Jewel Thais-Williams
*Jewel Thais-Williams was born on this date in 1939. She was a Black Queer businesswoman and LGBTQI+ activist.
Originally from Arkansas, Thais-Williams' father, in search of employment and educational opportunities, moved their family to Gary, Indiana, where Thais-Williams was born. She was the fifth born of eight children. During World War II, several of her uncles and cousins were drafted into the Navy and stationed in San Diego. Her family, wanting to leave Gary's harsh weather, relocated to San Diego.
After high school, Thais-Williams moved to Los Angeles and attended UCLA, eventually opening a clothing store alongside her sister. She did not realize that she was a lesbian until her mid-twenties. Thais-Williams felt that she would not be able to acquire personal wealth without starting her own business. While clubbing in the early 1970s, she encountered racial discrimination in existing gay clubs.
In 1973, she purchased what was then the Diana Club on West Pico Blvd, opening it as Jewel's Catch One. Soon after acquiring the club, white customers stopped patronizing the establishment, and employees quit, not wanting to work for a Black woman. Despite these initial challenges, she was able to succeed. A man named "Tex", who Thais-Williams described affectionately as an old "redneck" from Texas, mentored her and helped her through the initial phases of setting up her business. Her bartender asked for his job back, and Thais-Williams obliged. Some white customers also returned and developed a strong relationship with her.
Her club primarily attracted a Black clientele, which was underserved by the nightclubs of the time. Blue-collar white clientele would visit the club during the day, and African Americans would be her primary customers at night. During the AIDS pandemic, Thais-Williams was an active advocate for people with HIV/AIDS, serving on the board of the AIDS Project LA and co-founding the Minority AIDS Project. She also co-founded Rue's House, a U.S. housing facility for women with AIDS and their children.
While she was still the owner of the nightclub, she got her Master of Science degree in Oriental Medicine from Samra University of Oriental Medicine in 1998. Thais-Williams opened a non-profit called the Village Health Foundation to educate lower-income communities on nutrition and live a healthier lifestyle. Williams was appointed the Grand Marshal of the 2016 Los Angeles Pride Festival. In 2019, the LA City Council renamed the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Norton Avenue—located directly in front of the Catch One disco as Jewel Thais-Williams Square, in honor of her contributions and legacy. Jewel Williams died on July 7, 2025.
