All
Hail the Imperial Court System
Jose Sarria’s Baby turns 40
by Dear Diva for the San
Francisco Spectrum
 |
Empress I, Jose
the Widow Norton |
The
year 2005 will be the 40th anniversary of the
Imperial Court System, and the main celebration will be
held in San Francisco at the San Francisco Gift Center
Galleria. Preparations are already underway, and Absolute
Empress XXV Marlena is chairperson of the events. The
Imperial Court System was borne out of the eternal zest
for life and camp fun the LGBT community has always shown
in face of adversity and joy. Just how did Empress 1,
Jose, the Widow Norton bring this into being?
Let’s
roll the tape back a few years earlier just to set the
stage. In his fight for human rights, and to escape the
interference of police, Jose Sarria ran for City Supervisor
in 1961. His friend and owner of the Black Cat, Sal Stouman,
fought for the right to operate a business regardless
of the clientele, whether they were white, black, gay
or straight. Each time that the Liquor Commission made
a ruling discriminating against any particular group of
people, he would fight, and would carry it as high in
the courts as he could. As the number bars grew there
were more problems. To counteract police action, bad check
artists, and the like, employees of the bars joined together
to form an association, which came to be, called the Tavern
Guild. The Black Cat was the center of this group, and
Jose was their unproclaimed leader. The police sent notices
to Jose for him to announce in advance when a raid was
coming or what their intentions were.
Jose
was the only one who got up and spoke in support of the
homosexuals, which made him the real central figure for
the gay community, and so he ran for Supervisor. Jose
says, "Up until that time gay people would hide in
closets, people thought they had no rights. They were
hoodwinked. I wanted to prove that we were not second
rate citizens. I was not looking for special rights, but
for equal rights. The law should be for everybody, not
just a select few. My campaign motto was ‘Equality
Before The Law’ taken off the wall of the Hall of
Justice. I wanted to run to prove a gay person could run
for public office just like anybody else." He didn’t
win, but got close to 7,000 votes, which sent a loud signal
to elected officials that the gay community was a politically
significant population. "From that date on, politicians
have talked to the gay community, and, due to Jose, we
became, and they now believed that we are, a powerful
force."
Having
won the battle for equal service in bars, one outstanding
issue was the fact that men dressing as women were harassed
with fierce hostility. Laws allowed cross-dressing only
on Halloween and New Year Eve. Police would circle buildings
and at midnight storm the place and arrest everyone in
drag under a law prohibiting deliberate intent to pass
for the opposite sex. Jose had buttons printed up stating
"I am a man!" which, when worn visibly, vexed
police and prevented arrest.
The
biggest cat and mouse with police was a ball held every
December. The location and date were closely guarded secrets,
with information passed only by word of mouth. Inevitably
the police would find out when and where the ball was
and storm in to break it up. One year, 1965, the Tavern
Guild wanted to honor Jose and made him the Queen of the
Ball. The Black Cat was now closed, and there was no cohesive
community. Jose was given the title and crown. He promptly
took off the crown stating "Every one already knows
I’m a queen, you’ll have to do better than that."
He had brought his own crown, plunked it on his head and
declared himself to be Empress I, Jose.
A
meeting of the gay community was held at the Woman’s
Club, where four hundred people debated whether or not
Jose, an entertainer and cross-dresser, was suitable to
represent the community. "After the second meeting
I realized I had to make some concessions. So therefore,
I did not dress as a woman, but they would call me Her
Majesty, and they would address me as Empress Jose Norton,
and a new Empress would be elected each year by the population
of the city. I also agreed that I would form a council
made up of a member of each of the leading organizations
at the time. For tax purposes we put ourselves under the
umbrella of the Tavern Guild so we were non-profit."
This agreement was acceptable to all parties, and a new
tradition began.
After
Jose’s year, Bella was elected, then Shirley, and
so on. (See Sidebar for the hierarchy of the Imperial
Court of San Francisco). Since the court represented the
party loving gay community who frequented the bars, there
were occasional public spectacles and embarrassments.
Jose was always sought out to settle these affairs, and
was getting some personal flack due to the antics of Empresses
who came after his reign. He realized that he needed to
be able to remain involved, but a bit out of the fray
of the current Monarch and her particular personality.
So he declared himself to be the Widow Norton, and did
a pilgrimage to the grave of Emperor Joshua Norton. This
trip to the cemetery is now a cherished tradition, and
is where newly elected Monarchs are sworn into office.
With
the election of Absolute Empress VII Jonni, the first
Emperor After Norton, Marcus, was also elected. Ever since
San Francisco has had both an Empress and an Emperor.
The
Imperial Court of San Francisco is the Founding Court
of an International Court System, with over 70 courts
worldwide, which works year-round raising funds for local
charities. The Court System is the second largest fundraising
network, the first being The United Givers Fund, in America,
and has a long and camp history. When Bill Clinton ran
for re-election the Democratic National Committee was
looking for help to educate the gay public about his pro-gay,
first-term accomplishments. In looking at the different
organizations, the International Court System struck their
eye and imagination. The gay constituent representative
in the DNC said "This group is amazing! They should
be proud of themselves for all of the good work they’ve
done."
Now
it is coming up on 40 years later. "I, as the head
of the Court System,," says Empress I Jose, Widow
Norton, "feel the need that there are changes to
be made and I advocate them. Some people say ‘No,
no, no, everything is running smoothly, let’s not
rock the boat.’ But I think you have to rock the
boat sometimes." The latest rocking of the boat came
a couple of years ago as a movement to form an umbrella
organization under which the individual courts would exist
with their autonomy in tact, but be able to work together
as a whole. Like a president visiting with Senators and
Congressmen to pass legislation, Jose traveled around
the country, attending various coronations, and joining
the groups around this centralized organizational structure.
Consequently, the International Court System now exists,
for the benefit of all and to the detraction of none.
The
celebration will be held on Presidents’ weekend in
February 2005. It will be a celebration of 40 years of
the Court System, of the 40 Empresses, 33 Emperors, and
the International Court system. In preparation for this
landmark event, the 3rd Saturday of every month
is "A Night With The Empresses of San Francisco"
at Marlena’s Bar in Hayes Valley. The events are
fundraisers to produce the 40th celebration
spectacle. The August event raised an impressive $2100.
Empress Marlena’s message to all is, "Come in
and enjoy the shows!"
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