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204:, Julian Hodges organized a group to run for election in 1965. Hodges would run for president, and Leitsch as president-elect. Initially reluctant, Leitsch eventually agreed to run on the ticket. In his statement of intent, Leitsch promised to work on ending police entrapment of gay men and various forms of discrimination. The progressive platform proved right for the times and the ticket swept the May elections.
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through. It was an interesting side-light on the demonstrations that those usually put down as "sissies" or "swishes" showed the most courage and sense during the action. Their bravery and daring saved many people from being hurt, and their sense of humor and "camp" helped keep the crowds from getting too nasty or too violent.
283:. A sign in the window read, "This is a raided premises." The bartender initially started preparing them a drink, but then put his hand over the glass which McDarrah then photographed, after Leitsch announced, "We are homosexuals." He went on, "We are orderly, we intend to remain orderly, and we are asking for service."
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battle did not result in as clean a decision as the men hoped for, the event itself fueled hope within the queer community as perhaps the first open act of gay civil disobedience. Although gay bars eventually became legal after a similar sip-in challenge in New Jersey, police still made excuses to raid gay bars.
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On June 28, 1969, Leitsch witnessed the
Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village after taking a cab and walking there after hearing on a late night radio broadcast that trouble was brewing outside a Greenwich Village gay bar. After the police cleared the area, he returned to the Mattachine offices and
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the society's vice president, and
Mattachine activist John Timmons planned to draw attention to the practice by identifying themselves as homosexuals before ordering a drink in order to bring court scrutiny to the regulation. Leitsch is said to have stated: "We are homosexuals. We are orderly, we
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Momentarily, 50 or more homosexuals who would have been described as "nelly" rushed the cops and took the boy back into the crowd. They then formed a solid front and refused to let the cops into the crowd to regain their prisoner, letting the cops hit them with their sticks, rather than let them
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During this pre-Stonewall era, anyone who was publicly homosexual had great difficulty staying employed in white-collar positions. Due to being publicly gay, even in interviews, Leitsch took whatever jobs provided a livable income. He primarily worked as a bartender but held various occupations
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The
Mattachines then challenged the liquor rule in court and the courts ruled that gays had a right to peacefully assemble, which undercut the previous SLA contention that the presence of gay clientele automatically was grounds for charges of operating a "disorderly" premise. Although the court
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give a lecture on homosexuality as an illness. Leitsch felt revolted when Ellis received a standing ovation and had no further interest in an organization which he viewed as out of step with the times. Eventually though, in an effort to spend more time with
Rodwell, Leitsch agreed to attend
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wrote about the riots, thus being the first person to talk about the event. Initially his account was printed as a special
Mattachine newsletter to be distributed among Mattachine-New York members, but then a copy of Leitsch's account was published in the September 1969 issue of
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The three first targeted the
Ukrainian-American Village Restaurant at St. Mark's Place and Third Avenue in the East Village, Manhattan which had a sign, "If you are gay, please go away." In Leitsch's words, "being gay, we got there late" when the three showed up after a
298:
Register of
Historic Places for Julius' Bar states: "Scholars of gay history consider the sip-in at Julius’ as a key event leading to the growth of legitimate gay bars and the development of the bar as the central social space for urban gay men and lesbians."
158:. Though he lived in a Catholic setting with his family and accounts vary as to whether he came out to his parents explicitly, they were broadly accepting and unusually progressive for the time. Leitsch graduated from high school in 1953 and went on to
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in the United States, LGBT activists used "sip-ins" to attempt to gain the legal right to drink in bars in New York. He was also known for being the first gay reporter to publish an account of the
Stonewall Riots and the first person to interview
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Unexpectedly, Julian Hodges stepped down later that year. In the course of less than a year, Leitsch went from a reluctant
President-Elect to President of Mattachine-New York. These events occurred around the same time that
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who invited
Leitsch back to his apartment. The two eventually began a love affair. Leitsch would call Rodwell and ask him if he wanted to go to the movies, only to be told by Rodwell that he was going to the
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to Joseph Leitsch, who owned a wholesale tobacco business, and Ann (Moran) Leitsch. Richard, known as Dick, had three younger siblings. Leitsch's desire from childhood to live in
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and a bar called Waikiki where they were served in spite of the note, with a bartender saying later, "How do I know they're homosexual? They ain't doing nothing homosexual."
