Evander Smith

Last updated
Evander Smith
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Lawyer, activist

Evander Smith was an openly gay San Francisco lawyer who gained national attention for his efforts to legally block San Francisco police from harassing attendees of a fund-raising ball held by the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, an early homophile organization, on January 1, 1965. [1]

Contents

Police harassment at California Hall

On the eve of January 1, 1965, several homophile organizations in San Francisco, California - including the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, the Society for Individual Rights, the Daughters of Bilitis, and the Mattachine Society - held a fund-raising ball for their mutual benefit at the California Hall. [1] Prior to the ball, several of the ministers from the Council on Religion and the Homosexual met with the San Francisco police, who tried to get them to cancel it. [1] The clergy members declined to cancel the event, and the San Francisco police agreed not to interfere. [1] However, on the evening of the ball, the police showed up in force and surrounded the California Hall and focused numerous kleig lights on the entrance to the hall. As each of the 600 plus persons entering the ball approached the entrance, the police took their photographs. [1] A number of police vans were parked in plain view near the entrance to the ball. [1]

Evander Smith, a lawyer for the groups organizing the ball, and Herb Donaldson, another openly gay lawyer, tried to stop the police from conducting the fourth "inspection" of the evening; both were arrested, along with two heterosexual lawyers - Elliott Leighton and Nancy May - who were supporting the rights of the participants to gather at the ball. [1]

On January 2, 1965, ministers associated with the Council on Religion and the Homosexual held a news conference in protest of Smith, Donaldson, and the other two lawyers arrest as well as the police harassment that they ball attendees had been subjected to. Twenty-five of the most prominent lawyers in San Francisco joined the defense team for the four lawyers, and the judge directed the jury to find the four not-guilty before the defense had even had a chance to begin their argumentation when the case came to court. [1]

This event has been called the "San Francisco's Stonewall" by some historians; [1] The participation of such prominent litigators in the defense of the Smith, Donaldson, and the other two lawyers marked a turning point in gay rights on the West Coast of the United States. [2]

Anti-war efforts

Smith went on to protest the Vietnam War and was one of a group of signatories to a full page ad calling on the San Francisco City Council to pass a resolution calling for an end to the war. [3]

Legacy

Season 2, episode 9 of the podcastMaking Gay History” is about Smith and Herb Donaldson. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattachine Society</span> American gay male advocacy group

The Mattachine Society, founded in 1950, was an early national gay rights organization in the United States, preceded by several covert and open organizations, such as Chicago's Society for Human Rights. Communist and labor activist Harry Hay formed the group with a collection of male friends in Los Angeles to protect and improve the rights of gay men. Branches formed in other cities, and by 1961 the Society had splintered into regional groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daughters of Bilitis</span> First American lesbian civil rights group

The Daughters of Bilitis, also called the DOB or the Daughters, was the first lesbian civil and political rights organization in the United States. The organization, formed in San Francisco in 1955, was initially conceived as a secret social club, an alternative to lesbian bars, which were subject to raids and police harassment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homophile movement</span> Collective term for the LGBT organisations of the 1950-60s

The homophile movement is a collective term for the main organisations and publications supporting and representing sexual minorities in the 1950s to 1960s around the world. The name comes from the term homophile, which was commonly used by these organisations. At least some of these organisations are considered to have been more cautious than both earlier and later LGBT organisations; in the U.S., the nationwide coalition of homophile groups disbanded after older members clashed with younger members who had become more radical after the Stonewall riots of 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Night riots</span> 1979 riots in San Francisco, California, US

The White Night riots were a series of violent events sparked by an announcement of a lenient sentencing of Dan White for the assassinations of George Moscone, the mayor of San Francisco, and of Harvey Milk, a member of the city's Board of Supervisors who was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. The events took place on the night of May 21, 1979, in San Francisco. Earlier that day White had been convicted of voluntary manslaughter, the lightest possible conviction for his actions. The lesser conviction outraged the city's gay community, setting off the most violent reaction by gay Americans since the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Sarria</span> American activist

José Julio Sarria, also known as The Grand Mere, Absolute Empress I de San Francisco, and the Widow Norton, was an American political activist from San Francisco, California, who, in 1961, became the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States. He is also remembered for performing as a drag queen at the Black Cat Bar and as the founder of the Imperial Court System.

