Guide to the Charles Thorpe Papers
Processed by The GLBTHS Archives staff; machine-readable finding aid created by
Xiuzhi Zhou
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society
989 Market Street, Lower Level
San Francisco, California 94103
Phone: (415) 777-5455
Email: info@glbthistory.org
URL: http://www.glbthistory.org
© 1999
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Charles Thorpe Papers
Accession number: 1987-02
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society
San Francisco, California
Contact Information:
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society
- 989 Market Street, Lower Level
- San Francisco, California 94103
- Phone: (415) 777-5455
- Email: info@glbthistory.org
- URL: http://www.glbthistory.org
- Processed by:
- The GLBTHS Archives staff
- Encoded by:
- Xiuzhi Zhou
© 1999 The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Charles Thorpe Papers
Accession number: 1987-02
Creator:
Thorpe, Charles
Extent: 1 box
Repository: The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
San Francisco, California.
Shelf location: Housed at the GLBT Historical Society
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Provenance Notes
The Charles Thorpe Papers are a small portion of a group of materials passed on to GLBTHS by Florence Mitchell, Head of the
Harvey Milk/Eureka Valley Branch of the San Francisco Public Library in early 1987. These materials were previously held at
the J. Paul Leonard Library at San Francisco State University.
Sometime in the early 1970s a collection of documents relating to gay and lesbian issues was collected and donated to the
Leonard Library by SFSU Sociology professor Lois Flynn. Thorpe had been an SFSU student and was an organizer of the first
gay student group on campus; his CHF notebook and other documents from that period had been turned over to Flynn at some point.
The material placed by Flynn was the initial core of a gay and lesbian collection held by the Leonard Library that grew erratically
through the 1970s. By the early 1980s no new material was being collected, and the collection became moribund. In 1987, the
Library decided to donate the collection, and the four wooden file cabinets it resided in, to the Harvey Milk/Eureka Valley
Branch of the San Francisco Public Library. Upon its delivery, Branch Librarian Flo Mitchell and GLBTHS Archivist Bill Walker
went through the collection, pulling documents and ephemera that were deemed historical and irreplaceable or rare. These items,
which included the Thorpe notebooks and related papers, were turned over to GLBTHS in May of 1987.
Much of the materials donated to GLBTHS consisted of runs of periodicals, loose clippings, and ephemera. Among other items
were two red loose leaf notebooks that had been compiled by Charles Thorpe at some point in the early 1970s. These contained
documents pertaining to the Committee for Homosexual Freedom (CHF) as well as a variety of flyers and essays related to gay
liberation. For preservation purposes, these notebooks were disassembled; their contents and the original notebook covers
were placed in archival folders. A complete listing of the original contents of both notebooks, kept in the GLBTHS control
file, may be examined upon request by contacting the GLBTHS Archivist.
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright to unpublished manuscript materials has been transferred to the Gay and Lesbian
Historical Society of Northern California.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Charles Thorpe Papers, 1987-02, The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
Scope and Content
Committee for Homosexual Freedom
The bulk of this collection documents the birth, growth, and activities of the Committee for Homosexual Freedom (CHF), probably
the first "gay liberation" group in Northern California, originating in the spring of 1969 by Leo Laurence and Gale Whittington.
Laurence was the current editor of Vector, the official publication of the Society for Individual Rights (SIR) the largest
gay group in San Francisco during the late 1960s. In late March of 1969, Laurence had his young friend Whittington pose as
a model for a Vector article on the new fashion styles of young gay men. The photographer hired to shoot the session also
took one or more informal photos, including one with Leo hugging the shirtless Whittington. Without their knowledge, a copy
of this photograph was acquired by the Berkeley Barb, where it was used to illustrate an interview of Laurence on the increasing
militancy among some gay men. The bold headline over the photo was "Don't Hide It" with a smaller "Homo Revolt" to the side.
A copy of this paper found its way into the hands of Whittington's boss at the States Line Steamship Company, who fired him
from his clerical position on the spot.
Devastated, Whittington went straight to Laurence with the news. The two commiserated and talked well into the evening. Laurence,
determined to fight this gross injustice, suggested the two form a new group which could call for action against States Line.
