Stonewall (54 page)

60
. For example, Gunnison to Martin, April 29, 1970, Kelley Papers.

61
. Crompton, “Report of the Religious Committee,” December 1969; Kameny, “Workshop on the Federal Government”; Gunnison to Warner, Feb. 20, May 7, 1970; Warner to Kelley, Nov. 2, 1970—all in Kelley Papers.

62
. Gunnison to Peters, Jan. 5, 1970 (newsletter); Gunnison to All Homophile Organizations, Feb. 15, 1970 (clearinghouse); Gunnison to members of ERCHO Executive Committee, Feb. 9, 1970 (a sample of his lengthy agenda suggestions); Gunnison to Wynne, Jan. 20, 1970 (losing battle)—all in Kelley Papers.

63
. Gunnison letter to
Playboy
(in response to a piece by Stephen Donaldson in the May issue), Aug. 1970, p. 46. A letter responding to Gunnison denounced him for his “intoleration and prudishness” (Ralph Hall,
Playboy
, Dec. 1970).

64
. Gunnison to Scoop Phillips, Feb. 11, 1970; Gunnison to Martin, April 29, 1970; Gunnison to Russell Nile, Feb. 21, 1970—all in Kelley Papers. ERCHO did manage to sponsor a meeting in Philadelphia in Nov. 1969, and its executive committee did meet several times in 1970, but by late 1971 Gunnison was himself describing the organization as “moribund” (Gunnison to Canon Clinton R. Jones, Nov. 5, 1971, Gunnison Papers). In his final financial report, Gunnison listed a closing surplus of $88.96 (1971 ERCHO financial report, dated Dec. 31, 1971, Gunnison Papers).

65
. Gunnison to Jerome Stevens, March 30, 1970 (lack of will); Gunnison to Kameny, June 4, 1970; Gunnison to Leitsch, Feb. 21, 1970 (Warner); Gunnison to Warner, June 5, 1970—all in Kelley Papers.

At the August 1970 NACHO convention, the Warner/Kameny feud continued unabated. Kameny sent a statement entitled “Austin's Aberration,” dated August 28, 1970 (Gunnison Papers), to all the delegates; in it he characterized Warner as having “a well-developed delusional system which is quite impervious to facts,” and charged him with contriving “vast, but totally non-existent conspiracies.”

Warner's primary loyalty was to Dick Leitsch, and his dislike of Kameny may have been in part a reflection of Leitsch's dislike. And Leitsch's anger at Kameny had, if anything, increased over the years. Six months before the 1970 NACHO convention, Leitsch wrote its chair, Bill Wynne, that Kameny “and his massive ego are a menace to the movement (and the prime cause the movement
is in such disarray).… [Kameny's] roles in NACHO and ERCHO are well-known as divisive. His power plays have shocked and amused all of us. His egocentricity has aroused the sympathy of those of us who are soft-hearted, and, the anger of those who are not …” (Leitsch to Wynne, Feb. 11, 1970, IGIC Papers, NYPL).

Within the year, Gunnison would draw closer to Warner and somewhat away from Kameny. He still “love[d] Kameny and the old crew … as much as ever, believe in them just as much as ever, but am no longer so intimately involved with them. On the other hand I've been able to get much closer to Arthur—he still pisses me off with his tirades—but … has begun to take a slightly dim view of MSNY [Mattachine Society New York].… He CAN be objective …” (Gunnison to Kelley, April 9, 1971; also Gunnison to Warner, Oct. 13, 1970, Kelley Papers).

66
. A useful starting point in salvaging NACHO, Foster thought, might be a change of name. “North American Conference of Homophile Organizations” seemed a little grand, and somehow stodgy; maybe GPU—“Gay Power United”—would sound the right “punchy,” contemporary ring. But no sooner had he thought of a new name than he doubted that a change would be a good idea: There was already too much “instability and lack of continuity” in the movement (Gunnison to Jerome Stevens, March 30, 1970 [sponge]; Garrison to Compton, April 10, 1970; Gunnison to Wynne, July 25, 1970 [GPU]—all in Kelley Papers).

67
. The quotations in this and the following two paragraphs are from Gunnison to Stevens, March 30, 1970; Gunnison to Wynne, July 25, 1970; Gunnison to Crompton, April 10, 1970; Gunnison, “Bulletins” for March 19, April 10, 1970—all in Kelley Papers. The new gay liberation groups should, in Foster's view, attend the NACHO conference as observers for one or two conferences before being made voting members. And “revolutionary elements” should be kept, if possible, from attending at all; but if admitted, should be contained through a procedural rule that forbade the presentation of any resolution “not directly connected with the homophile cause.”

