Well before Stonewall in 1969, the acknowledged start of the so-called, Gay Rights Movement, there were smaller scale uprisings throughout the United States in the 1960s and Milwaukee is the proud home of one such landmark event in the struggle for LGBT civil rights in the United States. 

The Black Nite Uprising, named for the Black Nite tavern located at 400 N. Plankinton, in Milwaukee’s 4^th Ward warehouse district, occurred in the early hours August 6^th, 1961. A gang of 10 to 15 males entered the Black Nite with the sole purpose of attacking the LGBT clientele of the tavern, that is, singling out the Black Nite patrons for violence based upon their sexual preference. In an act of bravery and self-defense the Black Nite bar patrons repelled the assailants and in doing so, attracted the attention of the City and initiated a movement in Milwaukee that ultimately resulted in the recognition and protection of LGBT rights that the community now takes for granted.