Difference between revisions of "Repeal of the Champaign and Urbana Cross Dressing Laws, December 1971"
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| − | [[Image:ActualAgendaChampaignCityCouncil120771.jpg| | + | [[Image:ActualAgendaChampaignCityCouncil120771.jpg|frame|Actual copy of the agenda from the December 7th, 1971 Champaign City Council meeting. Handwriting says: They ammended[sic] code when they feared the scene that the[sic] had been forewarned would occur if we attended the meeting: and we did, so they did.<ref>Graubart, Jeff,2007,Archives,1971-8B-Agenda of Champaign council meeting where drag law repealed</ref>]] |
== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 23:15, 17 June 2009
On October 30th, 1971, Champaign police broke-up a Halloween party of mostly gay men at 614 W. Springfield in Champaign. I left the party alone and was walking home, when a squad car passed by with three drag queens from the party in the back seat. I changed destinations and walked quickly to the Champaign Police Station.
Dramatization of scene at police station[1]
On Tuesday, November 2nd, the Champaign-Urbana Gay Liberation Front held a meeting in the Illini Union to determine our response to the arrests.
Dramatization of first GLF meeting after drag arrests[2]
Despite disapproval by most members of the GLF, I attended the Champaign City Council meeting two weeks later and asked them to repeal the cross-dressing law.
Dramatization of my speech before Champaign City Council on cross-dressing arrests[3]
There is a long road between making a nice presentation to a governing body and getting a law changed. For that reason, the next Gay Liberation Front meeting turned out to be quite dramatic.
Dramatization of GLF meeting after speech before Council on drag arrests[4]
Now that I was planning to chain myself to the podium at the next Champaign City Council meeting, I was censured by the Gay Liberation Front and persona non grata in the entire Champaign-Urbana gay community. Not content to leave bad-enough alone, I decided to raise the stakes yet again.
Dramatization of GLF meeting over Thanksgiving holiday where I speak despite censure[5]
In addition to chaining myself to the podium, I was going to out a city father, one, I might add, who was reputed to have mob connections. That is demonstrated clearly in the following dramatization.
Dramatization of meeting with William Stanley in Illini Union, late November, 1971[6]
WIth censure by the community, a death threat hanging over my head and should I survive, a jail sentence for chaining myself to the podium, the next few days were not very pleasant. They ended in a surrealistic sexual encounter that I will leave for readers of the book and a nervous breakdown on the next day. But all was not lost as the following dramatization shows.
Dramatization of hospital scene, December 5-7, 1971[7]
So Diana Peralta and I made it to the Champaign City Council meeting a few minutes late. Here is what happened:
Dramatization of Champaign City Council, December 7, 1971[8]
The experience was not humbling. My life would be forever changed. I tasted power and was about to taste revenge.
Dramatization of GLF teach-in, December 7, 1971[9]
References
- ↑ Graubart, Jeff. 2009. The Quest for Brian, 4th Draft,2:39-41
- ↑ Graubart, Jeff. 2009. The Quest for Brian, 4th Draft,2:43-45
- ↑ Graubart, Jeff. 2009. The Quest for Brian, 4th Draft,2:47-48
- ↑ Graubart, Jeff. 2009. The Quest for Brian, 4th Draft,2:49-52
- ↑ Graubart, Jeff. 2009. The Quest for Brian, 4th Draft,2:58-59
- ↑ Graubart, Jeff. 2009. The Quest for Brian, 4th Draft,2:61-62
- ↑ Graubart, Jeff. 2009. The Quest for Brian, 4th Draft,2:70-71
- ↑ Graubart, Jeff. 2009. The Quest for Brian, 4th Draft,2:72-74
- ↑ Graubart, Jeff. 2009. The Quest for Brian, 4th Draft,2:74-75
- ↑ Graubart, Jeff,2007,Archives,1971-8B-Agenda of Champaign council meeting where drag law repealed
