F.R.E.E.

(Fight Repression of Erotic Expression) Coffee Shop Extempore: 2200 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis. Later the basement of Coffman Memorial Union at the University of Minnesota

Koreen Phelps and Steve Irhig co-taught a course on “The Homosexual Revolution” at the Free University in Minneapolis.(1) The two conducted their first course at the Coffee House Extempore on May 18th, 1969—just weeks before the Stonewall Riots in New York. The University of Minnesota’s student newspaper announced the course and proclaimed that “pink power has come to Minneapolis.” “Gay Power,” they continued, “as it is properly termed, is a homosexual movement that seeks to change the laws, attitudes and prejudices of uptight, upright heterosexual America.”(2) The class grew over the summer and eventually became its own organization, but retained the university’s name as an acronym. The young organization served as a student group and as an outreach program for the Twin Cities. FREE sponsored public speakers who addressed church audiences—at times to “quiet, questions [and] doubts”(3) —at the same time participants organized dances with “free coffee and lots of dancing.”(4)

Poster for a F.R.E.E. event, 1971. Courtesy of the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection.

Mainstream Minnesota received FREE with little fanfare or outrage; the organization was small (dances usually attracted about 100 people)(5) and its queer members quietly spent much of their time establishing the foundations of Gay Liberation in Minnesota. Their “constitution” became a prototype for the bylaws of Gay House and other organizations, and the group’s correspondence with officials at the University of Minnesota set up a standard that remains to this day. Members even visited with the Minneapolis Police (at the latter’s request) to train officers on the treatment of gay and lesbian issues in law enforcement.

From the 1989 Twin Cities Pride Guide. Courtesy of the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection.

Jack Baker--later of Baker Law Associates--joined FREE soon after the coffee-shop classes and soon after held title of FREE’s “President.” Baker was responsible for the newsletter that began with a chirpy “Hi There!” and summarized the week’s events of protests, new contacts, and the ever-present committee rigmarole. Jack’s participation became essential for FREE’s survival—the group disbanded shortly after Baker became president of the Minnesota Student Association.

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(1)Holdgrafer, George. "Free Before Stonewall: Twin Cities Gay Organization Launched Six Weeks Prior to Pivotal New York Event." Lavender Magazine, Issue 366.

(2) Ibid.

(3)Queer Student Cultural Center Collection, Box 1. Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.

(4)Baker, Jack. "FREE News." Minnesota: 12/18-1/9, 1970. Page 1.

(5)Baker, Jack. "FREE News." Minnesota: 11/24/1969. Page 1.

Part of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN: 100 Queer Places in Minnesota History, (1860-1969), (1969-2010)