|
|
|
||||||||
OCTOBER 6, 1989
The Castro Sweep Police Riot
On Friday, October 6, 1989, San Francisco police rioted in response to a small, peaceful march protesting federal neglect of people with AIDS.
At the culmination of the march, nearly 200 SFPD officers--half of all the cops on duty in the entire city--invaded the gay Castro district. They proceeded to beat protesters and passersby, sweeping all pedestrians from seven city blocks and placing thousands in businesses and homes under virtual house arrest.
The San Francisco police department at the time was headed by Chief Frank Jordan. The crackdown on the demonstrators was ordered by Deputy Chief Frank Reed, and the violent police attack on the Castro was directed by tactical commander Capt. Richard Cairns.
The police riot--which has come to be known as the "Castro Sweep"--remains the single most massive official attack on queer human rights in the history of San Francisco.
The 10th anniversary of the sweep will be marked with an exhibit at A Different Light Bookstore at 489 Castro Street in San Francisco during October and November 1999.
"Police Riot '89: Remember the Castro Sweep" will feature photographs by Jane Philomen Cleland, Rick Gerharter and Marc Geller; activist graphics by Boy with Arms Akimbo; and artifacts from the Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California -- all documenting the sweep and the three years of organizing for justice that followed the police invasion.
site by dybbuk media
The Castro Sweep Police Riot
On Friday, October 6, 1989, San Francisco police rioted in response to a small, peaceful march protesting federal neglect of people with AIDS.
At the culmination of the march, nearly 200 SFPD officers--half of all the cops on duty in the entire city--invaded the gay Castro district. They proceeded to beat protesters and passersby, sweeping all pedestrians from seven city blocks and placing thousands in businesses and homes under virtual house arrest.
The San Francisco police department at the time was headed by Chief Frank Jordan. The crackdown on the demonstrators was ordered by Deputy Chief Frank Reed, and the violent police attack on the Castro was directed by tactical commander Capt. Richard Cairns.
The police riot--which has come to be known as the "Castro Sweep"--remains the single most massive official attack on queer human rights in the history of San Francisco.
The 10th anniversary of the sweep will be marked with an exhibit at A Different Light Bookstore at 489 Castro Street in San Francisco during October and November 1999.
"Police Riot '89: Remember the Castro Sweep" will feature photographs by Jane Philomen Cleland, Rick Gerharter and Marc Geller; activist graphics by Boy with Arms Akimbo; and artifacts from the Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California -- all documenting the sweep and the three years of organizing for justice that followed the police invasion.
site by dybbuk media