| Year(s) |
Major Events |
Organizations |
The Media |
Businesses |
Year(s) |
Pre-Stonewall,
1950's-'60's |
Adrian Ames, the "Million Dollar Drag Queen", performs in Milwaukee
bars.
|
Private house parties and bars are the primary social outlets for Gays
and Lesbians.
|
The Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel routinely publish the names
of men arrested on "deviate" sexual conduct charges, leading to the suicide
of at least one man.
|
Mint Bar opens 1949, survives until 1986; River Queen opens 1960, closed late 1970's; Your Place opens 1965 lasts until 1995; This Is It opens 1968 and is still open today.
|
Pre-Stonewall,
1950's-'60's |
|
1970 |
|
Performers Mama Rae and Tiger Rose help start the Miss Gay Milwaukee
Contest, forerunner of the Mr. and Miss Gay Wisconsin Pageant.
The Gay Liberation Organization and the Gay Liberation Front, Milwaukee's
first gay groups, form. In November, GLO sponsors the first Gay dance
in Milwaukee.
|
The radical weekly Kaleidoscope publishes a special issue on Gay/Lesbian
activism.
|
|
1970 |
|
1971 |
30 members of the GLF hoist a gay liberation banner in a Vietnam Vets
Against the War parade, the first Milwaukee parade in which Gays march
openly.
Donna Burkett and Manonia Evans are denied a marriage license by County
Clerk Thomas Zablocki. They file a lawsuit but withdraw it before the case is heard.
|
The GLO, fearing it will be confused with the more radical GLF, changes
its name to the Gay Peoples Union, and begins publishing the GPU News.
|
Amazon newsletter begins publishing; and GPU begins publishing GPU News
See news and ads from this year in:
GPU News |
Hunters Club, Castaways South, and Beer Garden among gay bars opened this year. |
1971 |
|
1972 |
|
The Women's Coalition is founded. Many Lesbians organize and participate
in Coaltion groups: Womens Crisis Line, Grapevine, Hurricane Productions
and Amazon magazine.
|
See news and ads from this year in:
GPU News |
Wreck Room (popular levi/ leather bar) opens, survives until 1995. |
1972 |
|
1973 |
50 people unfurl a "Gay Power" banner at the annual July 4th fireworks
display.
Activists picket a production of Boys in the Band, calling it a "sterotypical
portrayal of the suffering, maladjusted homosexual".
|
The first AA group for Gays, the Silver Stars Motorcylce Club and Dignity,
a group for G/L Roman Catholics, form.
|
See news and ads from this year in:
GPU News |
The Factory (legendary dance bar) and Ten Hundred East bars open |
1973 |
|
1974 |
GPU member Paul Safransky is fired from his job for revealing his homosexuality.
His legal case, though unsuccessful, is an early challenge to ant-Gay
discrimination.
|
More than 350 men and women attend the GPU Ball at the PAC.
The GPU Examination Center for VD, the precursor to the BESTD Clinic,
opens on St. Paul Avenue.
|
See news and ads from this year in:
GPU News |
C'est la Vie and Ball Game bars both open, and both still open in 2004. Leaded Shade and In Between open. Club Baths opens. |
1974 |
|
1975 |
|
GPU Establishes a G/L community center, The Farwell Center, in a leased
flat at 1568 N. Farwell.
|
'G Milwaukee' begins publishing
See news and ads from this year in:
GPU News |
|
1975 |
|
1976 |
The Army Reserve discharges Miriam Ben-Shalom claiming she is unfit
for service because of her homosexuality. Ben-Shalom launches a 15-year
battle to win the right to server her country.
Sistermoon Feminist Bookstore & Art Gallery opens and becomes the city's
unofficial Lesbian cultural center.
|
|
GLIB begins publishing
See news and ads from this year in:
GPU News |
|
1976 |
|
1977 |
|
To counter the anti-Gay hate campaign of singer Anita Bryant, the Milwaukee
Committee on Human Rights is created.
The Saturday Softball League is organized.
|
'Milwaukee Gay Guide' begins publishing
See news and ads from this year in:
GPU News |
Gary's dance bar opens (later to be come Circus then Club 219); Ten Hundred East closes |
1977 |
|
1978 |
The Milwaukee Police Department, led by Chief Harold Breier, launches
violent raids on Gay bathhouses resulting in dozens of arrests and angry
street protests by the Gay community.
Leon Rouse of UWM's Gay Community gets student and academic committees
in the UW system on record in support of policies forbidding anti-Gay
bias.
|
The athletic group GAMMA forms.
|
'Milwaukee Calendar' begins publishing
See news and ads from this year in:
Milw. Calendar
GPU News |
|
1978 |
|
1979 |
Hundreds of Milwaukeeans attend the first National March on Washington
for Gay and Lesbian Rights.
Thousands march through downtown Milwaukee to "Take Back the Night" protesting
violence against women. Lesbians are both organizers and participants.
