The natn’s first gay and lbian talk rad show, The Gay 90s, aired om downtown Cleveland, Oh and started off wh a bang. Not lerally, but given the bomb threat lled before the show’s premier broadst on WHK 1420 AM was a possibily. Dpe the potential danger, The Gay 90s aired as schled on March 26, 1993, and beme the untry’s first mercial live, “ll ” rad program by, for, and about the gay and lbian muny. Given Cleveland’s history of settlg...
Contents:
- GAY COMMUNITY
- GAY COMMUNITY 1970S
- GAY BARS IN CLEVELAND
- THE GAY 90S
- HISTORY OF GAY BARS
- GAY CLEVELAND THROUGH THE S: THE CLUBS, QUEENS AND MIC THAT BROUGHT GAY CULTURE TO THE MASTREAM
- NEWS OF THE COLUMB GAY AND LBIAN COMMUNY
- CLEVELAND GAY CY GUI – THE ROCK AND ROLL CAPAL OF THE WORLD
- CLEVELAND'S GAY BARS EVOLVE AGE OF GREATER TOLERANCE
- BLACKS, GAYS AND THE CHURCH: A COMPLEX RELATNSHIP
- HOTEL EMBRAC LOTN AS CLEVELAND'S FIRST GAY-IENDLY BAR
GAY COMMUNITY
GAY COMMUNITY. To the extent that a muny is fed by s anizatns and stutns, Cleveland's gay muny probably dat om the foun... * cleveland gay history *
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.
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 1970S
GAY COMMUNITY IN THE 1970S. The 1970s marked an important perd the history of the Gay Communy of Cleveland. This article provis tails on var aspects of the muny the cril followg Stonewall., * cleveland gay history *
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.
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. 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. 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.
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. Wh most beg the closet, lol gay people equented bars and diss to meet iends, make hook ups (nsentg partners lled “tricks”) and bask an environment wh others who were like them. The area around the Richard Wagner statue on the upper level of Edgewater Park was a popular daily gatherg place for gay sunbathers, often more popular than the beach self.
GAY BARS IN CLEVELAND
PRIDE IN CLEVELAND has been celebrated by the cy’s LGBTQ muny sce the early 1970s. The gay muny Cleveland the 1970s was nnecte... * cleveland gay history *
Input om both the Cleveland Divisn of Health and the Cleveland Free Clic helped te lol gays about the symptoms of venereal diseas, where to get nfintial help, what to do to prevent such illns, cludg ndom e, and what to look for potential sex partners. While there were var protts and other actns taken by advot om 1972 to 1976, the third Gay Pri March/Celebratn didn’t occur until July 1976 when wh mimal publicy Dan Richmond, newly appoted worship ordator of the Cleveland Metropolan Communy Church, held a march om Gypsy’s Rtrant at 2418 through downtown Cleveland to Wt 6th Street.
The four primary gay polil groups the Cleveland area the 1970s were the Cleveland Chapter of the Gay Activists Alliance, the Cleveland Gay Polil Unn, the Kent Gay Liberatn Front, and the Gay Cc of Youth Agast War and Fascism. When this group spun off to bee a service anizatn that clud High Gear, the Gay Hotle, and early piec of the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland, the Gay Feratn, which later beme the Cleveland Gay Polil Unn (CGPU), was formed. Early on, GEAR anizers knew that orr to tablish a Gay Communy Center they would first need to bee an rporated non-prof anizatn Oh and then, secure feral tax-exempt stat om the IRS.
Sce there were strict l about not engagg polil activy, GEAR sisted on a separate polil anizatn, hence the creatn of the Cleveland Gay Feratn, which transformed self to CGPU.
THE GAY 90S
GAY BARS IN CLEVEAND have been existence sce at least the 1940s and have served as important s for the cy’s LGBTQ muny to socialize, anize, and distribute rmatn and rourc. , * cleveland gay history *
In Febary 1976 over 30 gay women and men marched en masse outsi CLEVELAND PRESS offic to prott censorship of a 2-9 to 2-13-76 Doonbury ic strip that featured a gay character, Andy. When the Supreme Court led on March 29, 1976 by a 6 to 3 vote that stat may prosecute and imprison people for mtg nsensual homosexual acts, CGPU sprang to actn, issug a prs release nouncg the actn and mandg equal treatment. On Saturday, May 8, 1976 members of CGPU, KGLF, and the YAWF gay uc monstrated outsi of the Akron Court Hoe to prott Akron police harassment of gays by issug traffic and parkg catns to those g and leavg area gay bars.
