Setting the Stage for Liberation

Mattachine Society Harry Hay, Founder of Mattachine Society Founded in 1951 by Harry Hay and other gay leftists in L.A. Primarily consisted of gay men, open to lesbians Tried to build group consciousness among homosexuals as an oppressed minority. Los Angeles Mattachine Society Started the magazine One Became politically more conservative within a short period of time. Harry Hay left the organization when it did. (Harry Hay died in 2002 at the age of 90. He continued to be involved in movements for social justice and queer rights.)

Daughters of Bilitis Publication of the Daughters Of Bilitis Del Martin (age 83) and Phyllis Lyon (age 80), founders of DOB, married in 2004 in SF. Martin died in Founded in 1955 in San Francisco first as a social club Alternative to the lesbian bar scene. Less political than the Mattachine Society. Published The Ladder, a lesbian magazine. Part of the “Homophile Movement,” alongside Mattachine. Sponsored lectures and discussions. One of the first groups for lesbians.

Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings An older Frank Kameny with sign used at pickets in the mid-1960s. Barbara Gittings picketing Kameny was with the Washington, DC Mattachine Society, while Barbara Gittings helped to establish the Daughters of Bilitis in New York City. They worked closely together to organize protests at the White House and other government buildings against discrimination. They moved away from the more conservative tactics of older leadership of the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis Marked an important transitional moment in the Homophile Movement.

Student Homophile League Founded at Columbia University in First gay student group to be officially recognized by an American university administration in April, Evolved into the first gay liberation organization in the U.S. Used “zaps”: sessions where queer students would answer student questions, raise consciousness about homosexuality. Bob Martin, who identified as bisexual, was one of the main leaders of the group. Still exists at Columbia University, now called the Columbia Queer Alliance.