We Trace The Organizing Power Behind Jewel’s Catch One And The Community It Saved

A nightclub saved lives. We revisit the story of Jewel Thais-Williams and Catch One, the Black lesbian-owned Los Angeles institution that transformed a dance floor into a command center for HIV/AIDS activism, mutual aid, and cross‑community solidarity. With guest Terry Garay—television producer turned organizer—we map the shift from public panic and Prop 64’s quarantine push to coalition-building that united Black, Latino, and queer communities under one roof.

Terry takes us behind the scenes of the first AIDS public service announcements she helped put on TV, and how media strategy amplified on-the-ground efforts when silence ruled the airwaves. We unpack why Catch One mattered: not just as a celebrity magnet, but as a place where Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos raised funds, where leaders met after hours, and where messages spread faster than rumors. The conversation spotlights “Coming Home to Friends,” a gospel-driven fundraiser for the Minority AIDS Project led with the star power of Dionne Warwick and Natalie Cole—proof that faith, culture, and public health can pull in the same direction when trusted voices lead.

We also examine the limits of visibility without grassroots ties, contrasting high-profile Latino galas with the need for neighborhood organizers and culturally fluent outreach. Jewel’s legacy stretches beyond nightlife: wellness clinics, shelters for women, and a relentless focus on health equity. Terry closes with a timeless charge—choose your fights, stand up when it counts, and refuse to shrink to fit other people’s comfort. Press play for a living archive of Los Angeles LGBTQ history, movement strategy, and the blueprint for turning community spaces into engines of care.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Tribute To Jewel Thais-Williams
• 2:45 AIDS Panic And Prop 64 Context
• 6:30 Terry’s Media Work Begins
• 10:20 Why Catch One Mattered
• 13:40 Minority AIDS Project Origins
• 17:05 Coming Home To Friends Fundraiser
• 22:00 Latino Outreach And Gaps
• 24:35 Jewel’s Legacy Beyond Nightlife
• 27:00 Should Terry Write A Memoir

Transcript

Rita Gonzales: 0:04

Welcome to the Out Agenda, coming to an archive.kpfk.org. I'm Rita Gonzalez. Well, we have another segment of Radio Q Glue. Our guest is Terry Garey, and we're going to be talking about Jules Williams. Welcome to Radio Q Glue Podcast, the show that takes a deep dive in what the queer, gay, and lesbian Latin community is talking about. In today's episode, we are joined by Terry Garay as Radio Cube Glue remembers the pioneering black lesbian activist Jules Taze Williams, owner of the Jules Catch 1 in Los Angeles. I'm Rita Gonzalez. And I'm in Wardlower Chuleta. I'm Mario Jane Navoa. And I'm Lidia Lotero. Jewel Taze Williams, the founder of the pioneering black lesbian and queer nightclub Jules Catch One in Los Angeles, died on June 7th. She was 86 years old. Most of us here at Radio Q Glue got to know Jules through her nightclub, the Catch One on Pico Boulevard. She was a black woman who owned a club, and that in itself was a rarity. She always welcomed us with a smile when we arrived at her club, which survived for close to three decades. Jules once said, It's very important not to give up our institutions, and to us, the catch one was an institution. Her AIDS activism was crucial during the bleakest era of the HIV AIDS crisis, which ravaged queer communities of color in the 1980s and early 1990s. She co-founded the Minority AIDS Project and allowed groups like gay and lesbian Latinos Unidos to use the Catch One for fundraisers. Her community activism is what we are going to dive in today on Radio Q Glue with our guest Terry Garay, who knew and worked with Jewel on HIV AIDS causes.

Lydia Otero: 2:08

Before talking with Terry, let me just say that she's a native of Los Angeles. She worked in television for many years as a producer, and it was while working in TV that Terry was drawn into activism. Her efforts helped put AIDS and HIV on television at a time when those subjects were taboo. She was particularly proud of her Emmy-winning special AIDS and You, which was directed to tween kids. Today, Terry manages a charitable trust that provides grants to nonprofits. She makes her home in Palm Springs. In 1986, Terry was active in the No On La Rouge campaign, which opposed Proposition 64, a measure related to mandatory AIDS testing and possible quarantine policies. She also served on several boards, including the Minority AIDS Project. Welcome, Terry. Thank you for joining us today.

