Those denied service were variously described at the time as “homosexuals,” “masculine women,” “feminine men,” and “persons wearing non-conformist clothing.” Three teenagers (reported by the Janus Society and Drum to be two males and one female) staged a sit-in that day.
In the process of offering legal support for the teens, local activist and president of the Janus Society, Clark Polak, was also arrested.
The Janus Society said the protests were successful in preventing further arrests and the action was deemed “the first sit-in of its kind in the history of the United States” by Drum magazine.
[5] Due to its close ties with Drum and president Clark Polak's various sex businesses, the Janus Society faced increasing scrutiny and harassment from local, state, and federal authorities, eventually ceasing operations in 1969 weeks before the Stonewall Riots after Polak was arrested on federal obscenity charges.
Published (usually monthly) beginning in 1964 by the Janus Society as a continuation of their monthly newsletter, and edited by Clark Polak, Drum’s title was inspired from a quote by Henry David Thoreau‘s Walden that appeared in every edition: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears the beat of a different drummer.