Latest news with #Jewel'sCatchOne
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
How L.A.'s queen of Black queer disco used her powers for good
When Rep. Maxine Waters learned Jewel Thais-Williams had died at 86 on Monday, the politician — who typically has something to say — fell silent for a moment or two. Thais-Williams is widely known in the Black and LGBTQ+ communities as the founder of the iconic nightclub Jewel's Catch One. It opened in 1973, and at its peak, celebrities from Grace Jones and the Pointer Sisters to Sharon Stone and Madonna walked through its doors. However, it wasn't flashbacks of the nightlife scene at the corner of Pico and Norton that caused Waters to pause. The congresswoman was reflecting on the impact Thais-Williams had on the country. 'Jewel was a warrior, a true warrior,' Waters told me. 'A lot of people talk about helping people. She just did it — over and over again — no matter the circumstances. She didn't wait for someone else to step up. She didn't ask for permission. She just went out and helped people … so many people. She was a wonder woman.' To truly understand Thais-Williams' legacy, you must first remember the time in which she began building it. In 1961, a Supreme Court ruling restricted women from tending bar unless they were the wife or a daughter of the owner. And while the Civil Rights Act of 1964 created a legal pathway to help dismantle sex discrimination, when Thais-Williams opened her bar less than a decade later, the residue from that Supreme Court ruling — and Jim Crow laws — was still quite palpable. On top of all of that, she was a lesbian. In 1973 California, employment law did not protect the queer community, Penal Code 647 was used to justify entrapment stings in public spaces, and the white gays of West Hollywood would often ask Black and brown patrons for three pieces of ID just to keep them out of clubs. Establishing Jewel's Catch One, becoming the first Black lesbian to own a bar in this country, was no crystal stair for Thais-Williams. 'When I first met Jewel, it was in the backyard of Catch One,' said Waters, who spearheaded the federal Minority AIDS Initiative and convinced the Congressional Black Caucus to host a hearing on the disease, which had been disproportionately killing minorities. 'I was trying to get federal funding to help people living with AIDS and went to see what she was doing. It was incredible. She was absolutely incredible. She was helping all of these men whose families had kicked them out and had nowhere else to go. She was feeding them out of her restaurant and helping them with treatment. And then she went to school to learn medicine and helped even more people. She was truly special.' Keith Boykin, founder of the National Black Justice Coalition and former aide to President Clinton, was a friend of Thais-Williams and told me 'the most important lesson I learned from Jewel is that building community in a time of oppression is an act of resistance.' In 1993, Boykin helped arrange the first sit-down meeting between a president and the LGBTQ+ community, a startling fact when you consider that by then there were nearly 400,000 reported cases of AIDS and nearly a quarter of a million Americans — predominantly gay men — had already died. The federal government's deafening silence through the '80s and early '90s had been met with loud resistance from organizations such as ACT UP, and, as Boykin said, community building. The work Waters and Thais-Williams did together is one of the highlights of the 2016 documentary 'Jewel's Catch One.' Its director, C. Fitz, told me she 'set out to make the film due to the fact I saw a large need to tell her story for our future.' 'I was compelled to make the film to shine a light on an important hidden hero in our community that changed lives and impacted history,' Fitz said. 'I wanted to tell the story certainly about her incredible club she created, but also her life as a whole and all she accomplished including being a healer with her clinic.' In 2001, Thais-Williams opened the Village Health Foundation, which offered traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, counseling and other holistic approaches to treating ailments that were disproportionately impacting the Black community. It took Fitz six years to make the film. As a result, she said, she carries numerous life lessons she learned from Thais-Williams with her each day, like 'the importance of laughter.' 'As hard as a day was, I always saw Jewel laughing,' Fitz said. 'We work so hard to make a difference, but we have to take care of ourselves inside and out too.' This week began with about 100 armed federal agents and members of the state's National Guard conducting a 'show of force' operation in a relatively empty MacArthur Park. Thankfully, there weren't any mass arrests, just mass concern about the president's tendency to use our military for political theater. Last month, when Waters tried to check on David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees International Union California who was being detained at a federal facility, the door was shut in her face. There's an obvious thread between the government cruelty of past decades — toward LBGTQ+ people, women and people of color — and the performative cruelty today against … well, all of those same groups still, and also in recent months especially against Latinos and immigrants. Waters had been in meetings most of the day when news about Thais-Williams reached her ears … and broke her heart. 'She was a fighter; that's what I love most about her,' Waters said. 'I'm a fighter too. That's one of the reasons why we got along so well.' With all due respect, I would argue 'fighting' isn't the reason the two of them got along so well. Everybody is fighting, in one way or another. It's what we fight for that keeps people together. It's what we fight for that ultimately defines the meaning of our lives. Thais-Williams may be known for opening a popular nightclub, but what she fought for — the people most in need of a champion — is what defined her life. YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow
