Almost 10 years before the Stonewall riots, Los Angeles became the site of the first LGBT uprising in the U.S. In May 1959, Cooper's Do-nuts was a 24-hour cafe on Main Street in the Skid Row neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles. Transgender and gay customers felt safe and welcome, since Cooper's was the only place in town that did not turn away transgender folks. It was illegal for a person's perceived gender not to match the gender on their ID.
One night, two police officers entered the cafe, asking for ID. They attempted to arrest two drag queens, two male sex workers and a gay man, John Rechy, who would chronicle the event in his novel City of Night. Cooper's patrons had had enough and pelted the officers with donuts, coffee and paper plates until they were forced to retreat.
The police showed up in a larger presence and shut down Main Street for an entire day.
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