Raid to Rally – 1969 to 1970

Raid to Rally – 1969 to 1970

By the late 1960s, Atlanta’s lesbian and gay scene existed alongside established yet quiet social networks of women and men. Both segregated according to race, gender, age, and class. For older generations of gay women and men, private house parties, backyard barbeques, and Sunday dinners were primary means of socializing. For younger women and men or those willing to venture out publicly, popular lounges, restaurants, and taverns catered to sexually diverse clientele, while an increasing number of establishments served a nearly exclusive gay base. Among those listed in the 1969 International Gay Guide are the Blue Room in the American Motel and Cameo Lounge on Spring Street; Dupree’s Lounge and Restaurant, Joy Lounge, and Mrs. P’s on Ponce de Leon Avenue; the Club South Baths; and the Prince George Inn.

In early August 1969, just weeks after the New York City Stonewall riots, Atlanta police raided a local theatre during a screening of Andy Warhol’s Lonesome Cowboys. In addition to arresting the projectionist and confiscating the film print, the police photographed those they believed to be homosexual. Shortly after the event, a group of concerned young gay women and men meet and later formed the Georgia Gay Liberation Front. The Great Speckled Bird, the city’s underground newspaper, reported on the raid, news of gay liberation activities in New York and San Francisco, and what was the beginning of Atlanta’s gay rights movement.

During the 1950s and most of the 1960s, no known homophile organizations existed in Atlanta to advocate for social change. As the 1960s came to an end, the city’s older system of quiet accommodation existed side-by-side with a younger, more vocal, and more visible model influenced by various social and cultural movements. As the 1970s unfolded, private and public life changed dramatically for the city’s gay populace.

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  Photograph, Joy Lounge, 1968. Billy Jones, top center, performs as Phyllis Killer during a Miss Joy Lounge pageant in 1968. The Joy Lounge opened on Ponce de Leon Avenue near Mrs. P's around 1967. Dupree's, a bar that catered to working class lesbians, was located a few blocks away on Ponce. These bars were among the first in the city to cater exclusively to gays and lesbians. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

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  Photograph, Piedmont Park, 1969. Richard Kavanaugh, pictured driving the car on the left, socializes with friends at Piedmont Park, a popular cruising site, 1969. Kavanaugh published Cruise magazine in the 1970s and early 1980s. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

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  Letter to the editor, Great Speckled Bird, 11 August 1969. Pictured here is a letter to the editor written by Howard Romaine. In it, Romaine references police harassment of hippies and homosexuals, including the Lonesome Cowboy raid. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

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  Advertisement, Mattachine International, 15 September 1969. One month after the raid, ads appeared in the Great Speckled Bird for homophile groups seeking to organize on behalf of Atlanta's "gay community." Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

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  Classified ad, Mattachine International, 13 October 1969. Referencing pioneer gay rights activist Frank Kameny's well-known slogan "Gay is Good," coined in 1968, this classified ad from the Great Speckled Bird encouraged Atlantans to make gay "great." Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

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  Review, Club Centaur, 11 May 1970. Located at the corner of Peachtree and Eleventh Streets in Midtown, the heart of the Atlanta's hippie scene, Club Centaur, a short-lived nighttime venue, became well known for its outrageous drag shows backed by a live band and featuring performers like Phyllis Killer and Diamond Lil. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

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  Postcard, Diamond Lil, circa 1970. Thoughout the late 1960s and 1970s, Diamond Lil performed at numerous gay venues and wrote for the the Great Speckled Bird. He continues to perform in Atlanta. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

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  Pamphlet, "Revolutionary Love," 1970. This pamphlet, kept by James Kambourian, a member of the Committee on Gay Education at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia) in the early 1970s, exemplifies the proliferation of gay liberation across the country and its ties to LGBTQ youth and college campuses. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

In the clip below, Felipe Momberg of the G Channel documents artist collective John Q's public art intervention, "Memory Flash,"[1] a series of images and performances that correspond to specific queer histories in Atlanta from the late 1960s. <youtube>SvLOquwrFQY</youtube>

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