Mario J. Novoa: 3:06

This is Mario. I met Jewel a few times at Catch One and during the interview of our documentary film, LA Queer History, and I've heard about some of the ways queers organized around HIV AIDS back then. Understanding the history a little bit more, I can see that it was a very difficult moment in time. Can you set the stage a bit for people of my generation? Why would a proposition threatening to quarantine those with HIV and AIDS even be seriously considered?

Terry Garay: 3:43

It was truly an amazing time. And you had issues that really had never been publicly addressed. And I worked in the media, and so I was familiar with what people talked about and what people did not talk about. As uh a lesbian, I was very aware of the images that uh were projected about uh gay and lesbian people. So it was it was very, very, very different. And suddenly, and you know, probably the most recent example is COVID. Suddenly you had people that were sick. Uh, they were sick in a way that was um, you know, uh absolutely extraordinary, AIDS and HIV. And the immediate response was we want to get these people away from us uh because we don't know if we're going to get sick in the same way with uh, you know, as with COVID. Uh, you know, this is gonna impact us in some way. And the idea that um you uh had to engage in sexual relationships uh with individuals, you know, and and exchange bodily fluids in order to get AIDS or HIV was sort of lost. That wasn't part of our consciousness at that time. So the idea that somebody conservative could come in to the uh landscape and suggest that we take all of these people who were at in the beginning primarily gay men, so already it's like there's a little bit of prejudice there, and uh and ship them off to an island or something, and that'll make us all safe. So very backward thinking, but at the time it seemed to make sense to people. And Lyndon LaRouche, in the same way as now we see with the MAGA movement, he had a base of supporters, and those people were frightened of these gay men with this disease that were going to infect us all. So they were able to bring about this initiative. And I always like to say, from ugliness, sometimes we get the most beautiful things. And in that way, it brought the LGBTQ community together in a way that uh was simply phenomenal.

Rita Gonzales: 6:13

This is Rita. Uh, that's when I met you is during the LaRouge campaign. Now, you worked in the media, so you met a lot of people. Do you remember when you actually met Jewel?

Terry Garay: 6:24

I would have met Jewel, I'm guessing, in the late 80s. I first heard about AIDS, I'm guessing around 1985, just around the start. You know, I was hanging in the West Hollywood area. My television station uh was on the boundary. And at some point, somebody came to me and said that they were interested in putting uh public service announcements on TV that focused on what was still called the grid disease. And they were now starting to call it AIDS, but they were still referring to it as the grid disease. And on some level, I was quite young, but on some level, I recognized I think this is important and maybe I should uh escalate it at my TV station. And so I we ended up, my TV station ended up putting the first public service announcements regarding AIDS on television. And then I became very active with different organizations because no other TV station was supporting them, and uh organizations were cropping up to help people. And so I jumped in and became uh somebody that you could reach out to if you needed a video produced, uh a corporate video produced, if you needed a public service announcement produced. I mean, I must have produced for every single organization that focused on AIDS and HIV. And so then at some point, I also then joined uh boards of directors, and I ended up joining Minority AIDS Project, and that is where I met Jewel.

Eduardo Archuleta: 8:07

This is the Duarlum. As you know, Glue launched a Benestad, a gay Latino AIDS project at the Catch One in 1989, and I was one of the first directors. Uh we could always count on Jules' support. Looking back, we chose to celebrate what was considered a monumental event, not at Circus or the other clubs typically associated with Latino clientele, but at the catch. Tell us more about what the catch symbolized back then.

