The History starts in the 1940's as Jose Julio Sarria entered gay history when he began to cover for his then boyfriend Jimmy, a waiter at the Black Cat Bar on Montgomery Street in San Francisco.  In Post WW II, an influx of gay and lesbian discharged veterans was swelling in the city's gay communities.  While the Castro was still a  primarily Hetero, blue collar neighborhood, the Black Cat had already developed an international reputation as a gay meeting place.  One Day, while Jose was serving drinks and the pianist was playing Bizet's "Carmen", Sarria began to sing arias to the opera.  Soon, he became a big hit and his reputation was born.  Here is a general bibliography of JOSE SARRIA;
Pioneering GLBTQ social activist and founder of the Royal Court System (RCS),
recently renamed the International Court System (ICS).  Also know as “Her Royal Majesty, Empress José the First” and “The Widow Norton.”  José Sarria was born December 12th, 1923 and raised in San Francisco, CA.  His mother, Maria Dolores, and father, Julio Sarria, were Latino/a immigrants.  José served in the Army from 1942 to 1947.  He was trained as a cook at Fort Ord and spent two years in Berlin at the end of World War II as a personal attaché to a colonel.  He was discharged in 1947 but stayed in the Reserves until his mid-thirties.  After leaving the Army, José returned to San Francisco and shortly thereafter became employed at the Black Cat Cafe as first a cocktail waiter, then a social hostess, and eventually as a female
impersonator (and bar icon) doing parodies of operas.  While not a gay bar in a contemporary sense, the Black Cat was a widely know as a bohemian type hangout where people with apparently different sexual sensibilities were accepted and often admired.  José very much considered the Black Cat a place where he could be himself, had an agreement with the owner that he would only perform there (exceptions were made for charitable events), and would work there from 1947 until it lost liquor license and closed in 1964.  Rejecting what he saw as a secretive focus to the Mattachine Society, José and his friends created the League for Civil Education in 1960.  It was a grass roots civil rights group that set out to educate both gay and straight people about police raids and to provide emergency funds to those being discriminated against.  As a founding member of this group, and in response
to continued efforts to revoke the Black Cat’s liquor license and the harassment of other gay owned businesses, José became the first openly gay candidate for an elected office in the United States.  In 1961 he ran for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.  José lost the election and it would not be until 1977 that  an openly gay individual (Harvey Milk) would finally win a seat on the board.
In 1963 the group split over internal conflicts and José helped found a new group called the Society for Individual Rights (SIR).  Monies for the SIR were largely raised from staging drag shows, such as the “Celebritycapades,” with these funds often being used to help people having legal problems.  Both the educational and the charitable foci of these groups would become important aspects of the RCS José would found just a few years later.  In 1964, The Tavern Guild, an association of gay bars, at their annual Beaux Arts Ball held every Halloween conferred upon José the honorary title of “Queen of the Ball.”  Apparently the title was not regal enough for him—after all, being a queen in this context was somewhat common—so he declared himself, “Empress José the First.”  This would become the Royal Court Systems first official position.  To further support his status of empress, and reflecting the importance of camp in the RCS/ICS, José added the subtitle of “The Widow Norton.”  Joshua Norton lived in San Francisco during the Gold Rush.  Once a
prominent merchant in the community, he had fallen on economic hard times and began referring to himself as, “Joshua Norton the First, Emperor of North America and Protector of Mexico.” Whereas many cities would have ignored his proclamation, the media and the leaders and citizens of San Francisco found him quite amusing and literally treated him like royalty with him receiving free meals wherever he went and a yearly clothing stipend from the city.  Emperor Norton died around the turn of the century and was buried in Woodlawn cemetery. José , the loving Widow Norton, holds an annual memorial service for his departed husband every year.  Beginning in the early 1980’s, the annual service became a more somber event and also started to be memorial for all those lost to AIDS in the court community.  
