GAY COMMUNITY | Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Wtern Rerve Universy

Contents:

• GAY CLEVELAND
• GAY COMMUNITY
• MOVG TO LGBTQ CLEVELAND, OH? HOW TO FD YOUR PERFECT GAY NEIGHBORHOOD!
• CLEVELAND GAY CY GUI – THE ROCK AND ROLL CAPAL OF THE WORLD
• LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND
• GAY NIGHTLIFE CLEVELAND

GAY CLEVELAND

To the extent that a muny is fed by s anizatns and stutns, Cleveland's gay muny probably dat om the foundg of a lol Mattache Society group the 1960s. Mattache was the progenor of prent-day gay anizatns and a sense prepared the way for what would bee the gay rights movement after the Stonewall Rt June 1969, which a group of homosexuals fend themselv agast a police raid on a bar Greenwich Village, New York Cy. Stonewall was one of the first large public events mandg equal rights and protectns for homosexuals and and transgenr dividuals, wh other notable monstratns agast police harassment occurrg at Cooper Do-nut Los Angel 1959 and at Compton’s Cafeteria San Francis 1966.

The movements for civil rights for blacks, women, and other groups, and the tone of liberal thought the late 1960s and early 1970s set motn a wave of activism that saw the formatn of groups and servic specifilly geared to gay men and lbians as a muny of terts. The activism of the early gay movement took many forms. In 1970 a short-lived chapter of the Gay Activists Alliance was formed at CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV.

Which beme the Gay Edutnal and Awarens Rourc Foundatn (GEAR). Much of the emphasis of the GEAR Foundatn was on advocy and service, sce harassment and discrimatn were not overt, and sce operatn wh the gay muny was seen as a prerequise for effective work beyond. The GEAR Foundatn's most visible work was s muny center, which 1986 was renamed the LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND, loted on Detro Avenue the Gordon Square neighborhood..

GAY COMMUNITY

The gay muny, hard h by the advent of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) the early 1980s, rpond swiftly by formg the Health Issu Task Force 1982.

The newspaper High Gear was started by the GEAR Foundatn 1975 and was the first attempt the cy to produce a publitn exclively for the gay muny. Prted tabloid form and distributed ee, rried lol and natnal news, featur and edorials, and advertisg for gay bs. In 1984 a new newspaper, the Gay People's Chronicle, began publitn wh Charl Callenr, a profsor at Case Wtern Rerve Univ., as edor and publisher.

A large variety of smaller and more specialized anizatns have existed wh the Cleveland gay muny.

MOVG TO LGBTQ CLEVELAND, OH? HOW TO FD YOUR PERFECT GAY NEIGHBORHOOD!

In the early 1970s a group lled the Communy of Celebratn flourished for a time; was succeed by a chapter of the natnal anizatn for gay Catholics, Digny.

A lol ngregatn of the Metropolan Communy Church, a natnal nomatn of primarily gay membership, existed for a time .

In 1993 a ngregatn of the Uned Church of Christ wh a primarily gay membership was found as Liberatn UCC, meetg ially UNIV.

CLEVELAND GAY CY GUI – THE ROCK AND ROLL CAPAL OF THE WORLD

A club addrsg polil ncerns, origally lled the Eleanor Roosevelt Gay Democratic Club ("Democratic" was later changed to "Polil") was formed 1980.

It studied polil issu, took stands on issu of importance to the gay muny, endorsed ndidat for office, and advoted civil rights legislatn at the lol and state levels. A polil actn group named STONEWALL CLEVELAND was formed 1990 and has pursued var goals, cludg endorsement of ndidat, tn, and promotn of gay participatn the polil procs. The group helped draft cy legislatn that protects gays and lbians om hog discrimatn.

LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND

As the movement has grown and provid creased visibily for the gay muny, a number of anizatns have e to existence wh a specifilly gay inty. At var tim social clubs, an archive and oral history project, a gay amic unn, and an anizatn lled the Gay and Lbian Instute existed.

CWRU's Lbian and Gay Stunt Unn sponsored an annual nference on gay and lbian issu for several years, which attracted natnally known speakers and signifint dienc. Sports teams, nng and bikg clubs, square dance and untry-wtern dance clubs, support groups for gay parents and parents of gays, revery groups for gay alholics, and book and movie discsn groups all ntribute to the active life of the muny. Bs wh gay ownership and seekg a specifilly gay clientele proliferate.

And an creasg number of non-gay intified anizatns prent programmg wh an eye to the gay dience. Includ any look at the gay muny, but separate due to a variety of fluenc, is the lbian muny. Lbian groups Cleveland, as elsewhere, had close allianc to the women's rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and given the difference agenda between femist and gay reformers, is probably only the 1980s that dividg l between the two beme ls pronounced.

GAY NIGHTLIFE CLEVELAND

By the 1990s anizatns the gay muny were creasgly clive, wh a far greater number of gay men and lbians participatg together. Acrdg to a wily accepted timate that 10% of the populatn is homosexual, greater Cleveland's gay muny should have numbered . A large number rema " the closet" (that is, not openly gay) to fay, iends, and -workers.

In general the climate toward homosexuals improved markedly through the 1970s and 1980s, probably due to the work of members of the muny to secure and reta visibily. And while the natnal climate of polil nservatism of the 1990s, the wrath of which is often directed at gay men and lbians, creat new and creasg ncern for gay anizatns, their ranks appear to be growg, and the work the muny more urgent. Cleveland's gay muny is visible and has ma a signifint impact on the life of the cy.

While no sgle ward or area has bee an intifiable gay area, at var tim a number of areas of the cy have hoed large ncentratns of the gay populatn: CLEVELAND HTS., the area around SHAKER SQUARE, OHIO CITY, and the wtern edge of the cy along wh neighborg LAKEWOOD.

Gay tablishments such as bars and other bs ncentrate primarily downtown and to the wt. Consired wh the post-Stonewall era Cleveland's gay muny has been a center for activism, nsired the most proment between New York and Chigo, and has evinced a strong trend for further growth and hivens that has been the goal of activists and lears sce the begng of the gay rights movement. For more tail on the perd om the 1970s to the 1990s see the articl on GEAR, HIGH GEAR, and GAY COMMUNITY, 1970s.

Well, if you’ve heard of Oh, chanc are, you know a ltle about Cleveland but you might want to fd out a ltle b more about (and s gay neighborhoods) before packg up the U-Hl!