Queer Ancestor Spotlight: José Sarria
José Sarria (December 19, 1922 - August 19, 2013) holds the distinction of being the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States. He ran for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1961. He almost won by default as there were originally not enough candidates to fill all open seats. When voting was done he had amassed 6,000 votes and came in ninth place. While not enough to secure a seat it was a shocking moment in the American political scene and showed the viability of a gay voting bloc.
“United we stand, divided they catch us one by one.” - José Sarria
José Sarria was born in San Francsico in 1922 to immigrant parents - his mother was Colombian and his father was Spanish. Political involvement was written into his DNA. His mother, Maria Dolores Maldonado, was born into an upper-class and politically active family. She would eventually be forced to flee Colombia following the Thousand Days War and became a ward of the United States.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, José was determined to join the military. He was too short to qualify, however. His solution? Seduce a major at the San Francisco recruiting station to gain approval to enlist. He had a knack for languages - in fact, his first serious relationship with another man came about through his role as a tutor - and was originally assigned to Intelligence School. He was unable to gain a security clearance, however, likely due to a background check discovering his homosexuality. After being assigned to Cooks and Bakers School he became a cook, and was stationed in occupied Germany running an officers’ mess.
Upon returning to San Francisco, José enrolled in college to become a teacher and began frequenting the Black Cat Bar with his sister. After being arrested in a sting operation for solicitation he dropped out of college knowing his arrest record would disqualify him from ever becoming a teacher. On the advice of a local drag performer, José decided to enter a drag competition where he came in second-place and won a two-week performance contract. While serving drinks one night at The Black Cat he began singing arias from Carmen with piano accompaniment. This lead to a regular performance schedule as well as the nickname “The Nightingale of Montgomery Street.”
José was a vocal opponent of police raids of homosexuals. He often counseled patrons at the Black Cat about not living a double-life, and would close out his evening performances singing “God Save Us Nelly Queens” to the tune of “God Save The Queen” to men in the jail across the street, many who had been arrested for homosexual solicitation. José also urged those he spoke with to push back against the atmosphere of routine police raids by pleading not guilty if charges were not dropped, and to demand a jury trial. This resulted in court dockets being overwhelmed and a real expectation from judges that prosecutors present actual evidence before proceeding to trial. To combat arrests of drag queens under a city ordinance that made it illegal for men to dress as women with an “intent to deceive” he distributed pins, in the shape of a black cat face, that said “I Am A Boy".” Drag queens would simply display this pin to officers to prove there was no intent to deceive. This tactic helped to severely curtail police raids against drag performers in the city.
In 1964 José was crowned the Queen of the Beaux Arts Ball and proclaimed himself “Her Royal Majesty, Empress of San Francisco, José I, The Widow Norton.”
Learn more about José Sarria:
Although José did not win his race for the Board of Supervisors he would continue to be a major player in homosexuality activism in San Francisco, specifically by helping to found three organizations:
The League for Civil Education
The Society for Individual Rights
Drag Herstory: This Drag Queen Was The First Openly Gay American To Run For Office
Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of José Sarria Documentary
