Lockhart p. 36
- ^ Bullough p. 157
- ^ D'Emilio p. 189
- ^ Shilts p. 57
- ^ a b Gorman p. 150
- ^ Gorman p. 197
- ^ D'Emilio p. 191
- ^ Gorman p. 198
- ^ a b Nash, Tammye (October 12, 2007). "Jose Sarria: Activist Empress". Dallas Voice. Archived from the original on February 25, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ Vigil, Delfin (February 21, 2005). "A gay court pays homage to its queer emperor". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ISBN 9780762736812.
- ^ "Founder of the International Court System Empress I Jose". International Court System. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
- ^ "Restaurant Guide". The New York Times. October 20, 1959. p. 44.
- ^ Gorman p. 146
- ^ Gorman p. 133
- ^ Gorman p. 134
- ^ Gorman p. 153
- ^ Gorman p. 159
- ^ Shilts p. 75
- ^ Shilts p. 183
- ^ Van Derbeken, Jaxon (July 17, 2005). "Death Row juror alleged to have secret vendetta". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ Graham, S (February 13, 2008). "Judge: S.F. drag queen did not taint death case". ALM Research. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ Sister Dana Van Iquity (April 28, 2005). "Parade Announces Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal". San Francisco Bay Times. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
- ^ "Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Branch Library". San Francisco Public Library. Archived from the original on October 26, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
- ^ Aiello, Dan. "Assembly Proclaims June LGBT Pride Month Despite GOP Link To Prop 8". California Progress Report. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ^ Baldwin, Anthony (November 2, 2006). "Imperial Court System founder Jose Sarria steps down". Gay & Lesbian Times. Archived from the original on May 7, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Villegas, Jordan (May 20, 2021). ""The Empress is a Man": The Drag Royalty of José Julio Sarria". Latina. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Community leader, court founder José Sarria donates archives, costumes to Historical Society". History Happens. October 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ Coe, Alexis (March 1, 2013). "Recent acquisitions: Gay icon, performer and "empress" José Sarria". San Francisco Weekly. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ a b Slotnik, Daniel E. (August 23, 2013). "José Sarria, Gay Advocate and Performer, Dies at 90". New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
- ^ Albuquerque Pride (2012-05). "Honored dignitaries: Lifetime achievement award recipient" Archived September 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine; retrieved August 24, 2013.
- ^ Tassy, Elaine (August 18, 2013). "Gay rights pioneer, WWII vet dies at age 90". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
- ^ "Jose Julio Sarria, founder of Imperial Court System, dies at 90". LGBT Weekly. August 19, 2013. Archived from the original on August 19, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- The Advocate. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
- ^ Bajko, Matthew S. (September 6, 2013). "Gay SF icon laid to rest". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ O'Connor, Lydia (September 7, 2013). "Jose Sarria, gay rights activist, leaves behind best funeral instructions ever". Huffington Post. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ Christopher Harrity (September 8, 2013). "PHOTOS: Elegance and Honor, the State Funeral of José Sarria". The Advocate. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013.
- ^ Carl Nolte (September 6, 2013). "Mourners celebrate gay rights pioneer Jose Sarria". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "Funeral fit for a queen". Bay Area Reporter. September 12, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ José Sarria Papers (Collection No. 1996-01); GLBT Historical Society online catalog of archival collections; retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Lesbian and Gay Archives Roundtable of the Society of American Archivists. "Lavender Legacies Guide. United States: California"; retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ Wood, Sura (April 29, 2010). "Bringing art to the people: The Oakland Museum reopens after renovation". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ Sismondo, Christine (2011-11). "The Queen of San Francisco", The Atlantic.
- ^ "About". José Sarria Foundation. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ "A New Way to Honor Mama José". José Sarria Foundation. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ "SF Pride 2013 Grand Marshal Lineup". Bay Times. May 30, 2013.
- ^ "Second LGBT Honorees Selected for San Francisco's Rainbow Honor Walk". Rainbow Honor Walk. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ "Pride Month FYI on "The View"". The View. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- ^ Glasses-Baker, Becca (June 27, 2019). "National LGBTQ Wall of Honor unveiled at Stonewall Inn". www.metro.us. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
- ^ Rawles, Timothy (June 19, 2019). "National LGBTQ Wall of Honor to be unveiled at historic Stonewall Inn". San Diego Gay and Lesbian News. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ^ Laird, Cynthia. "Groups seek names for Stonewall 50 honor wall". The Bay Area Reporter / B.A.R. Inc. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Sachet, Donna (April 3, 2019). "Stonewall 50". San Francisco Bay Times. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ "Sarria gets his star in Palm Springs". Bay Area Reporter.
References
- Aldrich, Robert and Garry Wotherspoon (2000). Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History: From World War II to the Present Day. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-22974-X.
- Boyd, Nan Alamilla (2003). Wide-open Town: A History of Queer San Francisco to 1965. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-20415-8.
- Bullough, Vern L. (2002). Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context. New York, Haworth Press. ISBN 1-56023-193-9.
- Carter, David (2005). Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution. New York, MacMillan. ISBN 0-312-34269-1.
- D'Emilio, John (1983). Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940-1970. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-14265-5.
- Gorman, Michael R. (1998). The Empress is a Man: Stories From the Life of José Sarria. New York, Harrington Park Press: an imprint of Haworth Press. ISBN 0-7890-0259-0(paperback edition).
- Lockhart, John (2002). The Gay Man's Guide to Growing Older. Los Angeles, Alyson Publications. ISBN 1-55583-591-0.
- Loughery, John (1998). The Other Side of Silence: Men's Lives and Gay Identities: A Twentieth Century History. New York, Harry Holt & Company. ISBN 0-8050-3896-5.
- Marcus, Eric (1992). Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights 1945 - 1990, An Oral History. New York, HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-016708-4.
- ISBN 0-09-957691-0.
- Montanarelli, Lisa, and Ann Harrison (2005). Strange But True San Francisco: Tales of the City by the Bay. San Francisco, Globe Pequot. ISBN 0-7627-3681-X.
- ISBN 0-312-52331-9.
- Witt, Lynn, Sherry Thomas and Eric Marcus (1995). Out in All Directions: The Almanac of Gay and Lesbian America. New York, Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-67237-8.
External links
- GLBT Historical Society (San Francisco). Holds the personal papers of José Sarria (collection no. 1996-01).
- "José Sarria at Black Cat Cafe 1963." on YouTubeSilent amateur movie (length: 1 minute, 56 seconds); from the José Sarria Papers at the GLBT Historical Society.
- José Sarria at IMDb