Vanguard Street Sweep 1966
The Vanguard Street Sweep was a protest held in the summer of 1966, off of Powell & Market St. The houseless queer and trans youth of the Tenderloin District were tired of the almost daily police “street sweeps”, where police would come through the neighborhood and beat and arrest the queer and trans folks. They ironically brought out their own brooms, to literally sweep and clean up the streets that the police never do. Started in 1965, the Vanguard Organization was the first Gay Liberation Organization and started by a group of houseless queer youth. They later on created the Vanguard Publication, a zine dedicated to amplifying marginalized voices of the LGBTQIA+ community. The publication discussed homosexuality, trans identities, Black power, politics, religion, arts, and culture.
Shoutout to GLBT Historical Society for the archival materials
The Vanguard Street Sweep was a protest held in the summer of 1966, off of Powell & Market St. The houseless queer and trans youth of the Tenderloin District were tired of the almost daily police “street sweeps”, where police would come through the neighborhood and beat and arrest the queer and trans folks. They ironically brought out their own brooms, to literally sweep and clean up the streets that the police never do. Started in 1965, the Vanguard Organization was the first Gay Liberation Organization and started by a group of houseless queer youth. They later on created the Vanguard Publication, a zine dedicated to amplifying marginalized voices of the LGBTQIA+ community. The publication discussed homosexuality, trans identities, Black power, politics, religion, arts, and culture.
Shoutout to GLBT Historical Society for the archival materials