William Dorr Lambert Legg, known as W. Dorr Legg, was an American landscape architect and one of the founders of the United States gay rights movement, then called the homophile movement.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT movements in the United States</span>

LGBT movements in the United States comprise an interwoven history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied social movements in the United States of America, beginning in the early 20th century. A commonly stated goal among these movements is social equality for LGBT people. Some have also focused on building LGBT communities or worked towards liberation for the broader society from biphobia, homophobia, and transphobia. LGBT movements organized today are made up of a wide range of political activism and cultural activity, including lobbying, street marches, social groups, media, art, and research. Sociologist Mary Bernstein writes: "For the lesbian and gay movement, then, cultural goals include challenging dominant constructions of masculinity and femininity, homophobia, and the primacy of the gendered heterosexual nuclear family (heteronormativity). Political goals include changing laws and policies in order to gain new rights, benefits, and protections from harm." Bernstein emphasizes that activists seek both types of goals in both the civil and political spheres.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT pride</span> Positive stance toward LGBTQ people

Pride is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements. Pride has lent its name to LGBTQ-themed organizations, institutes, foundations, book titles, periodicals, a cable TV channel, and the Pride Library.

The Tavern Guild was an association of gay bar owners and liquor wholesalers that formed in 1962 in San Francisco, California, and lasted until 1995.

The North American Conference of Homophile Organizations was an umbrella organization for a number of homophile organizations. Founded in 1966, the goal of NACHO was to expand coordination among homophile organizations throughout the Americas. Homophile activists were motivated in part by an increase in mainstream media attention to gay issues. Some feared that without a centralized organization, the movement would be hijacked, in the words of founding member Foster Gunnison Jr., by "fringe elements, beatniks, and other professional non-conformists".

The Council on Religion and the Homosexual (CRH) was a San Francisco, California, United States-based organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of joining homosexual activists and religious leaders.

Herbert Donaldson was an openly gay San Francisco lawyer and judge who gained national attention for his efforts to legally block San Francisco police from harassing attendees of a fund-raising ball for the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, an early homophile organization, on January 1, 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ culture in San Francisco</span>

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) community in San Francisco is one of the largest and most prominent LGBT communities in the United States, and is one of the most important in the history of American LGBT rights and activism alongside New York City. The city itself has been described as "the original 'gay-friendly city'". LGBT culture is also active within companies that are based in Silicon Valley, which is located within the southern San Francisco Bay Area.

The Tay-Bush Inn raid was a police raid on an all-night, one-room café in San Francisco, California around 3 a.m. on September 14, 1961. There 103 LGBT patrons were arrested. It is considered a pivotal event in the history of LGBT rights in San Francisco. It was the largest raid on a gay bar in this city, and received the most press coverage. The arrested were described in the press as mostly white and middle class men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of LGBT history, 20th century</span>

The following is a timeline of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) history in the 20th century.

The AB101 Veto Riot was a demonstration that occurred on September 30, 1991, in San Francisco, California, that was organized originally as a peaceful protest; the gathering was initially proposed by activists Gerard Koskovich and Bob Smith, who were joined by other community organizers just before the event. The riot started as a response to Pete Wilson, the governor of California at the time, vetoing Assembly Bill 101. The bill would have prohibited private employers from discriminating against employees because of their sexual orientation. A year after the protest, in 1992, the bill was passed by state legislature and signed by Pete Wilson.

Equal is an American documentary television series produced by Scout Productions, Berlanti Productions, Raintree Ventures, That's Wonderful Productions, and Warner Horizon Unscripted Television. The four-part series chronicles landmark events and leaders in LGBTQ history, and consists of a mixture of archival footage and scripted reenactments. Equal stars several actors including Samira Wiley, Jamie Clayton, and Anthony Rapp. The series premiered on HBO Max on October 22, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Hall (San Francisco, California)</span> Historic building in San Francisco

California Hall, originally named Das Deutsche Haus, is a historic commercial building and event venue built in 1912, located in the Polk Gulch/Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco, California.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Miller, Neil (1995). Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the present . New York: Vintage Books. pp.  348. ISBN   978-0679749882.
  2. Cain, Patricia A. (Oct 1993). "Litigating for Lesbian and Gay Rights: A Legal History". Virginia Law Review. 79 (7 Symposium on Sexual Orientation and the Law): 1551–1641. doi:10.2307/1073382. JSTOR   1073382.
  3. Suran, Justin David (September 2001). "Coming out against the War: Antimilitarism and the Politicization of Homosexuality in the Era of Vietnam". American Quarterly. 53 (3): 452–488. doi:10.1353/aq.2001.0030. JSTOR   30041901. S2CID   144461092.
  4. "Season Two". Making Gay History. Retrieved 2020-04-27.

Further reading