On the central question of whether NACHO should aim at becoming a bridge organization that would link the homophile movement with gay liberation, Foster felt ambivalent. After all, he wrote one of the young militants, NACHO and GLF are “two different groups employing two different philosophies and two different methodologies,” and it might be impossible, and even unwise, to try and tether them to a single organization. Yet Foster also believed that the two groups had “the same end in view”—namely, the homophile cause—and he kept open the outside hope that they could combine forces. He made no effort to conceal his own ideological commitment: “I am a gung-ho rightwinger and damn well proud of it, but I struggle against heavy odds to keep an open mind.” Sample letters that sum up Gunnison's views are Gunnison to Bob Martin, April 27, 1970; Gunnison to Jim Chesebrough, Aug. 14, 1970 (two philosophies); Gunnison to Jerome Stevens, May 4, 1970; Gunnison to Wynne, July 25, 1970—all in Kelley Papers.

In a letter to Louis Crompton, Gunnison described the GLF–homophile conflict as “the age-old Apollonian vs. Dionysian tug of war,” but even in that broad context he continued to indict “the arrogant attitude of some of the older
groups each of whom thinks it owns the movement lock, stock and barrell [
sic
], and are [
sic
] contemptuous and resentful of the newer groups coming along.” But beyond the sin of “arrogance,” Gunnison also indicted himself and other homophile leaders for having mistakenly devoted so much time at annual conferences to business matters. He felt they had failed to heed “a prime rule of organization management that you keep all business off the floor except where absolutely necessary, and you devote your conferences to programs and activities that will be of interest to all attending” (Gunnison to Compton, April 10, 1970, Kelley Papers).

68
. Gunnison to Martin, April 27, 1970; Gunnison to Wynne, May 4, 1970, Kelley Papers. Frank Kameny, among others, would scold Foster for the inappropriate way he substituted “frivolity” for “sobriety.” But Foster was “addicted in my belief that life is not one big funeral procession,” and went right on signing the occasional letter, “Swish-cerely, ‘Kid Basket' Gunnison” (Gunnison to Warner, Nov. 22, 1969, Kelley Papers).

69
. As quoted in Marotta,
Politics of Homosexuality
, p. 128.

70
. Eldridge Cleaver,
Soul on Ice
(McGraw-Hill, 1968), p. 110.

71
. Teal,
Gay Militants
, pp. 167–68; John Murphy,
Homosexual Liberation: A Personal View
(Praeger, 1971), p. 80.

72
. Huey Newton, “A Letter from Huey to the Revolutionary Brothers and Sisters About the Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements,”
Black Panther
, August 21, 1970. The FBI was also in attendance: Philadelphia to Director, Sept. 5, 1970, 100–65673-12.

73
. Echols,
Daring to Be Bad
, pp. 222–23.

74
.
Gay Flames
, Sept. 11, 1970; the “Statement” is in Teal,
Gay Militants
, pp. 176–77. During the People's Convention, members of the gay caucus picketed two gay bars for their racist policies (Jim Kepner,
Our Movement Since Stonewall
, L. A. International Gay and Lesbian Archives, 1992, p. 2).

75
. Wynne to Leitsch, April 5, 1970 (IGIC Papers, NYPL). Gunnison, “Post-Conference Report of the Committtee on Credentials,” Nov. 8, 1970; Gunnison's “Treasure Display”—both in Gunnison Papers.

Minutes of the 1970 convention, signed by Madeline Davis (Kelley Papers). Foster put particular blame for the success of the radicals on the representatives of the revolutionary Socialist Workers Party, accusing them of having “infiltrated” the convention. SWP, in fact,
was
committed to the strategy of infiltration (see Marotta,
Politics of Homosexuality
, pp. 269n., 317), though Jim Kepner, for one, “saw no evidence of SWP presence at the last NACHO conference” (Kepner to Duberman, April 29, 1992).

76
. Minutes of the 1970 Convention, signed by Madeline Davis; Gunnison to William Kelley, April 9, 1971 (Leitsch)—both in Kelley Papers. The top vote-getter in the balloting for Conference Committee members was a newcomer, Metropolitan Community Church founder Troy Perry. Foster thought Perry “may become the next great leader of the movement nationwide,” though he had heard “mixed reports about him as a person” (Gunnison to Jerome Stevens, March 30, 1970). Jim Kepner of ONE, Inc. (LA), and Sandy Blixton of Homosexuals Intransigent (NYC) were the two candidates who got fewer votes than Gunnison. Of the nine elected to the committee, Frank Kameny got the smallest number of votes.

Leitsch to Jack Campbell, March 2, 1970. IGIC Papers, NYPL. According to. Jim Kepner (Kepner to Duberman, April 29, 1992), “Legg, Leitsch & a few other real conservatives schemed to take over NACHO.… That plan included holding the next meeting in New York—but scuttlebutt was that Leitsch merely meant to bury NACHO.”

77
. William Wynne, “Chairman's Report,” August 1970, Gunnison Papers. In the second part of his report, in which he presented his ideas for restructuring NACHO, Wynne adopted many of the suggestions (reshaping committees, keeping business matters off the convention floor, etc.) that Gunnison had earlier sent him (Gunnison to Wynne, July 25, 1970, Gunnison Papers).

