In 1984, both African American and Asian American groups fought discriminatory door policies at bars across the city. Henry Chappell reported a double-carding incident at theWatering Hole on Folsom. Wearing a dress, heels, and a shawl, Chappell, an African-American self-identified transvestite, was asked for two forms of picture IDs as a means of excluding him from attendance. BWMT hoped that San Francisco would adopt a regulatory model for admittance based on Atlanta’s carding ordinance, which mandated that no bar could demand more than one valid ID per person.3 In part due to pressure from such actions, the City eventually passed a similar ordinance.
Around the same time, the Asian Lesbian and Gay Alliance (ALGA) conducted an informal study of various S.F. gay bars. One of the organizers later recalled, “White guys could sail through with no restrictions, but once color was added to the mix, the barriers went up.” The Midnight Sun and Castro Station were Castro bars particularly notable for their anti-Asian discriminatory practices. When confronted, the owners rationalized their multiple ID policies by claiming that it was difficult to visually discern Asian men’s age.ALGA picketed the Midnight Sun, attracting media coverage with placards such as“Discrimination in the Gay Community Demeans Us All.” During a KPFA radio debate,one participant recalled a bar owner claiming, “Your people don’t drink,” and “It’s a cruise bar; we would lose other clientele because they don’t want to cruise your type.”
-”Racism and Reaction in the Castro: A Brief, Incomplete History”
