In , Gloria Frankel and her gay club, The Seahorse Cabaret, withstood police harassment, challenged regulations against LGBT individuals, and endured a firebombing. In this post, we explore the fight for gay rights in the Michiana area and the intrepid woman who lead the charge. The riots immediately forwarded the gay liberation movement and the fight for LGBT rights in America. LGBT individuals in smaller cities capitalized on the momentum by opening bars that fostered gay communities and provided them with a relatively safe space for entertainment, dialogue, and activism.
South Bend is a thriving Indiana town perhaps best known for being home to the University of Notre Dame- and certainly, it is proud of that reputation. All of that is not to mention that South Bend is well-known for electing openly gay mayor and former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. Saint Joseph County in which South Bend is located was officially formed in with four original townships. At that time, many inhabitants of the town were either tavern owners, fur traders, or merchants.
See box for details. It was a respectable size, organizer Willow Wetherall says, but it was small compared to the plus crowd the event attracts now, three years later. The events draw folks from cities and towns around the area, but also regionally, with people driving in from Chicago, Grand Rapids and Indianapolis to come to the parties. Now they have to get a little creative with their locations, so they can host the crowd size.
Western , South Bend , United States. Main , South Bend , United States. South Bend , United States. On Bond St across river from old paper mill.