While gay Clevelanrs were not as eply persecuted as others livg elsewhere, there is no qutn that the 1970s gays Cleveland were visible, and ready to take any actn necsary when they felt their rights were beg vlated or when they were beg treated unfairly. After the early years of Pri Cleveland the 1970s sponsored by numero anizatns, gay muny members and anizers Cleveland elected to jo the larger Pri celebratns Columb, Oh through the 1980s. The ncellatn led to the anizatn of Pri the CLE by the LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND which anized celebratns 2016 and 2017 before the anizatns rned 2018.
However, the stunt newspaper at CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, The Observer, claimed that the Gay Pri March that took place on September 15, 1973 was the first event of s kd Cleveland.
HISTORY OF GAY BARS
* cleveland gay history *
On September 15, the Gay Activists Alliance sponsored a Gay Pri March that began outsi of a gay bar lled “The Change” and moved along Euclid Avenue to a rally Public Square.
There was a hope that around two-hundred people would be attendance, but only forty attend the march, which anizers attributed to fear by many the gay muny that they would be regnized and ostracized.
GAY CLEVELAND THROUGH THE S: THE CLUBS, QUEENS AND MIC THAT BROUGHT GAY CULTURE TO THE MASTREAM
Gay culture has entered to the mastream. But for s Cleveland's gay and straight scen have mgled to create a vibrant nightlife. * cleveland gay history *
The first event, “Lbian and Gay Pri ‘89: An Out of the Closet Experience, ” took place on a block of Wt 29th Street where mil groups and booths sellg food, ice cream, shirts, books, and balloons were set up.
In 1991, STONEWALL CLEVELAND put together a list of five mands for Pri that year, which clud fundg to fight AIDS rather than war, full civil rights for lbians, gays, and bisexuals, endg racism wh and outsi the gay, lbian, and bisexual muny, keepg abortn safe and legal, and fally, the right to live openly whout harassment and vlence. The events clud the “Rooftop Kick Off Party” on Thursday night, “The Big Bang” celebratn on Friday night, the Gay Gala at the Masonic Audorium Saturday afternoon, and the Gay Gala afterparty Saturday night. The LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND was the ma sponsor for the event, but planng took the efforts of a total of eighteen anizatns, as well as fundg om the CLEVELAND FOUNDATION and the AIDS Fundg Collaborative.
Although Cleveland Pri abptly nceled the annual Pri March 2016, the LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND stepped to ensure that there would be an annual event by begng Pri the CLE, which has ntued annually sce then and merged wh Cleveland Pri unr one event. ” A scriptn of the day’s events followed:“While nothg was done the way of a para, or mass meetgs Public Square, a very succsful Friday night Coffeehoe, and a Gay Pri Piic at, where else?
NEWS OF THE COLUMB GAY AND LBIAN COMMUNY
HIGH GEAR newspaper was published by GEAR (Gay Edutn and Awarens Rourc) Foundatn om 1974 to 1982 Cleveland, Oh. High Gear was Cleveland and Oh’s first newspaper published by and for gay Ohans., * cleveland gay history *
”In 1975, the LGBT Communy Center of Greater Cleveland did not yet exist, but a fledglg activist group at Cleveland State Universy soon beme GEAR (Gay Edutnal and Awarens Rourc). M., Brecksville-Broadview Heights Middle School, 6376 Mill Road, Broadview HeightsWhen a speaker at a 2021 Veteran’s Day public event the Cuyahoga County sister ci of Brecksville and Broadview Heights veered sudnly off-script to make some cidly homophobic remarks wh schoolchildren attendance, some atten were unrstandably offend. The aln is a grassroots polil group found March, 1987 at the Lbian and Gay Communy Servic Center New York Cy, wh the goal of improvg the qualy of life for people wh AIDS.
