Dance hall days
In the June 18 Windy City Times Chicago Gay History column, under the heading 'Let's Dance!,' author John D'Emilio correctly states that the first order of business for Chicago's newly formed Gay Liberation ( back in 1970 ) was to claim safe, friendly spaces for gays and lesbians. The core issue was same-sex dancing, which was not permitted in the gay bars at the time. But Mr. D'Emilio paints a rather struggle-less picture of Gay Liberation's efforts by misrepresenting as well as de-politicizing the nature of those dances and the intentions of their sponsor. Case in point: Mr. D'Emilio references a dance that Gay Liberation sponsored at the convention-sized Coliseum at 16th and Wabash. But D'Emilio puts a false spin on Gay Liberation by stating that this event was, in so many words, a test to push the boundaries regarding society's acceptance of gay people. That dance—a historic one—was, first and foremost, a boycott; it was not a test. There were a lot of gay people there that night, to be sure, and I was one of them. For the most part, it was an enjoyable event. But its purpose was to siphon off clientele from the bars as a protest because, of course, there you couldn't touch, kiss or dance with someone of the same sex—you couldn't be 'gay.' The dance did instill a sense of collective pride that carried over into the following weeks in protests outside the bars gays frequented.
But here's the real rub: D'Emilio states in reference to that Coliseum dance, 'The police did show up and patrol the area on April 18th, but there were no arrests and no incidence.' The police didn't have to do anything. Their friends—the underworld, i.e., the Mafia ( in control of all gay bars and with which Chicago cops were often complicit ) —were out there that night to intimidate and, in some cases, rough up queers.
It was a hard-fought struggle to claim gay and lesbian space. There were constant raids of gay bars and constant payoffs by organized crime to Chicago's men in blue. The results of those raids—raids for touching and kissing—were the publication of names in the Tribune and Sun-Times; ruined careers; and suicides. The oppression was insidious and involved graft and payoffs and a nod and wink from Daley ( Richard J. ) ; collusion between the Chicago Police Department and the Mafia; and strict enforcement of the 'rules' for clients by bar owners ( Mafia shills ) . It was a grand triumvirate: the Richard J. Daley Machine, the Chicago cops and the underworld. It was the grand triumvirate versus the people on the street, Gay Liberation and the unsung activist heroes out to right a wrong.
Craig Teichen
Chicago
Age fright
To the Editor,
I wanted to say how very much I enjoyed Charles-Gene McDaniel's well-worded and thoughtful essay, 'Gay Gerontophobia,' and how very grateful I am that you made space for this sensitive and important subject. It would be wonderful to hear more from Mr. McDaniels. I think the subject of aging within our community is going to require more attention in the coming years. How good of you to address it in the Pride edition of The Times.
Sincerely,
Dan McCauley
Owner, A Taste of Heaven