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Whisper Magazine & Prophet Jones
When Prophet Jones was arrested on a morals charge by an undercover Detroit policeman in 1956, scandal magazines like Confidential and Whisper…
Prophet Jones
Arriving in Detroit in 1938, Reverend James F. Jones quickly gained a cult following that bestowed him with a fleet of cars, a mansion, and a $13,000…
ONE Magazine, June 1954
Ann Arbor native W. Dorr Legg helped found the homophile organization ONE and its magazine in the early 1950s. Legg remained leader of the Los…
Ralph O'Reilly & Ralph Stallings in 1951
Ralph O'Reilly and Ralph Stallings met at a cocktail party in 1949. After living in Detroit for ten years, the couple moved to a farmhouse in…
State Bar Patrons
At the time of this photo, the State Bar was still considered mixed, serving both straight and gay patrons. Wait staff seated customers they perceived…
Melva Earhart and State Bar Patrons
At the time of this photo, the State Bar was still considered mixed, serving both straight and gay patrons. Wait staff seated customers they perceived…
Melva Earhart and Betty Underwood
Betty Underwood met Melva Earhart on a visit to Flint in 1957, and they soon began dating. After their romance faded, the two remained close, with…
Memorandum from Deborah Bacon to Harlan H. Hatcher<br />
Two female students caused a scandal at the University of Michigan in 1953 with their defiant expressions of same-sex desire and were forced to leave…
Hitting the Hi-Spots Magazine - 1951
Lesbian Melva Earhart purchased the State Bar in Flint in 1950 and it soon became a safe hang-out for a homosexual clientele. Its original location on…
Hal Lawson & David Whitney Brewer
In 1958, Wayne State graduate students Lawson and Brewer, along with their friend Jai Moore, established a Detroit chapter of the Mattachine Society,…
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