Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria (2005)

Сюжет кино: I love this documentary. It gets to the heart of the issues surrounding problems that those who are Transgender still face today. Susan Stryker and company put some significant effort into the telling of this story. And it is a story that needed to be told because it was a significant victory for the community. This event "The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria" predated the infamous Stonewall riot and it got very little press. Both of those riots had a huge Transgender presence despite the notion that Stonewall was about Gay rights. I would suggest some further reading on Stonewall in the book by Martin Duberman. It has a very comprehensive view of the riot from the perspective of the lives of some of the key players, including Sylvia Rivera. Remembering Compton's, which was really a lost history prior to this documentary, is essential for those who are Transgender because it reveals the lives of the transwomen of the Tenderloin and demonstrates that we have come a long way since then, but we still have a long way to go to achieve the rights that other Americans take for granted.