Society for Human Rights Founded (1924)
Wed Dec 10, 1924
The Society for Human Rights, founded by Henry Gerber in Illinois on this day in 1924, was the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society for Human Rights also published the earliest-documented homosexual periodical, Friendship and Freedom. Although Gerber (shown) founded the group, a black clergyman named John T. Graves was its first president, with Gerber serving as a director.
Gerber set out to expand the Society’s membership beyond the original seven but had difficulty interesting anyone other than poorer gays in joining. More affluent members of Chicago’s gay community refused to join his society, not wanting to ruin their reputations by being associated with homosexuality.
The Society was only a chartered organization for a few months before police arrested Gerber and several other members. After their arrests, the Chicago Examiner reported the story under the headline “Strange Sex Cult Exposed”.
Gerber was subjected to three highly publicized trials, and his defense, while ultimately successful, cost him his life savings. Unable to continue funding the Society, the group dismantled, and Gerber left for New York City, embittered that none of the wealthier gays of Chicago had come to his aid for a cause he believed was designed to advance the common good.
- Date: 1924-12-10
- Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.nps.gov.
- Tags: #Queer.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org
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Gerber was 21 when he entered the US in 1913, and may have been confined to a mental institution for a time in 1917 because of his sexuality. He joins the US Army from 1919 to 1923, serving in occupied Germany where he may have been inspired by the work of Germany’s gay advocate Magnus Hirschfeld.
Chicago’s Society for Human Rights started publishing a Chicago newsletter called Friendship and Freedom. It was declared illegal under Comstock laws. After three trials, Gerber loses his post-office job; all his papers are destroyed. No copies of F&F survive.
Henry is honored in Chicago today by the Gerber/Hart Library at 6500 North Clark Street. In 2015, his old house became a National Historic Landmark.