366:. The interview was published in the October 26, 1970, edition of the paper, titled "The Whole World's a Bath!". It was the first interview of Bette Midler ever published.
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On April 21, 1966, members of the New York Chapter of the Mattachine Society staged a "sip-in" aiming to change the legal landscape. Dick Leitsch, the society's president,
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Leitsch later said that he first experienced attraction towards boys in elementary school, then had his first sexual experiences as a student at
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Richard Joseph Leitsch (who also went by Richard Valentine Leitsch, adopting a family name as his middle name) was born on May 11, 1935, in
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including journalist, author, painter and holiday decorator. He retired in 2000, thereafter volunteering much of his time at the Episcopal
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was inaugurated as the Mayor of New York City. Leitsch worked behind the scenes frequently with the new mayor on gay issues in the city.
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Mattachine meetings with him. Eventually Leitsch became an active member of Mattachine, putting in many hours of volunteering.
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Leitsch's long-time partner was Timothy Scofield. They were together for 17 years before Scofield died in 1989 following an
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reporter had asked a manager about the protest and the manager had closed the restaurant for the day. They then targeted a
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In April 2018, Leitsch donated his personal papers as well as a large number of Mattachine papers to the
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meetings. Initially, Leitsch laughed. He had been to a Mattachine meeting in 1962 where he heard
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1009:"Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation: Before Stonewall: The Sip-In at Julius'"
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The bar now holds a monthly party called "Mattachine" honoring the early gay rights pioneers.
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458:” is about Leitsch, and a bonus episode of that podcast is about and in memory of Leitsch.
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advocating for the gay rights movement to model themselves after the highly successful
520:"Dick Leitsch, whose 'Sip-In' was a milestone for the gay rights movement, dies at 83"
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Leading the Parade: Conversations with America's Most Influential Lesbians and Gay Men
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747:"The Gay 'Sip-In' that Drew from the Civil Rights Movement to Fight Discrimination"
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Leitsch wrote frequently for the first gay newspaper based in New York City, named
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1051:“American Experience; Stonewall Uprising; Interview with Dick Leitsch, 1 of 3.”
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1019:"New York Times Before the Stonewall Riots, 50th Anniversary of the Sip-In"
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Before Stonewall: Remembering that, before the riots, there was a Sip-In
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was influenced by movies and live radio broadcasts based in New York.
837:"From Our Archives: The 1969 Advocate Article on the Stonewall Riots"
816:"From Our Archives: The 1969 Advocate Article on the Stonewall Riots"
722:"Dick Leitsch, Whose 'Sip-In' Was a Gay Rights Milestone, Dies at 83"
575:"Dick Leitsch, Whose 'Sip-In' Was a Gay Rights Milestone, Dies at 83"
945:"Dick Leitsch, Pre-Stonewall Gay Activist, Has Died – Gay City News"
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ran a headline the next day "3 Deviates Invite Exclusion by Bars."
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down Greenwich Avenue, Leitsch encountered an attractive man named
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1041:"NBC News, Before Stonewall, Julius Bar Went Down in Gay History"
110:
880:
Leitsch, Dick (October 26, 1970). "The Whole World's a Bath!".
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319:, Leitsch was the first gay journalist to report on the riot.
1024:"The New Yorker: Dick Leitsch’s Guide to Seventies Gay Slang"
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pushed him to interview a then-unknown singer by the name of
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intend to remain orderly, and we are asking for service."
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rights activist. He was president of gay rights group the
1004:"The Advocate Archives: Dick Leitsch Account of Stonewall
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in the 1960s. He conceptualized and led the "Sip-In" at
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Before the Stonewall Uprising, There Was the 'Sip-In'
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Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution
797:"An Amazing 1969 Account of the Stonewall Uprising"
224:in the south, Leitsch conceptualized the "sip-in".
88:
69:
43:
21:
1046:"The Atlantic, Account of the Stonewall Uprising"
1014:"NPR, Remembering a 1966 'Sip-In' for Gay Rights"
196:Inspired by a fiery and eloquent speech given by
170:Leitsch moved to New York City in 1959. While
101:(May 11, 1935 – June 22, 2018), also known as
921:"Dick Leitsch's Guide to Seventies Gay Slang"
8:
1111:Deaths from liver cancer in New York (state)
655:"Remembering a 1966 'Sip-In' for Gay Rights"
442:, an Episcopal Church in Greenwich Village.
