Did you know that the Mattachine Society, one of the earliest gay rights organizations, had their first of many annual conventions right in Japantown? Or, that Chinatown was once known as being a nightlife entertainment capitol that had drag performers in 1942? The history of LGBTQ+ people is all around us. It is not isolated to a single neighborhood, a specific building, or a special district. It is everywhere where people who identify within the spectrum exist, you just have to know where to look.

Queer Japantown highlights some of the lesser-known items in history that happened in places you might not think. Specifically, these materials focus on things that happened in or have a connection to Japantown, and Asian American drag. This exhibit follows a few events like the Cherry Blossom Festival parade and the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, organizations like the GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA) and Older Asian Sisters in Solidarity (OASIS), and people like Li-Kar of Finocchio’s and George Choy.