Eater
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
LA's Trailblazing Founder of the Iconic Nightclub Jewel's Catch One Dies at 86
Jewel Thais-Williams, the founder of Los Angeles's groundbreaking LGBTQ+ nightclub Jewel's Catch One, died on June 7, 2025, at 86 years old. Thais-Williams, known affectionately in Los Angeles circles as Mama Jewel, opened Jewel's Catch One in 1973 in Arlington Heights on Pico Boulevard near Crenshaw. She operated the nightclub, known as 'the Catch' and 'Studio 5 of the West,' for 42 years as a welcoming space for queer Black and Latino women, as well as the transgender community and gay clubgoers, until its sale in 2015. Thais-Williams' life was captured in the 2018 documentary, Jewel's Catch One, which was distributed by Ava DuVernay's production company, Array. She is remembered as a force in Los Angeles's queer community, and for her impact on those she reached with Jewel's Catch One. Before opening Catch One, Thais-Williams was working in a grocery store and owned a clothing boutique. In a 1995 interview with LGBTQ+ series In the Life, she shared that Black patrons experienced hostility and discrimination at Los Angeles queer clubs, and wanted to open a venue where everyone was welcome. In a challenging economic period of stagflation in the early 1970s, she saw a nightclub as recession-proof. 'People party and have a good time and drink when they can't afford to do anything else,' said Thais-Williams. 'So I sought out a place to purchase.' In 1972, she bought the building, which previously housed the Diana Ballroom. As Catch One opened, Thais-Williams inherited the Diana Ballroom's client base, which consisted of a daytime crowd comprised of retired white locals, straight Black blue-collar workers in the after-work hours, and a queer crowd late at night. The expansive space consisted of two separate dance floors, cocktails from multiple bars, DJ setups, strip shows, card games, and live music. Thais-Williams also opened the short-lived Houston outlet for Catch One in 1982. In the 1970s and 1980s, laws restricted Thais-Williams's ability to operate and brought increased harassment from law enforcement. At the time, California had legislation that barred women from bartending unless they owned the venue. The Los Angeles Times reports that there was also a legal restriction on same-sex dancing from that era, and there were instances of the Los Angeles Police Department intimidating or arresting bargoers if they were suspected of being homosexual, sometimes entering a building brandishing guns. In the same Times interview, she also stated that Black people could not venture past Wilshire Boulevard without being stopped by members of the LAPD. In an interview with LAist, Lillian Faderman, co-author of the book Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics and Lipstick Lesbians, said, 'The LAPD was just merciless in their raids of gay bars.' The Catch became a disco-fueled magnet for crowds to watch recording artists like Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Sylvester, Rick James, and Evelyn 'Champagne' King perform. It wasn't uncommon to see legendary recording artists just hanging out, like Ella Fitzgerald, the Weather Girls, Bette Midler, and Whitney Houston. Madonna was also a Jewel's Catch One fan, hosting a release party at the Catch for her 2000 album, Music. Alongside her work with Catch One, Thais-Williams was a community activist. She recognized the importance of connecting resources to those who needed them most and used the club as a space to host Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. In 1989, Thais-Williams opened Rue's House with her wife, Rue Thais-Williams. The organization provided healthcare and social services to women and children living with HIV and AIDS. She also co-founded the Minority AIDS Project and was a board member of the AIDS Project Los Angeles. In 2015, Jewel Thais-Williams announced that Jewel's Catch One would close its doors after four decades. The current Catch One venue is not associated with Jewel's Catch One. Thais-Williams is survived by her wife and partner of 40 years, Rue, and siblings Carol Williams, Lula Washington, and Kenneth Williams. Eater LA All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Los Angeles Times
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Jewel Thais-Williams, founder of beloved Black queer nightclub Jewel's Catch One, dies at 86
Jewel Thais-Williams, the founder of the pioneering Black lesbian and queer nightclub Jewel's Catch One in Los Angeles, has died. She was 86. Thais-Williams' death was confirmed by KTLA and by several friends and employees of the club. No cause of death was immediately available. For decades, the Mid-City nightclub — known to regulars as The Catch — was L.A.'s hallowed sanctuary for Black queer women, and a welcoming dance floor for trans, gay and musically adventurous revelers. Artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Madonna and Whitney Houston sashayed down Catch One's winding halls, while the indomitable Thais-Williams fended off police harassment and led care programs during the height of the AIDS crisis. The Catch was singularly important to the development of Black and queer nightlife in L.A., and belongs beside New York's Paradise Garage and Chicago's Warehouse in any account of the most important nightclubs in America. 'It was a community, it was family,' Thais-Williams told The Times in a 2018 interview. 'To be honest myself, I was pretty much a loner too. I always had the fears of coming out, or my family finding out. I found myself there.' Thais-Williams, born in Indiana in 1939, opened Jewel's Catch One in 1973. She didn't have ambitions to open a generationally important nightclub, just a more resilient business than her previous dress shop. However, her experience as a Black woman shunned at other local gay clubs bolstered her resolve to make the Catch welcoming for those left out of the scene in L.A. 'I didn't come into this business with the idea of it becoming a community center,' she said in 1992. 