78
. Gunnison, “Treasury Notes” (1970); Gunnison, “Community Bulletin #5,” May 31, 1969; Gunnison to Frank Morgan, Jan. 21, 1970; Gunnison to Bob Martin, April 29, 1970—all in Kelley Papers.

79
. The many announcements, bulletins, and press releases relating to
The Directory
are in the Gunnison Papers.

80
. Gunnison to Bob Martin, April 29, 1970, Kelley Papers.

81
. Teal,
Gay Militants
, pp. 131–32. Koch later denied, in a letter to Dick Leitsch of New York Mattachine, that he had “ever taken the position that homosexuals are creating any special problem in the MacDougal Street area.” His concern, he insisted, was with “the increase in violence,” which he ascribed to “the increase in the number of young persons flowing into the area … who have little or no regard for the community or its residents.… What we have is not a homosexual problem but a community problem” (Koch to Leitsch, May 5, 1967, IGIC Papers, NYPL).

82
. Bell,
Dancing the Gay Lib Blues
, p. 62.

83
. Bell reprinted the article in his book
Dancing the Gay Lib Blues
, pp. 60–64. The quotes in this paragraph are from my interviews with Sylvia. Later, Bell and Sylvia together interviewed Chris Thompson, a black male transvestite; the interview is printed in
Gay Flames
, Nov. 14, 1970.

84
. The account of Sylvia's courtroom appearances is drawn in part from my interviews with her, in part from the minutes of GAA general meetings (May 21, 28, June 4, 18, July 2, 9, Sept. 3, 1970) in the Papers of Arthur Bell, Box 93, IGIC Papers, NYPL. By the time of her second appearance in court, Sylvia was represented by Harold Wiener, a lawyer who had volunteered his services. During the drawn-out trial, Sylvia was arrested on a separate charge of “female impersonation,” and GAA put up the required fifty-dollar bond (GAA minutes, July 30, 1970).

85
. The fullest account of this episode is in Bell,
Dancing the Gay Lib Blues
, pp. 69–73, from which the quotes in this and the next paragraph are taken.

86
. Arnie Kantrowitz, an officer in GAA, was also present at the May 13 confrontation with Greitzer; in his recall “Sylvia raised a thick envelope of petitions (too thick to roll up) and threatened Greitzer. I don't believe she actually hit her with them” (Kantrowitz to Duberman, May 11, 1992).

87
. For sample GLF feminist analyses, see “Gay Revolution and Sex Roles” (Chicago), in Jay and Young,
Out of the Closets,
pp. 252–59; Marotta,
Politics of Homosexuality
, chapter 9; and Echols,
Daring to Be Bad
, chapters 4 and 5.

88
.
Most of the organizing for the “Lavender Menace” action took place in the apartment of Sydney Abbott and Barbara Love, and among the women prominent in it were Micela Griffo (who pulled the fuse box), March Hoffman, Rita Mae Brown, and Ellen Bedoz [Shumsky]. According to Karla, they couldn't figure out what to call themselves, and at first settled on “Lavender Herring” (in response to the dismissive term Susan Brownmiller had used). But the woman responsible for producing the T-shirts misspelled “herring,” and to avoid another error they switched to “Lavender Menace.” An account of the congress action is also in Echols,
Daring to Be Bad
, pp. 214–16.

89
. Yvonne A. Flowers, “Black Goddesses,” in The Jamima Collective,
Jamima from the Heart
(1977).

90
. Gunnison to Kameny, June 4, 1970, Kelley Papers.

91
. Gunnison to Duberman, Jan. 15, 1992. The “guru” quote is from my interviews with Gunnison.

92
. Gunnison, “Christopher Street Liberation Day Umbrella Committee … Bulletin No. Two—4/10/70,” Gunnison Papers.

93
. Gunnison, “Two Appeals for Donations—April 10, 1970”; press release, April 28, 1970—both in Gunnison Papers. Gunnison to Kameny, June 4, 1970 (Leitsch), Kelley Papers. Gunnison accused Leitsch of “panicking” as “MSNY's influence in the New York area is ebbing away,” and of “a desperate effort to maintain his dominance” by trying to forge an alliance with GLF, by “making Madolin Cervantes a scapegoat for MSNY's past conservatism and pointing to her (and I assume probably Austen [Arthur Warner] as well) as the reason for MSNY's stodginess.” Foster offered, in confirmation, that “at the last Christopher St. meeting … Bob Kohler astounded all of us by standing up for Leitsch and challenging some negative reports about MSNY's role in bucking the Christopher St. event.” Also: Harry L. Phillips, “Meeting of Homophile Leaders in New York” (1970), Gunnison Papers. When “Michael Kotis” became president of MSNY in April, 1970, he was able to persuade the organization's board to participate in the CSLDC and on June 10, 1970 mailed Foster a ten-dollar check—which, ironically, was lost in the mail (Kotis to Gunnison, July 22, 1970, IGIC Papers, NYPL).