Terry Garay: 8:39

The catch was an amazing club. And uh, and here's where you know you see leadership, right? Everyone went to the catch. You could see uh celebrities like a Madonna at the catch. And it there were um no, it the doors weren't closed to anyone. So you could see all kinds of people of color, you could see straight people, you could see gay people. It was welcoming and inviting to everyone. And Jewel could have taken the easy route and just enjoyed being a club owner and hanging with the celebs and you know being in the little private areas, uh, but she didn't do that. Uh, she recognized that she had an opportunity to be a leader, to bring all of these different types of people together and start giving them important messages about that issue that was confronting and was soon to confront more of us. And so that was the difference about the catch, that it was such an amazing, welcoming environment for all people. And she took that opportunity to then be able to focus people on that important issue of AIDS and HIV.

Lydia Otero: 9:56

Hi, Terry. This is Lydia. And as you know, I was close to Reverend, who was then Reverend Carl Bean back then when he first organized the Minority AIDS project. And he was always a big supporter of Glue. I mean, I don't know if people know, but GLU paid his rent during the lean times, one lean month, when the Minority AIDS Project's offices were on Pico Boulevard. And I'm my question has to do with his first fundraiser, Coming Home to Friends. Like he purposely tapped into certain segments of the black community to raise funds for HIV AIDS. I know you were part of that effort. And can you share a little bit more about coming home to friends? I know that Jewel was evolved, and even I got to go backstage and meet meet Dion Warwick. But tell us more, because I think those events, I don't see them recorded in histories of Los Angeles.

Terry Garay: 10:55

They were quite significant, and I think the big significance is that it was an event that was primarily targeted to the African American community. No one was excluded, but it was a gospel concert. And I think one of the issues that emerged is that there were some concerns in the African American community about accepting gay men. And suddenly, not only are you having to accept gay men, now you're having to accept gay men that potentially have this disease. And so they really wanted to make sure that they reached out to a large group of people and put on this gospel concert and used big names to attract others. So Carl Bean, when I first made the decision that I um wanted to get involved with Minority AIDS project, I didn't know him. I did not know Jewel personally. I just knew that the issue of AIDS and HIV was starting to go into the people of color communities at extraordinary levels. And I wanted to make sure that I was there to assist as a media person that could broaden the issue uh with media. And so I literally just showed up at the offices of Minority AIDS Project, and I said that I worked for a television station and that I was interested in helping. And uh they saw that uh that was an opportunity to uh bring awareness, greater awareness of the issue, and so they asked me if I would join the board of directors. I did not know Carl Bean. I did not know that Carl Bean had a history in the music industry and a and a you know huge hit. And it's just like I just knew that this guy was making some inroads in an important issue and I wanted to help out, and he was incredibly welcoming, and Jewel was incredibly welcoming. And so I was simply embraced the idea that a Latina was coming in, uh, who represented television and was willing to help, was you know, just something that they said, yeah, let's do it. And so when we started working on the Coming Home for Friends campaign, they used every opportunity to bring in more and more people. So when um so my television stations uh focused on the um press event that would launch the uh the event. So it started on a Monday, and uh we knew that we needed to bring in somebody that would bring attention, that would draw the press. And somebody said, What about Natalie Cole? And for people that are not aware, her brother had AIDS and died of AIDS, and uh so they reached out and they said, Would you come and be one of the spokespersons for uh uh for the Coming Home for Friends campaign? And she said yes, and she came. And so we launched it that Monday and then uh had a series of different events all through the week, and then it culminated with this extraordinary gospel concert at the Shrine Auditorium, and uh different artists, name artists came out and performed. And in the beautiful tradition of gospel, uh everybody was told you have one number or you have three minutes, and of course they would go to 20 minutes, they do, you know, uh more. And uh and but that was beautiful, and it was wonderful, and everybody really got to see how important it was to be involved. And uh I will always give also extraordinary credit to Dion Warwick because Dion Warwick had those direct contacts with the entertainment industry, and she could call somebody and they would pick up the phone and say, yes, we will be there on Saturday night and perform at no cost to the organization. So the organization was able to raise funds, it was able to bring awareness, and it was absolutely an effort where you had lots of different people involved, in my case, local television. In uh Dion Warwick's case, the entertainment industry and the music industry. And and then, you know, Jewel with all of her contacts through the clubs, uh, through the club. Uh, and so it was uh just a you know, truly uh a coming home for friends and a great event. And then we it was done again for a few years after.

