They were threatened with being institutionalized until proven “cured” of their sexual orientation. They were considered second only to prostitutes as a public-health risk. They were already bombarded with media messages that they were indecent, immoral, and dysfunctional. They are a threat to public decency,” explained a veteran police officer.Įlroy Schulz’s death was a chilling reminder that gays could expect no mercy. They hang around theaters, stores, and public restrooms. “People can’t understand a problem they don’t see. People were more likely to congratulate the officer for removing another homosexual from the streets. “No charges will be filed.” There were no protests, riots, or civil lawsuits for Schulz. “The officer acted justifiably and excusably in the due process of the law and could not be held criminally responsible,” reads the inquest. His killers were cleared of charges of excessive force. Schulz died before sunrise, less than five hours after his discharge. The officer claimed to have hit him only once. An entire lifetime could be ruined in one unfortunate moment.Ĭonsider Elroy Schulz, brewery worker, who was arrested in Juneau Park in April 1960 after supposedly grabbing a vice officer and making an “immoral proposition.” In the process of being “arrested,” Elroy suffered shattered dentures, diabetic shock, abdominal bleeding, and a brain hemorrhage.
Or the graduate student booked for “indecent suggestions” in the Royal Hotel restroom in 1959, who lost his driver’s license, military benefits, college degree, and bright future. Back when gay pride was an oxymoron, gay people were only known for their shame.Ĭonsider, if you will, the men apprehended at Bradford Beach in 1947, whose names and addresses were printed in the local paper, alongside their state penitentiary sentence for “morals charges.” Or the teachers arrested for “disorderly conduct” at Schuster’s Department Store on North Third Street in 1958, fined $100 each, fired from their jobs, and committed to mandatory psychiatric care. Regrettably, these gatherings were only known for their scandal. When gay had a very different meaning, gay men were usually described as “sexual deviates.” Only by stringing together innuendo, connotations, and keywords, can you find a pattern of where, when, and how gay men gathered in the early 20th century. It’s telling that gay people are only found in newspaper archives under derogatory terms. Family trees do not favor “funny uncles” or “maiden aunts.” Until 2015, not a single elementary school in the nation taught LGBTQ history. Unlike ethnic or cultural heritage, LGBTQ history is not passed down from generation to generation. Tracing these gay and lesbian experiences is a challenge. Being homosexual meant living a mostly heterosexual life filled with desires that may be very, very discreetly acted upon, but rarely, if ever, acknowledged. But, aside from the occasional Oscar Wilde Reading Room or the rare red-light alley bar, there were no safe or defined spaces for gay men. From rooming houses to railroads, from barrooms to bathhouses, and from factories to freighters, these workers lived in almost an exclusively male world.įor a homosexual man, it was actually easier to disappear into this hyper-masculine culture than endure small-town family obligations. Milwaukee was a workingman’s destination, with more single, able-bodied men arriving every day to make their fortunes. Originally used to describe single-gender settings, homosexual aptly described male life in 1892. By the time of Oscar Wilde, Milwaukee was already a booming German Athens of industry, commerce, and a quarter million people. Sodomy was criminalized in the Michigan Territory in 1836 and remained illegal until 1983. After all, being homosexual was illegal here before the word homosexual even existed. Milwaukee seems an unlikely place for gay liberation to flower.