Before 1960s
The Society for Human Rights
The history of the LGBTQ+ movements progression in the started in US in 1924 with the founding of The Society for Human Rights. Founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago, IL [1]. Gerber worked for the US Army station in Germany during the 1920s. He was directly influenced by the gay rights movements occurring in Germany during this time [1]. After returning home, Gerber made an effort to bring this concept of gay rights to the US [1]. The society started newsletter called the Friends in Freedom, but it only had two issues before Gerber was arrested by the police [1]. The censorship of Gerber and his publication marked beginning of the fights for equality for the LGBTQ+ community [1].
The Mattachine Society
The next chapter of the LGBTQ+ movement came in 1950 in California, with the foundation of The Mattachine Society [2]. The group was carefully named in reference to in medieval group of men who wore masks and would go town to town pointing out social inequalities to humor. The group was found by Harry Hay, a radical communist, who organized a group of eight gay men together which formed the first meeting of the Mattachine Society.
Gay is good courtesy of 2010americancivilrights
The group started sponsoring talks where gay and lesbian men and women could meet to discuss their lives and aspects of what it meant to be a gay or lesbian individual [2]. These groups became a supportive place for individuals to come and be themselves. This is one the first times that these individuals what able to gather together and start a movement. The discussion groups were so popular with that Group spread throughout the entire state of California and meetings were held seven days a week [2].
In 1951 Mattachine adopted mission statement which was made up of two parts the first was a call for grass roots movement of gay and lesbian individuals to challenge anti-homosexual discrimination [2]. The second was to build a community and which gay and lesbian individuals were excepted [2].
By 1953 the group head grown in such size and numbers that they were able to start advocating for themselves politically [2]. The first win came through the judicial system when the Mattachine Group was able to raise money to pay for a lawyer to go up against Los Angeles is discriminatory police department [2]. Soon after the group started handing out flyers and pamphlets as well as calling officials running for office and asking them about their position the gay lesbian community [2]. A local newspaper article noted the increase in education for the gay and lesbian community, calling them a “strange new pressure group” [2].
Unfortunately, during this time huge anti-Communist degree point that swept across the US would be the downfall for the Mattachine Society [2]. Due to this the group leaders Word now subject to they felt it was in the best interest of the Group to resign their leadership positions [2]. The Mattachine Society’s leadership positions were handed over to the conservative party. This leadership transfer what ultimately be destroying factor in the Mattachine Societies’ history. The new leadership shifted the groups focus which resulted in a loss of membership and ultimately the death of the Mattachine Society due to a lack of members [2].
Daughters of Bilitis
Daughters of Bilitis was formed by eight lesbians in San Francisco, California [3]. This was the first lesbian civil rights and political organizations in the United States [3]. Two of the founding members were Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, the first legally married same-sex couple in the United States. Daughters of Bilitis, or DOB, provided an outlet for lesbian women to meet and discuss [3]. During the 1950s, DOB chapters were formed across the United States with offices in Chicago, New York, and later reaching Australia [3]. Due to the fact that DOB was not allowed to advertise in any newspapers, in October of 1956, DOB published the first issue of a new letter called The Ladder, which ran until 1972 [3]. In 1972, The Ladder published its last issue due to lack of funding [3]. DOB is credited with multiple achievements--most notably, facilitating one of the first opportunities for lesbians to meet and discuss their lives and struggles [3].
The Ladder courtesy of Wikipedia Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
References
1. Chicago, 1924: The Society For Human Rights
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2. Simon, Rita J., and Alison M. Brooks. Gay and Lesbian Communities the World Over, Lexington Books, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/butler/detail.action?docID=4505050.
3.
Daughters Of Bilitis
Rebecca Barnes - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daughters-of-Bilitis
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4. Background Picture
Gays Against Fascism" - Gay Pride March
No known copy right.