Lydia Otero: 15:37

It was, and I just want to f I have a follow-up and just want to say that the song that Carl Bean made famous was Born That Way, which was later remade by Gaga. So it's uh it's it's it's it has a history, that song. As you're talking about coming home from friends, uh my follow-up question really has to do about the Latino community. Did they ever try to organize something similar by tapping into the Latino celebrity community?

Terry Garay: 16:09

When I was involved with one of the other nonprofit organizations that focused on AIDS, we did do a Latino-focused event and we did do outreach to the celebrity community. So we had some of the uh, how shall we say, the usual suspects that were there uh that were willing to step up and be leaders. Edward James Olmos, uh, Rita Moreno, and uh and the uh Laopinion was very involved in making sure that messages went out to the Latino community. And so it was a Gala event, and it was um a high-ticket event, and it did bring some awareness to people about the AIDS and HIV issue, but it was not grassroots Latino. Uh so if there was a how shall we say, uh a shortcoming, it is that it there was no real effort to to involve the Latino grassroots organizations.

Mario J. Novoa: 17:03

This is Mario again. Uh it's really great to learn uh more about the organizing that took place. There's a documentary about catch one that I've watched, but I don't think it captures Jewel Tysus Williams' organizational skills. How do you think she'll she'll be remembered?

Terry Garay: 17:20

I think ultimately she will be remembered as an LGBTQ leader. She absolutely was. Uh, she took extraordinary steps uh to make sure that she embraced many different communities. Health and wellness were important issues to her. So after um the the the world sort of caught up with the AIDS and HIV issue and different the the medical world uh had more involvement, she got an advanced degree and she formed clinics and a wellness center. Uh, she was involved in also uh creating a shelter for battered women. So, I mean, her level of understanding and her sensitivity to issues uh was simply extraordinary. And she never backed away from uh the grassroots people. And I think that's what distinguishes her especially. Again, she was a club owner, she could have had just such an easy life uh hanging in Malibu and then, you know, in the private club room uh, you know, when people came. She didn't do that. She was always out there making sure that uh she used her platform to make people aware of what was important as issues evolved and new issues uh arose.

Rita Gonzales: 18:47

This is Rita. Uh Terry, you were involved in several other organizations that had HIV AIDS causes. Have you ever thought about writing a memoir?

Terry Garay: 18:57

I have not considered a book because I think that uh, and this is no um uh um uh this isn't throwing shade at uh Lydia, who has written books and authored books, I look at books as kind of the past. So, and then I come from TV. So I I kind of look at you know, the internet and uh vlogging and blogging if I were to share memories with people. And um, so a book itself, while I consider myself an pardon my vanity, an extraordinary writer, I I don't think I would do a book. Like I said, I would probably take advantage of the more um uh modern uh mechanisms for getting information out.

Lydia Otero: 19:44

This is Lila Terry taking no shade, but uh I have gotten a lot of positive responses to my memoir uh about my time in Los Angeles. And um I think you since you were on that media side, um you you experience things and you know things that I could never write about. And I hope you get around to writing a memoir so that young people can learn more. Because right now, what's so limited is where we you know my story, right? So because I wrote it, but then you don't know what's happening outside of my story. So it just gives a more holistic understanding of that time, and that time was such a stands out. And I I I think people, young people are asking, like, what can you learn? What advice can you give us? And it's like I go back to that time because you know, we were facing some of the similar dynamics of exclusion and discrimination that are coming up now. So researchers need to know about your activism and your involvement. So please reconsider and at least donate your documents to an archive.

