Primary Source Set: José Sarria

José Julio Sarria (December 13, 1922–August 19, 2013) was a drag performer, politician, and community leader. After serving in the Second World War and dropping out of college because a solicitation arrest made it impossible for him to work as a teacher, Sarria became a cocktail waiter at the Black Cat, a bohemian bar with a largely gay clientele. There, he became locally famous for his opera parodies and his outspoken gay pride. He ended each performance with a song called “God Save Us Nelly Queens.” In 1961, Sarria ran for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors — the first LGBTQ person to run for office in the United States — and in 1965, he founded the Imperial Court System, a queer charitable organization known for the elaborate courtly titles and pageantry adopted by its members. Taking his name from fellow San Francisco icon Joshua Norton, a nineteenth-century eccentric who in 1859 declaed himself “Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico,” Sarria adopted the Court persona of Empress José I, the Widow Norton.

Selected Source Set

Additional Resources

José Sarria papers (#1996-01) at the GLBT Historical Society.

José Sarria digital collection at the GLBT Historical Society.

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