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The city voted on Friday to recognize the LGBTQ+ holiday first celebrated in 1988.
Los Angeles became one of the first cities in the U.S. to officially recognize National Coming Out Day after Philadelphia did so last year.
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The L.A. City Council voted on Friday to adopt a resolution declaring the city holiday.
During a presentation about the day, which was first celebrated on October 11, 1988, councilwoman Nithya Raman discussed the LGBTQ+ rights history of L.A. and it's place in queer history.
"Today is a momentous occasion because this is the first major city in the country to officially recognize National Coming Out Day, and this is a joyful reminder of the true diversity of Los Angeles, and what it means for the country," Raman said, according to CBS News. "From pink pony clubs in West Hollywood to the first-ever Pride Parade in the country, L.A. has been the center of vibrant queer spaces throughout this country's history, and our city and our county is better for what has happened here."
Related: Coming Out Day: A Brief History
Raman explained that the LGBTQ+ is far from over, citing the hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ being introduced across the country.
"Some people in this country have decided that hatred is good politics, but here in L.A., we reject that idea," she said, the outlet reports.
The city council also recognized the legacy of the Black Cat Tavern, which opened in 1966 as a queer refuge in the city.
"The queer community often socialized in secrecy on New Year's Eve. In 1967, the Black Cat became the target of an undercover police raid, and at midnight, the celebration turned to chaos when plainclothesed officers used brutal force to separate the unsuspecting patrons," Lindsay Kennedy, co-owner of the Black Cat, told CBS News.
Related: Why National Coming Out Day Matters
The Advocate was founded shortly after that raid on the Black Cat, initially as a newsletter for the LGBTQ+ community and then as a magazine.
National Coming Out Day was created by LGBTQ activists Rob Eichberg and Jean O'Leary. The date of October 11 was chosen to honor the first anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, where over half a million people demonstrated for LGBTQ+ rights in the nation’s capital. The official NCOD logo was created by the late artist and activist Keith Haring. Both Eichberg and Haring later died of AIDS-related complications.
