The Early Years: 1920s-1940s

Nazi officers raiding the office of gender and sexuality researcher and activist Magnus Hirschfeld

The first documented gay rights organization in America was founded in 1924 by Henry Gerber, a German immigrant who was inspired by a similar group in Germany. The Society for Human Rights in Chicago published a newsletter called “Friendship and Freedom”, but was soon disbanded after police raids. Gerber’s house was later designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. government. In 1930, Magnus Hirschfeld, a German sexologist and gay rights pioneer, visited New York City and met with several gay activists and writers, such as Charles Henri Ford and Djuna Barnes. Hirschfeld had founded the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee in Germany in 1897, the first gay rights group in the world. He also established the Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin, which conducted research on sexuality and gender diversity until it was destroyed by the Nazis in 1933.

Soon the day will come when science will win victory over error, justice a victory over injustice, and human love a victory over human hatred and ignorance” -Magnus Hirschfeld.

Members of the Klu Klux Klan raiding a Miami gay club in 1937.

In 1934, Henry Cowell, an American composer and music theorist, was arrested for having sex with a man and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released after four years on parole, thanks to the intervention of his friends and colleagues, such as Aaron Copland and John Cage. Cowell continued to compose music and teach until his death in 1965. In 1942, Allen Ginsberg, a young poet and future leader of the Beat Generation, met Neal Cassady, a charismatic adventurer who became his lover and muse. Their relationship lasted for two decades and influenced Ginsberg’s poetry and activism. Ginsberg later became one of the most prominent voices of the counterculture and gay rights movements.

Phyllis Abry and her partner, Mildred. The two were featured in Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps propaganda during World War II.