Holiday Invitational Tournament/ HIT holds the first of many annual bowling tournaments in Milwaukee.
|
Gay Youth Milwaukee is founded.
|
See news and ads from this year in:
Milw. Calendar
GPU News |
|
1979 |
| Year(s) |
Major Events |
Organizations |
The Media |
Businesses |
Year(s) |
|
1980 |
Milwaukee Gays and Lesbians picket outside the movies Windows and Crusing,
which are denounced for their defamatory images of Gay people.
|
The Milwaukee chapter of Black and White Men Together- later renamed
People of All Colors Together- is organized by Mark Behar and others.
|
'Milwaukee Calendar' is acquired, renamed 'Gay Milwaukee'
See news and ads from this year in:
Milw. Calendar
GPU News |
|
1980 |
|
1981 |
The state legislature passses AB70, which prohibits discrimination based
on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accomodations,
largely through the efforts primarily of Leon Rouse and David Clarenbach.
Wisconsin is the first state in the union to adopt such a "Gay Rights
Law".
|
The Cream City Business Association, which consists of G/L business
people and professionals, is established. CCBA launches the Cream City
Association Foundation, soon renamed the Cream City Foundation, which
gives grants to G/L groups and projects.
|
'Leaping La Crosse News', 'Our Town' begins publishing; 'GPU News' and 'Gay Milwaukee' cease publishing
See news and ads from this year in:
Gay Milwaukee
GPU News |
|
1981 |
|
1982 |
The "Consenting Adults Law" decriminalizing private sexual conduct between
consenting adults is passed by the state legislature.
|
The Saturday Volleyball League forms.
|
'Out!' newspaper and 'Escape' begin publishing
See news and ads from this year in:
Escape
OUT! |
original Factory bar closes; Grand Avenue Pub and Factory II open |
1982 |
|
1983 |
Gov. Anthony Earl appoints 14 men and women to serve on the Governor's
Council on Gay and Lesbian Issues. During its 3-1/2 year existence, the
Council initiates anti-Gay violence investigations and works with state
agencies implementing the "Gay Rights Law".
|
|
'Ragg' begins publishing
See news and ads from this year in:
Escape
OUT!
RAGG |
|
1983 |
|
1984 |
New Milwaukee Police Chief Robert Ziarnik meets with members of the
G/L community, giving them hope that the "bad old days" of Chief Breier's
reign are over.
|
|
Ron Geiman begins publishing Wisconsin In Step.
See news and ads from this year in:
In Step, volume 1
OUT! |
at least 8 bars open, including Fannies, LaCage, and Boot Camp |
1984 |
|
1985 |
|
The Milwaukee AIDS Project is spun off from the BESTD Clinic via a coaltion
with CCBA and CCF, and begins providing services to people with HIV/AIDS.
The Fest City Singers is established.
|
See news and ads from this year in:
In Step, volume 2
OUT! |
|
1985 |
|
1986 |
|
The Galano Club, a coalition of 12-Step groups dealing with issues of
addiction and dependency among Gays and Lesbians, is started.
Lesbians of Color and Club Muse, a social club for Gays and Lesbians
of color, form.
The Lambda Rights Network, a political action group, is founded.
|
'Among Friends' begins publishing.
See news and ads from this year in:
In Step, volume 3
OUT! |
|
1986 |
|
1987 |
|
|
Jerry Johnson and Terry Boughner begin publishing The Wisconsin Light.
Tri-Cable Tonight, a public access cable program produced by and for
Lesbians and Gays, begins airing. The program is founded by Mark Behar
and Bryce Clark, and largely funded by CCF.
'New Beginnings' and 'Feminist Voices' begin publishing.
See news and ads from this year in:
In Step, volume 4
OUT! |
At least 9 new bars open this year in Milwaukee, but none survive even 10 years |
1987 |
|
1988 |
Bill Meunier and Susan Cook organize 2,000 G/L volunteers for the Jesse
Jackson Presidential campaign.
Wisconsin adopts hate crimes legislation providing enhanced penalties
for those convicted of crimes motivated by bigotry, including prejudice
based on sexual orientation. The US Supreme Court sustains the law, and
it becomes the model for similar laws in other states.
|
|
See news and ads from this year in:
In Step, volume 5
Wisconsin Light, volume 1 |
Triangle and Club 94 (Kenosha) open |
1988 |
|
1989 |
|
The Lesbian Alliance of Metro Milwaukee, ACT-UP Milwaukee and Parents
Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays form.
Marquette students fight the administration's attempt to infringe on
their freedoms by forming REASON, Rights and Equality for All Sexual Orientations
Now.
|
See news and ads from this year in:
In Step, volume 6
Wisconsin Light, volume 2 |
|
1989 |
| Year(s) |
Major Events |
Organizations |
The Media |
Businesses |
Year(s) |
|
1990 |
|
The Cream City Squares and Country Line Dancers start kicking up their
heels.
|
Julie Brienza, a Lesbian journalist, sues Rev. Vic Eliason, who led a
campagin to have her fired from her job at UPI. Brienza wins $255,000
and a statement from the Christian broadcaster that Gays and Lesbians
have the right to work in the media.
