Kalos Society

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The Kalos Society was a gay support and advocacy group founded in Bridgeport, Connecticut which was active from 1968 until 1973. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

The Kalos Society was formed in 1968 by Keith Brown, Harry Williams, and Ken Laughlin. [2] It grew out of a counseling group for LGBT people, Project H, which had been started by Canon Clinton R. Jones in 1963. [4] [5] [6] The group met at Hartford's Christ Church Cathedral, on invitation of Jones, for their first few meetings. [7] The group's name was drawn from the Greek word kalos , an adjective with positive connotations that was said to be inscribed on drinking bowls gifted by men to other men in ancient Greece. [2] [5]

Initially there were some tensions between group members as to whether the group should be primarily social and counselling-based, or be focused on political advocacy. [5] [7] The focus on political advocacy eventually won out, and in mid-1970 the group merged with the local branch of the Gay Liberation Front, which had been founded earlier that year. [6] [8]

In 1970, the group received backlash for a public picnic they held at Goodwin Park. Residents of Hartford's South End had gathered 400 signatures on a petition opposing the event. [2] [3] [9] Following the event, city officials passed an ordinance requiring a permit for speeches made in public parks. [2]

In 1971, the group organized the Connecticut Liberation Festival, the state's first pride festival. The festival had events over the course of several days, which included dances, picnics, and a march to the state capitol. [2] On July 30, 1971, the group organized a protest of roughly 170 people at Bridgeport City Hall, in response to police refusal to help a Kalos Society member after they were assaulted. [8] In September 1971, the group demonstrated at the LaRosa Park West bar in Hartford, [10] which refused to serve lesbian patrons who were not dressed "properly". [3] Eleven protesters were arrested, but demonstrations continued for several days until the bar's owners relented. [3]

1971 also saw member Ken Bland suspended from his job at the American School for the Deaf after he represented the Kalos Society on a local television program. The American Civil Liberties Union later took up Bland's case, [2] and in 1972, the group backed a state-level bill that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. [11]

In 1973, the group merged with the Metropolitan Community Church in Hartford. [2] Many of the group's members went on to be involved with the Connecticut Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights between 1984 and 1991. [6] One notable member of the Kalos Society was Richard Cardarelli, a Franciscan monk who had been excommunicated for advocating for the acceptance of gay members in the Catholic Church. [3]

The Griffin

Beginning in 1970, [2] the Kalos Society published a newsletter, titled The Griffin and subtitled "News of Gay Liberation", which was distributed at local gay bars and at stores with owners sympathetic to the cause of gay liberation. [3] The publication was the state's first LGBT newspaper, [1] and covered topics such as Kalos Society demonstrations, news on local elections, and information about STIs and sex education. [12] The newsletter also published news of other leftist movements, such as the Black Panthers. [3]

The Griffin later evolved into Metroline, a magazine which was published from 1982 to 2007. [2] Issues of The Griffin are held at Northeastern University [13] and Northwestern University. [14]

References

  1. 1 2 "Virtual Exhibition: Historic Timeline of Connecticut's LGBTQ Community". Connecticut Museum of Culture and History. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Galanis, Eve (2022-06-01). "Kalos Society: Connecticut's First Modern LGBTQ+ Activist Organization". Connecticut History. CTHumanities Project. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Thornton, Steve (2015-09-16). "Kalos Society: Early Gay Liberation". The Shoeleather History Project. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  4. Duberman, Martin (2019-06-04). Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBT Rights Uprising that Changed America. Penguin. p. 321. ISBN   978-0-593-08399-4.
  5. 1 2 3 "LGBTQ+ Nonprofits in Connecticut: Celebrating and Serving Our Communities". Connecticut Voice. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  6. 1 2 3 Valocchi, Stephen (2009-09-10). Social Movements and Activism in the USA. Routledge. p. 51. ISBN   978-1-135-25853-5.
  7. 1 2 Normen, Elizabeth (2020-08-14). "An Early Advocate for Connecticut's Gay Community". Connecticut Explored. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  8. 1 2 Montague, Deidre (October 10, 2021). "LGBT+ History Month".
  9. "Kalos Society Meet Opposition Over Picnic". Meriden Journal. Associated Press. September 23, 1970.
  10. Stein, Marc (2022-11-18). Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   978-1-000-68572-5.
  11. "Antidiscrimination Bills Backed at Hearing". The Day. Associated Press. February 24, 1972. p. 4.
  12. The Kalos Society-Gay Liberation Front (1971). "The Griffin: News of Gay Liberation". Roz Payne Sixties Archive. Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska–Lincoln . Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  13. "The Griffin: News of Gay Liberation, 1970-1971". Northeastern University Libraries.
  14. "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Periodicals: Libraries". Northwestern University. Retrieved 2024-05-20.