David W Jackson

Changing Times David W Jackson

Three years before NYC's 1969 Stonewall Riots, the 'gay liberation' movement catapulted in Kansas City when 40 representatives from nearly 15 organizations met on February 19-21, 1966, at Kansas City's Hotel State-formerly located at the northeast corner of 12th and Wyandotte. It was the first-ever national gathering of lesbian and gay rights activists. Missourian Harold Leland "Hal" Call spearheaded the event attended by Kansas Citians Drew Shafer, Al Greathouse, and Larry Hungerford. Other national equality visionaries Barbara Gittings, Forest Gunnison Jr, Frank Kameny, Phyllis Lyon, Del Martin, and Don Slater joined; they soon formed the 'North American Conference of Homophile Organizations' (NPCHO). This expanded, second edition, marks the 50th anniversary of Kansas City's pivotal role in the early struggle for equal rights for LGBTQIA individuals, and coincides with the October 2016 unveiling of Kansas City's first historical, interpretive LGBTQIA-related marker. In addition to a timeline almanac and digest of feature articles, this volume contains the first-ever, comprehensive census of 175 Kansas City lesbian and gay bars from the 1930s to present.