First Choice/ the Night

“And the other, the First Choice, as I said, was lesbian. It was more of a dance place.” (James Credle 5 Interview 2) First Choice was a lesbian bar that opened sometime during the 1980s and continued into the 90s. First Choice is remembered today as one of the main places where lesbian women in Newark would go to dance and socialize.

Although the bar was most commonly referred to as First Choice, June Dowell Burton asserts that its official name was actually the Night. It is uncertain whether the Night was the bar's actual name, since Burton admitted she might not be remembering it correctly. The bar’s supposed real name was a reference to the fact that it was only open to gay people after dark. This was common for gay bars in Newark at the time.

First Choice was owned for most of its existence by two African American gentlemen named Bob and Al. Although we do not know if Bob had any other job besides owning First Choice, we do know that Al’s primary job was working for the Newark Board of Education. According to Aaron Frazier, Bob was famous in the Newark LGBTQ community for being well endowed. A man named Craig was also involved in running the bars day to day operations. Craig was known for his very laid back personality. Bob is the only one of the bar’s owners that is still alive today.

When Bob and Al initially opened First Choice, they intended it to carter to both gay men and women, similar to Murphy’s Tavern. However, when Bob’s mother Tilly began getting involved in the bars affairs sometime around the mid-90s, the bar’s focus shifted to cater to mostly lesbian women. First Choice was most commonly frequented by Hispanic and African American women of color. The bar itself was apparently very small, not much larger than a normal sized office. Some gay men, notably Don Ransom and Aaaron Frazier, did not like the women who frequented to First Choice, calling the “snooty.”

First Choice was the most often mentioned lesbian bar out of all of the interviews in the Queer Newark Oral History Project. Lesbian women attended other bars in Newark besides First Choice, with Murphy’s Tavern probably being the most notable example. However, all of those bars catered to clientele besides just lesbian women. First Choice was one of the only spaces in Newark that was exclusively for lesbian women. Even though it may no longer exist, the interviews in the Queer Newark Oral History Project show that the LGBTQ community still remembers First Choice as one of the most significant queer landmarks in Newark history.

James Credle, Queer Newark Oral History Project. Accessed May 12th 2021. https://queer.newark.rutgers.edu/interviews/james-credle.

June Dowell-Burton, Queer Newark Oral History Project. Accessed May 12th 2021. https://queer.newark.rutgers.edu/interviews/june-dowell-burton.

Aaron Frazier, Queer Newark Oral History Project. Accessed May 12th 2021. https://queer.newark.rutgers.edu/interviews/aaron-frazier.