CLEVELAND GAY CY GUI – THE ROCK AND ROLL CAPAL OF THE WORLD
Suated on the southern shor of Lake Erie, Cleveland is a cy that always offers a warm wele, even spe s tenncy for ld weather. It’s known as The Fort Cy, C-Town, and The Rock and Roll Capal of the World – but whatever you ll , would be a wonrful place to ll home... check out the Gayborhoods. * cleveland gay history *
GAY BARS IN CLEVEAND have been existence sce at least the 1940s and have served as important s for the cy’s LGBTQ muny to socialize, anize, and distribute rmatn and rourc. STONEWALL CLEVELAND was a gay civil rights anizatn tablished April, 1990 that operated through 1992 wh the purpose of servg as the polil voice of the lbian and gay muny Northeastern Oh. GRAUER, a bar lled Ltle Ted’s, which was suated unr a rtrant of the same name near the CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY, as well as a bar lled Mac & Jerry’s, which was not exclively gay but was a popular spot for the cy’s dtrial workers.
CLEVELAND'S GAY BARS EVOLVE AGE OF GREATER TOLERANCE
This article exam the history of Cleveland's gay bars and clubs, and looks at the ways they've evolved and the role they ntue to play. * cleveland gay history *
Ale’s Bar at East 115th Street and Euclid Avenue was one such spot, where stunts om the nearby CASE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY and WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY would gather alongsi members of Cleveland’s gay muny.
The CADILLAC LOUNGE closed late 1970, but other bars owned by Gloria Lenihan like the Pickwood Lounge on Clifton Avenue remaed popular spots for Cleveland’s gay and lbian muny. In 1977, the openg of the offic of LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND provid a space for members of the gay muny to socialize, anize polilly, and share rourc and rmatn. Gay bars mataed their prence Cleveland, and they were signifint for gay publitns like HIGH GEAR which ed them as pots of distributn, but they were no longer the only plac which to socialize openly and safely.
BLACKS, GAYS AND THE CHURCH: A COMPLEX RELATNSHIP
While many black pastors nmn homosexualy om the pulp, the choir lofts behd them are often filled wh gay sgers and micians. The fact that gays and lbians often hold learship posn the church is the worst kept secret black Ameri. * cleveland gay history *
The Midwt Regnal Discrimatn Rponse System, a project of Black and Whe Men Together, formed orr to report stanc of racial discrimatn wh the gay and lbian muny and discrimatn agast the muny. In 1985, the anizatn mobilized agast the Rz, a bar Cleveland that accepted members of the gay muny on Sundays, which had been the subject of plats of discrimatn agast Black men and women attemptg to enter.
HOTEL EMBRAC LOTN AS CLEVELAND'S FIRST GAY-IENDLY BAR
In the summer of 1975, Art MacDonald was 25. He had been kicked out of the Navy a few years before for his orientatn. He had sce partnered, and found and ntued to lead a Metropolan Communy Church (MCC) ngregatn spe of ath threats aimed at him, ser harassment and asslts on his ngregatn, and his lack of theologil tn. He had also found High Gear the year before and ntued to wre for , and he -found the Gay Edutnal and Awarens Rourc... * cleveland gay history *
The clu Vibe Bar & Pat on Lora Avenue around Wt 117th Street, Twist on Clifton Boulevard, Cocktails and The Hawk on Detro Avenue, Sha Cleveland’s OLD BROOKLYN neighborhood, and the Leather Stalln, which holds the rerd as Cleveland’s olst operatg gay bar.
The missn of the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr Archiv is to foster greater unrstandg of the regn’s LGBT history by documentg the liv of Northeast Oh’s LGBT rints and anizatns and their ntributns to our muny. The LGBT Archiv began 1991 as a volunteer-led partnership wh the Lbian/Gay Communy Servic Center wh the goal of llectg, prervg, and documentg the regn’s rich LGBT history. Dpe the potential danger, The Gay 90s aired as schled on March 26, 1993, and beme the untry’s first mercial live, “ll ” rad program by, for, and about the gay and lbian muny.
Lookg back, ’s not surprisg that the natn’s first gay and lbian talk show was hosted by Cleveland native Buck Harris, a man at ease beg the “first” a number of public rol. In 1984, Governor Richard Celte appoted Harris as the Oh Department of Health’s gay health nsultant, the first state the natn to create such a posn rponse to the growg AIDS crisis.