The Royal Court System was officially founded in 1965 and represents one of the oldest GLBTQ groups in the world still in existence.  Today ICS is made up 65 local chapters called courts (57) and baronies (8).  Positions in these local chapters, and throughout the court system, are designated by campy titles such as empress, emperor, princess, prince, duchess and duke.  Titleholders are expected to dress their gendered parts replete with typically regal attire and appropriate accouterments (e.g., tiaras, scepters, gowns, tuxedos).   With a few notable exceptions, most female titles are held by gay drag queens while male titles are held by both gay men and lesbian women.  Those holding the female titles, especially that of empress, often are the most powerful individuals and promoted as the leaders of the given court.  While lesbian women have traditionally participated in the court in much smaller numbers than gay men, many gay court members have died from AIDS over the past
fifteen years, and lesbians today seem to be taking on a more prominent role
in some of the courts.  Consistent with its beginnings, each court serves as a charitable organization for those in need in the community (both gay and straight).  Today, many of the monies raised go towards various organizations associated with AIDS.  Drags shows are the primary place where money is collected (often a single
dollar at a time) given to the performers while on stage.  The ICS raises millions of dollars each year and is one of the most successful charities in many communities (gay and straight).  In spite of the frequent rejection of drag queens by more conservative members of various gay and lesbian communities, the ISC has served as a vitally important lifeline to many GLBTQ people in cities throughout North America and now Great Britain.  José’s legacy in the ISC will live on long after he passes away.  
In the 1950's Gay men and women were arrested on a number of charges used to keep homosexuals in the closet and hidden.  Against this oppression, Jose would change the lyrics of his arias to warn people of the entrapment practices of the police first coining the phrase "There is nothing wrong with being Gay, the crime is getting caught" and "United we stand, Divided they get us one by one".  Police pressures, entrapment schemes, and raids continued in the 50's when the gay bars developed an association to spread warnings about the oppression.  In 1961, Jose became the very first openly gay candidate to run for public office, seeking the position as city supervisor, a position held 16 years later by an openly gay Harvey Milk.  Although Sarria did not win in 1961, he did garner an impressive 5,600 votes and sparked a
change in the voting laws allowing for votes by ward, not city wide.  This allowed for minority candidates to win election, hence the arrival of Harvey Milk in 1977.
In early 1965, Sarria and various gay bar owners put on the first "Drag Ball" of which Sarria was named "Queen of the Ball".  At this, "she" exclaimed "Why be a QUEEN when I can be an EMPRESS?".  So he proclaimed himself Empress of San Francisco.  To further enhance the title, he drew upon the legend of Emperor Norton, the eccentric 19th century San Francisco miner and rice baron.  During his lifetime, he dressed finely and proclaimed himself Emperor of the USA and Canada and protector of Mexico.  Heir in spirit and not by law, Jose proclaimed himself "The Widow Norton" and began annual pilgrimages to Norton's grave in nearby Colma where he and accompanying drag queens would pay their respects with flowers to Sarria's departed "spouse".  This tradition continues to this day.  Eventually the "Ball" , now changed to "Coronation", sparked an annual event marking the election of Empress and Emperor.  Jose developed bylaws and functions of the Imperial Court of San Francisco, a group that sought, through drag shows and other functions, to raise monies for gay charities.  By the early 70's,  the Court System established by Sarria has been franchised to first Vancouver BC, and then Portland, and eventually Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham, Everett, Vancouver and Spokane.  Over the next 30 years, individual courts, under the guidance of Widow Norton, "Mama" as she is called, have spread to over 70 areas, some cities, some entire states.  While the courts avoid, by ruling, partisan politics, they funnel  thousands and thousands of dollars into community charities, as a strong
grassroots organization interlinked by monarchs attending the annual
coronation balls of other courts and now expanding to the Internet.  Jose will remain active, but has recently descended the throne & still resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.  He is truly a hero and role model for all of us.