By Layla Komenda
From the gay bar scene in the 1960s to the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier, LGBTQ neighbors and allies of Buffalo, New York, throughout the 1960s stood for the rights of all, opening the door for those who were to come in the decades that followed. To be gay and choose to love out loud, to be seen and not silenced, has historically been its own form of activism.
It’s the 1960s, and homosexuality is viewed as criminal — reason
enough for members of the LGBTQ community to be harassed. Local law enforcement is granted the right to raid LGBTQ spaces, bars in particular. What they don’t know is how their actions will turn raided premises into the birthplaces of both riots and liberation movements.
Today, in 2025, Buffalo, New York, stands as one of several cities with its own story to tell in regard to LGBTQ liberation and activism sparked in the 1960s. Local law enforcement in Buffalo made it difficult for bars tailored to LGBTQ patrons to stay in business longer than a few years. None of this would stop the community from banding together to cultivate lively and hopeful spaces — from underground drag shows to private back rooms equipped with blinking lights set to warn of a raid. The people of Buffalo would not allow these spaces to be taken from them. These spaces symbolized community, love, acceptance, and human rights.
The City of Good Neighbors showed its stance on this matter in 1969 when raids began on a bar known as Tiki, which once sat on the corner of Franklin and Tupper in Downtown Buffalo. In November of 1969, Tiki was denied renewal of its liquor license, forcing its ultimate closure. This denial was justified by so-called “crimes of homosexuality” committed by the owner, Jim Garrow, a gay man. While not as publicized as the Stonewall Inn raids, which took place a few months earlier, the raids and closure of Tiki sparked anger in the community, leading to local protests. Despite this, it was not the end of Garrow’s involvement in the community, nor of local law enforcement’s torment.
After the closure of Tiki, Garrow went on to open a juice and coffee bar called The Avenue. While he did not seek out a liquor license, local law enforcement sought out his establishment. In January of 1970, the police raided The Avenue and patrons experienced brutality at the hands of the police. Eleven individuals were arrested. The raids of Tiki and The Avenue, and the fact that members of the LGBTQ community could not exist in spaces without harassment, led to protests and the formation of local organizations.
The most significant civil rights organization to come from these events was the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier. Operating from back rooms in The Avenue before its closure and becoming officially established in 1970, the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier was a part of Buffalo’s LGBTQ activism until 1984, having published the newspaper The Fifth Freedom. They worked as an instrumental piece in building one of the country’s largest gay community centers and partnered to create a hotline service for those in the LGBTQ community. This organization stood for LGBTQ advocacy and equal human rights.
From the gay bar scene in the 1960s to the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier, LGBTQ neighbors and allies of Buffalo, New York, throughout the 1960s stood for the rights of all, opening the door for those who were to come in the decades that followed. To be gay and choose to love out loud, to be seen and not silenced, has historically been its own form of activism. The people of Buffalo, New York, similarly to the people of New York City and Stonewall, used their voices, power, and courage to lead the way in an effort of advocacy that we all continue to nurture and fight for to this day.