The Kalos Society was a gay support and advocacy group founded in Bridgeport, Connecticut.[1][2][3]
History edit
The Kalos Society, was formed in 1968, grew out of a counseling group for LGBT people which had been started by Canon Clinton R. Jones.[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.[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 .[9] The following year, 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 1971, the group demonstrated at the LaRosa Park West bar in Hartford.[10] In 1972, the group backed a state-level bill that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation.[11]
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]
The Griffin edit
References edit
- ^ "A Brief History of Connecticut's LGBTQ Community". Connecticut Museum of Culture and History. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ Galanis, Eve (2022-06-01). "Kalos Society: Connecticut's First Modern LGBTQ+ Activist Organization - Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project". Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project - Stories about the people, traditions, innovations, and events that make up Connecticut's rich history. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ Thornton, Steve (2015-09-16). "Kalos Society: Early Gay Liberation". The Shoeleather History Project. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ Duberman, Martin (2019-06-04). Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBT Rights Uprising that Changed America. Penguin. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-593-08399-4.
- ^ a b c "LGBTQ+ Nonprofits in Connecticut: Celebrating and Serving Our Communities". Connecticut Voice. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ a b c Valocchi, Stephen (2009-09-10). Social Movements and Activism in the USA. Routledge. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-135-25853-5.
- ^ a b Normen, Elizabeth (2020-08-14). "An Early Advocate for Connecticut's Gay Community". Connecticut Explored. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
- ^ a b Montague, Deidre (October 10, 2021). "LGBT+ History Month".
- ^ Associated Press (September 23, 1970). "Kalos Society Meet Opposition Over Picnic". Meriden Journal.
- ^ Stein, Marc (2022-11-18). Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-68572-5.
- ^ Associated Press (February 24, 1972). "Antidiscrimination Bills Backed at Hearing". The Day. p. 4.
- ^ Front, The Kalos Society-Gay Liberation (1971), The Griffin: News of Gay Liberation, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, retrieved 2023-11-04