Terry Garay: 20:56

I absolutely will. And the reality of me and my story is that I actually uh was also around when the Chicano activism was beginning in East Los Angeles. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and uh in uh boy in the Boyle Heights section of East Los Angeles, and so I was there when they had the very famous uh walkouts uh from the high school and around the time uh when they had uh the um uh the marches. And so I remember that. And I think one of the things that always influenced me was in 1969, as I was walking to school, somebody had graffitied on a building, a a statement that has always stuck with me, and that was better one day a lion than 3,000 years a lamb. And so that has always stuck with me, and so it guided me in my media work where I uh illuminated issues of concern to the community. That was like that was my main focus. And so uh, yes, I think that uh, you know, the story of me, you know, is something that might be of interest to uh future generations, and I have no problem sharing it. I'm just not as dedicated as you, Lydia, in getting down and writing uh a full book.

Rita Gonzales: 22:27

Well, I want to tag on to that because I've known you for a very long time, and some of your experiences I think are very valuable to today's generation and some of our generation to remember how we had to fight so hard, even to get Minority AIDS Project, why we had to do Minority AIDS Project, you were there, so uh I think yeah, I'm I'm with Lydia. I'm gonna bug you to write a memoir.

Mario J. Novoa: 22:58

Rita, this is Mario again. I as a multimedia producer, I'm in agreement. I think the story that the the sliver of a story we captured today and sharing your history, I think is really, really important. And uh I wish that you do continue to share. Because as a media person who is gay, coming up at a time where we didn't have visibility to know your history is is really important. So I encourage you.

Terry Garay: 23:30

Thank you. I'll uh I will take all of that into serious, serious consideration.

Eduardo Archuleta: 23:38

I want to do this is a dwarfle and I want to jump in too and say that whether it's writing or or you do videoing and and blogging or vlogging, um, I think it's important that that you do. You have important messages, you have a a great deal of history to share. And recording that again, whether that's in written form or in in the form of video, um, I think is tremendous and can be of great benefit to future queer generations. I want to thank you for joining us, Terry. Do you have any parting words or advice for young queers listening right now who want to stand up and be active in their communities?

Terry Garay: 24:23

I think the statement that I mentioned about better one day a lion than 3,000 years a lamb is something that I want to leave with people. You cannot always step up and fight. So you want to choose your fights wisely. But uh I am definitely somebody that has uh stepped up when I needed to, and I've never been embarrassed to be Latina, I've never been embarrassed to uh you know be a lesbian. Um and um and I think it I've had a very privileged existence, and um one of the um uh perhaps interesting things about uh my upbringing is that frequently I pass. That's an interesting word, but I pass. I I can look like many other things, and uh and a Latino who is raised in a Spanish-speaking home, not something that people would immediately think of when they look at me. Uh and uh and I've heard many uh statements uh that uh people have used, and I've had to correct them and say, no, I am one of them. And uh the same thing, perhaps I don't look like the stereotypical, and again, what is uh a stereotypical lesbian? But again, I've heard things and I've had to correct people and say, yes, I am one of them. I am a lesbian. And and so I think you know, you want to choose your fights wisely, but when there's an opportunity to stand up, I think you should, because when you stifle yourself, I think that um you are damaging yourself and you are not giving yourself a full opportunity to exist, and we should all exist.

Rita Gonzales: 26:15

Well, thank you so much, uh Terry, for joining us. And I have to say when I worked with you on the LURES campaign, I thought you were an ally. I didn't know you were a lesbian for uh two years. So yeah, even our own community, sometimes we don't know. But thank you for joining us for Radio Q Glue. I'm Rita Gonzalez. I'm Eduardo Lorra Chuleta.

Mario J. Novoa: 26:36

I'm Lydia Otero. I'm Mario J. Navoa.

Rita Gonzales: 26:40

Thank you for listening.

Mario J. Novoa: 26:42

And if you want to follow Radio Q Glue, you can follow Radio Q Glue on any podcast platform, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and our website on BuzzSprout. You can find Radio Q Glue by following us on any of those platforms or even sending finding us through Google search. This has been in World Lord Tuleto. I'm Mario J. Novoa.

Rita Gonzales: 27:10

And I'm Rita Gonzalez. And Radio Q Glue is a part of the Out Agenda, and you can find more information or email us at theoutagenda at gmail.com or visit our Facebook. Thanks for listening and have a wonderful week. And remember that being out is the first step to being equal. And here's this way.