424:, following his terminal cancer diagnosis.
771:"Julius' Bar (U.S. National Park Service)"
29:
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795:Franke-Ruta, Garance (January 24, 2013).
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16:American gay rights activist (1935–2018)
633:. New York City: St. Martin's Griffin.
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358:magazine). His editor and the owner of
162:, though he did not finish his degree.
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573:McFadden, Robert D. (June 22, 2018).
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897:Defining Moment: The Stonewall Riots
720:McFadden, Robert D. (23 June 2018).
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440:The Church of St. Luke in the Fields
1091:Activists from Louisville, Kentucky
1029:"The Meeting Podcast: Dick Leitsch"
814:Garcia, Michelle (June 29, 2012).
121:, one of the earliest acts of gay
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1121:21st-century American LGBT people
1106:LGBT people from New York (state)
518:Smith, Harrison (June 22, 2018).
982:. Making Gay History. 2018-06-22
961:. Making Gay History. 2018-11-24
484:. Scarecrow Press. p. 108.
1096:American civil rights activists
867:NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project
403:Church of Saint Mary the Virgin
1076:American LGBT rights activists
261:Frustrated, they then went to
220:Inspired by the lunch counter
1:
332:From the published account:
450:Season 4 episode 10 of the
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895:Hillstrom, Laurie (2016).
861:Shockley, Jay (Dec 2022).
35:Dick Leitsch (right) with
1086:LGBT people from Kentucky
1081:Flaget High School alumni
710:Retrieved August 31, 2017
396:Other work and retirement
373:Leitsch with the cast of
243:, location of the Sip-In.
103:Richard Valentine Leitsch
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863:"GAY Newspaper Offices"
438:Leitsch is interred at
422:New York Public Library
409:Personal life and death
884:(Interview). New York.
629:Carter, David (2004).
478:Cain, Paul D. (2002).
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99:Richard Joseph Leitsch
48:Richard Joseph Leitsch
691:July 1, 2008, at the
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296:National Park Service
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202:Civil Rights Movement
160:Bellarmine University
1101:American gay writers
376:The Boys in the Band
145:Louisville, Kentucky
62:Louisville, Kentucky
525:The Washington Post
1116:Mattachine Society
1034:2018-05-14 at the
726:The New York Times
603:Making Gay History
579:The New York Times
456:Making Gay History
435:on June 22, 2018.
427:Leitsch died from
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285:The New York Times
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156:Flaget High School
123:civil disobedience
115:Mattachine Society
109:, was an American
105:and more commonly
696:The Village Voice
640:978-0-312-20025-1
352:(affiliated with
239:Exterior view of
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192:Mattachine years
166:Move to New York
130:in print media.
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845:. Retrieved
843:. 2012-06-29
841:The Advocate
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820:The Advocate
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801:The Atlantic
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606:. Retrieved
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582:. Retrieved
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529:. Retrieved
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429:liver cancer
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364:Bette Midler
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342:Bette Midler
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326:The Advocate
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267:Randy Wicker
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210:John Lindsay
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198:Frank Kameny
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185:Albert Ellis
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128:Bette Midler
107:Dick Leitsch
106:
102:
98:
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75:(2018-06-22)
58:May 11, 1935
37:Alan Cumming
23:Dick Leitsch
1071:2018 deaths
1066:1935 births
775:www.nps.gov
417:diagnosis.
315:During the
241:Julius' Bar
119:Julius' Bar
1060:Categories
986:2020-04-27
965:2020-04-27
930:2018-06-23
847:2017-06-02
756:2019-05-22
731:2018-06-26
608:2019-05-22
584:2018-06-23
462:References
385:Matt Bomer
306:Journalism
216:The Sip-In
181:Mattachine
139:Early life
89:Occupation
54:1935-05-11
433:Manhattan
1032:Archived
689:Archived
531:June 22,
172:cruising
92:Activist
780:June 2,
751:HISTORY
452:podcast
391:, 2018.
222:sit-ins
903:
637:
488:
446:Legacy
263:Julius
83:, U.S.
64:, U.S.
355:Screw
901:ISBN
782:2017
668:2016
635:ISBN
533:2018
486:ISBN
415:AIDS
387:and
294:The
111:LGBT
70:Died
44:Born
882:Gay
660:NPR
431:in
360:Gay
349:Gay
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454:“
56:)
52:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
