In 1965 homosexuals demonstrated in Philadelphia by carrying placards outside Independence Hall. The demonstrations continued once a year until 1969. Chicagoan Don Sorensen was on one of those early demonstrations and also played a role in starting Mattachine Midwest.
'We lived up in Logan Square in those days and somebody came from New York and asked if we were interested in starting a group, and I said 'yes.' It didn't take long. I had friends, and friends tell friends, and here they come.
'Pearl Hart was at the first meeting, and Ralla Klepak, and we had chiropractors, psychiatrists, all kinds of people, but we weren't allowed to give out their names. I remember we had cake and coffee after every meeting.
'The meetings got too big and we started meeting in a hotel downtown. I was in the group for two or three years, then I moved to California.
'I always used my real name, and when I went up to Philadelphia to picket, I used my real name. Three of us went up together and we walked around Independence Hall; it was mostly girls, not too many guys … getting those girls into heels and those little hats with veils was almost impossible.
'I had to wear a suit. In those days you really had to dress when you picketed. We didn't want people to think we were trash.
'I carried a sign that said, 'Chicago Mattachine wants equal rights … ' or something like that. I think we were there for about an hour …
'There were three of us from Chicago and there were maybe 20 people altogether.
'I knew Pearl Hart … oh she was big. I told her once that she could go out in Lincoln Park at night and nobody was going to mug her. When she sat down in one of my chairs she filled it out. She was wonderful as far as I'm concerned, I'll never meet anyone like her again. If she heard that a cop put their foot on someone's head, she was down there right away. It didn't matter whether you had money or you didn't have money, she was going to get them and that was all there was to it.
'We went down to see the head of the police department once and we're sitting there talking. Now he knew what Mattachine was, because he was from California and they had a group out there. We were talking about the tearooms and the plain clothes would be in there, and they'd stand there and show it and get you to reach for it, and when you did they would take your watch and whatever else they could get their hands on.
'Then the cops picked up a bunch of kids off the street, at Diversey and Clark and said they were carrying on. There must have been about 10-15 kids. We went to court and the judge was surprised, and he wanted to know where the arresting officers were. They weren't there because they didn't think they would have any trouble. The cops weren't there so the judge threw the case out and I heard he raised hell with somebody about the kids being arrested … they weren't doing anything.
'Gracy's was up on Wrightwood and it was a nice little bar. The cops came in and made everyone lie down on the floor in their suits and then took them down to jail. They got hold of Pearl and they put a lawsuit against the city and they won. I think each one of them got $5,000, or something like that.'
If you have memories to share, contact Sukie de la Croix at Windy City Times. You can leave a message on his voicemail at (773) 871-7610. He collects memories and interviews over the phone, in person, or via e-mail sukie@windycitymediagroup.com