'It started before AIDS and the riots and all that. I got the first sense of the business being more than just a bar and having an obligation to the community years ago when Black gays were carded — requiring several pieces of ID — to get into white clubs. I went to bat for them, though I would love to have them come to my place every night. 'The idea is to have the freedom to go where you want to without being harassed. The predominantly male, white gay community has its set of prejudices. It's better now, but it still exists.' Jewel's Catch One became a kind of West Coast Studio 54, with disco-era visionaries like Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Sylvester, Rick James and Evelyn 'Champagne' King performing to packed rooms. Celebrities like Sharon Stone and Whoopi Goldberg attended the parties, glad for wild nights out away from the paparazzi in Hollywood. Thais-Williams 'opened the door for so many people,' said Nigl '14k,' the Catch's manager, doorperson and limo driver for 27 years up until its sale in 2015. 'A lot of people that felt not wanted in West Hollywood had nowhere to go. But people found out who she was and put word out. She was a great friend and a shrewd businessperson who allowed people to just be themselves.' The club's many rooms allowed for a range of nightlife — strip shows, card games and jazz piano sets alongside DJ and live band performances [along with Alcoholics Anonymous meetings]. The boisterous, accepting atmosphere for Black queer partiers contrasted with the constant surveillance, regulation and harassment outside of it. 'There was a restriction on same sex dancing, women couldn't tend bar unless they owned it,' Thais-Williams said in 2018. 'The police were arresting people for anything remotely homosexual. We had them coming in with guns pretending to be looking for someone in a white T-shirt just so they could walk around.' A fire in 1985 claimed much of the venue's top floor, closing it for two years. Thais-Williams suspected that gentrifiers had their eye on her building. 'It's very important not to give up our institutions — places of business that have been around for years,' she said. 'Having a business that people can see can offer them some incentive to do it for themselves. I'm determined to win, and if I do fail or move on, I want my business to go to Black people who have the same interest that I have to maintain an economic presence in this community.' Thais-Williams' AIDS activism was crucial during the bleakest eras of the disease, which ravaged queer communities of color. She co-founded the Minority AIDS Project and served on the board of the AIDS Project Los Angeles, which provided HIV/AIDS care, prevention programs and public policy initiatives. With her partner, Rue, she co-founded Rue's House, one of the first dedicated housing facilities in the U.S. for women living with HIV. The facility later became a sober-living home. In 2001, Thais-Williams founded the Village Health Foundation, a healthcare and education organization focused on chronic diseases that affected the Black community. 'Jewel is a true symbol of leadership within our community,' said Marquita Thomas, a Christopher Street West board member who selected Thais-Williams to lead the city's Pride parade in 2018. 'Her tireless efforts have positively affected the lives of countless LGBTQ minorities, [and her] dedication to bettering our community is truly inspiring.' After decades in nightlife, facing dwindling crowds and high overhead for a huge venue, in 2015 Thais-Williams sold the venue to nightlife entrepreneur Mitch Edelson, who continues to host rock and dance nights in the club, now known as Catch One. (Edelson said the club is planning a memorial for Thais-Williams.) 'People in general don't have appreciation anymore for their own institutions,' Thais-Williams told The Times in 2015. 'All we want is something that's shiny because our attention span is only going to last for one season and then you want to go somewhere else. The younger kids went to school and associated with both the straight people and non-Blacks, so they feel free to go to those spots. The whole gay scene as it relates to nightclubs has changed — a lot.' After the sale, the importance of the club came into sharper focus. A 2018 Netflix documentary, produced by Ava DuVernay's company Array, highlighted The Catch's impact on Los Angeles nightlife, and the broader music scene of the era. When Thais-Williams sold it, the Catch was the last Black-owned queer nightclub in the city. In 2019, the square outside of Jewel's Catch One was officially named for Thais-Williams. 'With Jewel's Catch One, she built a home for young, black queer people who were often isolated and shut out at their own homes, and in doing so, changed the lives of so many' said then-City Council President Herb Wesson at the ceremony. 'Jewel is more than deserving to be the first Black lesbian woman with a dedicated square in the city of Los Angeles for this and so many other reasons.' L.A.'s queer nightlife scene is still reeling from the impact of the pandemic, broader economic forces and changing tastes among young queer audiences. Still, Thais-Williams' vision and perseverance to create and sustain a home for her community will resonate for generations to come. 'Multiple generations of Black queer joy, safety, and community exist today because of Jewel Thais-Williams,' said Jasmyne Cannick, organizer of South L.A. Pride. 'She didn't just open doors — she held them open long enough for all of us to walk through, including this Gen-X Black lesbian. There's a whole generation of younger Black queer folks out here in L.A. living their best life, not even realizing they're walking through doors Jewel built from the ground up.' 'Long before Pride had corporate sponsors and hashtags, Jewel was out here creating space for us to gather, dance, organize, heal, and simply exist,' Cannick continued. 'We owe her more than we could ever repay.' Thais-Williams is survived by her wife and partner for 40 years, Rue.
