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