Historic Marker Commemorating Black Nite Uprising Dedicated

The first LGBTQ historic marker in Wisconsin was dedicated on Monday, which was also the 63rd anniversary of the historic event the marker remembers.

In 2023, at the corner of N. Plankinton and E. St. Paul avenues a plaque was erected by the Wisconsin Historical Society marking the location of the Black Nite Uprising, sometimes called the Black Nite Brawl, when in 1961 members of Milwaukee’s LGBTQ community fought back against a homophobic attack. The event was eight years before the historic Stonewall uprising in new York City, which is often regarded as the seminal event that kicked off the gay rights movement.

The Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project organized a ceremony at the historic marker Monday to celebrate state’s official recognition and the anniversary of the Black Nite Uprising. The event takes its name from the Black Nite bar, which was a famous gay bar and the site of the attack. The marker currently sits on a median between the freeway and E. St. Paul Ave., which is roughly where the now gone Black Nite bar stood, 400 N. Plankinton Ave. The tavern site was one of several properties cleared to build Interstate 794 through Downtown.

The story of the uprising was almost lost to history. More than a decade ago, Brice Smith, a local independent historian, heard the story of patrons of the Black Nite fighting off a mob that had formed to attack them at the bar. He was conducting an oral history project of Milwaukee’s transgender community when he heard the story from Josie Carter, a Black transgender woman who was there and participated in the brawl which has now been permanently commemorated in Wisconsin history.

“She shared the story with me of the Black Nite Uprising, as she had done for generations, sitting on a bar stool, just telling the story of what happened; and so much of queer, trans history has been shaped in exactly this way,” Smith told the Milwaukee County Landmarks Committee in 2022.

The Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project then corroborated the story of the uprising using contemporaneous public records and newspaper clippings, according to Michail Takach, a curator for the history project. In 2022, Takach submitted the site for nomination as a historical site.

The new marker tells the story of the Black Nite Uprising:

On August 5, 1961, four servicemen went on a homophobic dare to the Black Nite (400 N. Plankinton Ave.) a well-known LGBTQ tavern. After losing a fight with Josie Carter (1941-2014) a black woman of trans experience, the men vowed to return and “clean up” the bar.

“We do not run from a fight,” Josie replied. “We do not run from anything.”

Josie’s courage was a call to action. When the servicemen returned later that night, they faced over 70 customers who heroically defended their safe space from invasion.

“Today we celebrate and acknowledge Josie Carter, who didn’t see herself as a hero but led a heroic fight, during a time when it was not popular to do so,” said Ricardo Wynn, a community advisor to the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project.

Wynn noted that the Black Nite Uprising is an important moment in both Black history and LGBTQ history. “Black Nite not only speaks to story sharing and the power of story sharing, but helping us understand what happens when a story dies, because there was no one to tell it,” he said.

Tony Snell Rodriguez, the chair and commissioner of the Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission, noted that the new historic marker is not only the first LGBTQ history but also the first recognizing a Black transgender woman.

“The historic marker is a powerful symbol of visibility and representation, particularly for our Black transgender siblings, who have faced extraordinary challenges and yet continue to demonstrate incredible resilience and strength,” he said.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Mayor Cavalier Johnson both presented official proclamations recognizing the Black Nite Uprising Monday.

Ald. Peter Burgelis, the first out-LGBTQ member of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors spoke to the importance of the marker, noting that that the LGBTQ community hasn’t always enjoyed vocal support from state and local government.