The Homophile Years: 1950s-1960s

In 1950, Harry Hay founded the Mattachine Foundation, one of the nation’s first gay rights groups. The group aimed to educate and unify homosexuals, and to protect them from discrimination and persecution. It also challenged the prevailing medical and legal views that homosexuality was abnormal or deviant. In 1955, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon founded the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organization in the U.S. The group published a magazine called “The Ladder”, which featured articles on lesbian issues, culture, and politics. It also advocated for social acceptance and legal rights for lesbians.

Senators Kenneth Wherry and J. Lister Hill conducted the first congressional investigation into homosexuality in teh federal workforce.

Both groups faced internal divisions over their goals and strategies. Some members favored a more radical approach, while others preferred a more moderate one. Some also disagreed on whether to align themselves with other social movements, such as feminism or civil rights. In 1965, members of the LGBT community rallied in Washington D.C. and gathered in front of the White House to stage the first LGBT rights demonstration in the U.S. They carried signs that read “Homosexuals Should Be Judged as Individuals” and “15 Million Homosexual Americans Ask for Equality”. They also picketed at other federal buildings and landmarks. In 1966, transgender activists protested at Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco, after police tried to arrest them for violating gender norms. The riot was one of the first recorded instances of transgender resistance to police harassment.

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