See news and ads from this year in:
In Step, volume 7
Wisconsin Light, volume 3 |
|
1990 |
|
1991 |
Murders committed by Jeffrey Dahmer shock the community and lead to
demands for reform of the Milwaukee Police Department.
The Milwaukee School Board approves watered-down measures in support
of G/L teens after 1,000 Bible-thumping fundamentalists pack a Board meeting.
|
|
|
|
1991 |
|
1992 |
Mayor John Norquist stuns the G/L community by vetoing a $5,000 allocation
of City Festival Funds for PrideFest.
|
A Milwaukee chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans forms.
|
The Brand New Queer TV Show, later The Queer Program, debuts on public
access cable.
|
|
1992 |
|
1993 |
Confronted by lesbians furious about his vote in favor of the Pentagon's
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, Sen. Herb Kohl declares he is not "Gay
or Lesbian".
|
Senior Action in a Gay Environment/ Milwaukee and the Sherman Park Rainbow
Association are founded.
AfterWords Bookstore and Espresso Bar (later Outwords) opens.
"Tina" Terry is shot to death in her north side bar, a haven for African
American Gays and Lesbians.
|
'Steam' and 'Uptown Downtown' begin publishing.
See news and ads from this year in:
In Step, volume 10
Wisconsin Light, volume 6 |
|
1993 |
|
1994 |
A proposal for a Gay/Lesbian Studies certificate program is submitted
(by Christopher Lane??) to UWM administrators but becomes a political
football, not offically approved for almost two years.
Many Milwaukee Gays and Lesbians travel to New York to participate in
Gay Games IV & Cultural Festival and the huge Stonewall 25 March.
|
The Human Rights League for Lesbians and Gays is formed and sponsors
a series of Coming Out Day events.
|
'Quest' begins publishing.
See news and ads from this year in:
In Step, volume 11
Quest, volume 1
Wisconsin Light, volume 7 |
|
1994 |
|
1995 |
Two influential AIDS activists/ educators- Christopher Fons and Arnie
Malmon- succumb to AIDS complications.
|
Milwaukee World Festivals Inc. agrees to lease Henry W. Maier Festival
Park to PrideFest for its 1996 celebration. The Wisconsin Light exults:
"Summerfest Grounds, Here We Come!".
|
|
The Wreck Room, Milwaukee's popular levi/ leather bar, closes after 23 years in business. |
1995 |
|
1996 |
Karen Gotzler loses a hard-fought campaign to become Milwaukee's 3rd
District Alderperson and its first openly Gay or Lesbian City Council
member.
Bette Midler's sparkling presence draws record crowds and proceeds to
AIDS Walk Wisconsin.
|
After a pledge of financial support from Ross Walker and Erv Uecker,
an organizational drive begins to establish a community center for the
city's G/L/B/T communities.
The Alternative Business Association forms.
|
|
|
1996 |
|
1998 |
|
|
See news and ads from this year in:
In Step, volume 15
Quest, volume 5
Wisconsin Light, volume 11 |
|
1998 |
|
1999 |
|
|
See news and ads from this year in:
In Step, volume 16
Quest, volume 6
Wisconsin Light, volume 12 |
|
1999 |
|
2002 |
|
PrideFest hits record attendance of 18,604 people over its 2.5 day run in June.
|
'Wisconsin Light' newspaper ceases publishing after 15 years. |
|
2002 |
|
2003 |
|
PrideFest runs up huge debt and nearly goes bankrupt; saved through effort spearheaded by CCF.
|
'In Step' newspaper ceases publishing after 19 years, marking the first time Milwaukee is left without a true LGBT newspaper in 22 years. |
|
2003 |
|
2004 |
|
|
After over a year with no LGBT newspaper in the state, TWO news-periodicals start up in December: Q-Life (aka Queer Life), and OutBound News. |
|
2004 |
|
2006 |
|
|
After barely a year, OutBound News newspaper ceases publishing. |
The M&M Club bar and restaurant closes, after almost 30 years in business
Three new bars open: M's (staffed by former M&M employees); The Pumphouse; and Kruz |
2006 |
2007
"This Month in History" articles |
|
Cream City Foundation celebrates 25 years of grant giving |
|
|
2007
"This Month in History" articles |
2008
"This Month in History" articles |
PrideFest endures torrential rainfalls both Saturday and Sunday of their 3-day run; a 10-day period in June 2008 make this to be the wettest month in Milwaukee history. |
|
Queer Life News newspaper ceases publishing, after 4 years of struggles. |
C'est La Vie bar closes, after more than 30 years in business.
The Switch bar closes, after 8 years in business. |
2008
"This Month in History" articles |
| Year(s) |
Major Events |
Organizations |
The Media |
Businesses |
Year(s) |