A ‘fotten tragedy’ at a New Orleans gay bar and a new effort to honor victims’ remas | PBS NewsHour

Contents:

• NEW ORLEANS GAY BARS
• CAFé LAFTE EXILE'S HISTORY AS NOLA’S OLST GAY BAR
• A ‘FOTTEN TRAGEDY’ AT A NEW ORLEANS GAY BAR AND A NEW EFFORT TO HONOR VICTIMS’ REMAS
• GAY HISTORY – JULY 21, 1958: NEW ORLEANS LNCH RAIDS AGAST FRENCH QUARTER GAY BARS AND “DEVIANTS”.
• BT GAY CLUBS NEW ORLEANS

NEW ORLEANS GAY BARS

The le between gay and straight bars is a blurry one New Orleans, a place where diversy is a given and differenc of perspective are celebrated ftivals like Southern Dence.

Even Easter has a gay para. There are gay and gay-iendly bars all over town, but the most famo are on the French Quarter’s “Lavenr Le, ” a stretch of St Ann Street that bisects Bourbon – cludg Café Lafte’s Exile, legendary as the olst ntuoly operatg gay bar the Uned Stat.

CAFé LAFTE EXILE'S HISTORY AS NOLA’S OLST GAY BAR

It should e as no surprise that a cy as gay-iendly today as New Orleans has one of the olst gay bars the Uned Stat to celebrate Pri. Named the "Bt Gay Bar" the world GayTravel's 2018 Gay Travel Awards, this two-story, 24/7 tablishment holds the distctn of beg the olst ntuoly-operatg gay bar the Crcent Cy and may fact be the olst the U.

Acrdg to the book, In Exile: The History and Lore Surroundg New Orleans Gay Culture and Its Olst Gay Bar, wrten by Frank Perez and Jefey Palmquist, the bar was origally opened as Café Lafte at the end of Prohibn 1933 by Tom Caplger, Harold Bartell, and Mary Colls. While "gay bars" as we know them today technilly didn't exist the early 1900s, the owners were welg to anyone, regardls of sexualy, who walked to Café Lafte, allowg gay men to have a safe space New Orleans durg a time when LGBT rights did not exist, and the muny had to stay visible to avoid legal harassment. The bar's owners did not have enough money to purchase the buildg themselv, so Café Lafte had to close for a few months, and the buildg fell unr new—not so gay-iendly—management.

A ‘FOTTEN TRAGEDY’ AT A NEW ORLEANS GAY BAR AND A NEW EFFORT TO HONOR VICTIMS’ REMAS

After reopeng s new lotn, Café Lafte Exile was New Orleans' premiere gay bar through the '50s and '60s, spe the bar's ma clientele havg to rema the closet for fear of public stigmatizatn and police harassment. Acrdg to In Exile, the bar even veloped a reputatn as a popular cisg spot for gay men who would vis , pecially om the '60s to the '80s. A bar that has survived hurrin, the AIDS crisis, COVID-19, and homophobia throughout the years.

Loted ep the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, the Café Lafte Exile bar is the self-proclaimed olst gay bar the Uned Stat.

Ann Street toward the eastern part of the Quarter, which dited which part of Bourbon Street had gay bars. The gay muny was a part of this scene and was an tegral part of the early days of revalizg the historic cyspe.

GAY HISTORY – JULY 21, 1958: NEW ORLEANS LNCH RAIDS AGAST FRENCH QUARTER GAY BARS AND “DEVIANTS”.

In 2018, the bar was award a Gay Travel Award for Bt Gay Bar by Gay Its history is reported the book In Exile: The History and Lore Surroundg New Orleans Gay Culture and Its Olst Gay Bar by Frank Perez and Jefey Palmquist. Between Southern Dence, the annual Gay Easter Para, and an extraordary NOLA Pri ftival, the cy wel love and self-exprsn among all dividuals and has plenty of LGBTQ+ activi to take part .

BT GAY CLUBS NEW ORLEANS

This LGBTQ+-iendly space n be perfect for a zy eveng or a romantic date night one of the bt ci for gay datg. They host annual "Gay Mardi Gras" parti durg Southern Dence and never fail to keep the celebratns gog. Bourbon Pub and Para was ranked one of the top 10 gay bars worldwi by Gay Traveler Magaze.

Sce s openg 1993, Oz has held onto s tle of the #1 gay dance club New Orleans. Check out their webse for more rmatn, gear, and remendatns for "gay-owned and operated acmodatns.