Over coffee at the restaurant that would later become Church Street Station, The two agreed on this plan, dubbing the new
group the Committee for Homosexual Freedom (CHF). The next day they made a couple of picket signs and a leaflet that explained
the situation, urging others to join the protest. Midday they made their way to the States Line offices in the 300 block of
California, where they began picketing and handing out flyers to the astonished people passing by. A few joined them in their
protest; encouraged by this support, they quickly developed a plan to picket the company every day during the lunch hour when
hordes of stockbrokers, bankers and office workers filled the street. More people joined each day, and CHF began holding meetings
to discuss the States Line action as well as other issues that came up. Over the next few months, CHF engaged in numerous
actions. Although Whittington never got his job back, the group got a lot of publicity, and in another gay related firing
at Tower Records, CHF did manage to get the employee rehired. Later in the year CHF was joined by another fledgling group,
the Berkeley Gay Liberation Front (GLF), in continuing actions and street theater.
Gay Liberation Materials
Charles Thorpe, a young student at San Francisco State, was one of the early members of CHF. He actively collected materials
from CHF, GLF, and other early gay liberation groups around the country. The newsletters, leaflets, articles, and other documents
in the Thorpe Papers are the result of this collecting. They document a great deal about the first year of gay liberation
in the Bay Area, and indirectly reveal the rapid development of gay liberation throughout the country. Other documents include
information from conferences Thorpe attended, letters and proposals for gay-related courses at both SFSC and UC Berkeley,
and political statements from various groups and individuals.
Clippings
Several dozen clipped news articles from various sources are also present, including numerous gay- related stories from the
Berkeley Barb and the Berkeley Tribe, circa 1969-1972, were retained. Due to their rapid oxidation, the original clippings
were photocopied and discarded. Articles accompanied by photographs were retained for visual uses.
Related Collections
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Title: David Stern Papers
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Title: Stephen F Lowell Papers
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*Folders are housed in the box marked: "Legal-Size Documents; Various Collections"
Folder 1.
"Homo Revolt" - Berkeley Barb clippings 3/28/69 & 4/11/69
Folder 2.
Thorpe Notebooks - Covers
Folder 3.
Thorpe Notebooks - CHF Newsletter (4/22/69-10/16/69)
Folder 4.
Thorpe Notebooks - States Line Picket
Folder 5.
Thorpe Notebooks - Frank Bartley Killing in Berkeley
Folder 6.
Thorpe Notebooks - Tower Records Picket
Folder 7.
Thorpe Notebooks - Anti-Discrimination Petition Drive
Folder 8.
Thorpe Notebooks - Examiner Demonstration
Folder 9.
Thorpe Notebooks - Anti-War Protests
Folder 10.
Thorpe Notebooks - Gays on Campus
Folder 11.
Thorpe Notebooks - CHF History & Development
Folder 12.
Thorpe Notebooks - Free Particle
Folder 13.
Thorpe Notebooks - Misc Documents
Folder 14.
Charles Thorpe - Speech, Manifesto, Poetry, Interview
Folder 15.
N.A.C.H.O. Conference in San Francisco, 1969
Folder 16.
"On the Development of a Purple Fist" Judy Grahn
Folder 17.
Gay - In, Golden Gate Park-6/28/70
Folder 18.
S. F. Protests, 1970: KGO Trial, Human Rights Commission, Stud Shooting
Folder 19.
Alpine County Movement, 1970
Folder 20.
Sociologists Vote for Homosexual Rights, 1969
Folder 21.
"Gay Liberation; A Movement Without a Model", Morgan Pinney
Folder 22.
Gay May Day: Anti-War Actions in Washington DC
Folder 23.
Anti-War and Draft Resistance
Folder 24.
"Proposal for a Course on Homosexuality" SFSU, May 1969
Folder 25.
Pilot Project on Homosexuality - UC Berkeley, Fall 1969
Folder 26.
Gay Student's Union, UC Berkeley
Folder 27.
Gay Students and Gay Courses - Misc
Folder 29.
Gay Liberation Front: San Jose
Folder 30.
Gay Liberation Front: Los Angeles
Folder 31.
Gay Liberation Front: San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver
Folder 32.
Gay Liberation Front: Austin, Houston, Wash DC, Rochester NY, Philadelphia, Toronto
Folder 33.
Gay Liberation Front: Dayton, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis
Folder 33.
"Underdogs; the Political Action Branch of Gay Liberation" San Francisco
Folder 34.
"Lesbianism as a Political Statement" - Sally Gearhart
Folder 35.
Letter to Cockettes, Nan Taylor
Folder 36.
Willie Brown's Decriminalization Bill
Folder 37.
Theater Programs; Geese and Tubstrip
Folder 38.
"Homosexuality and Employment" William Parker
Folder 39.
Gay Switchboard, Berkeley
Folder 40.
Golden Gate Gay Liberation House
Folder 41.
"Modest Proposal for Gay Peoples' Liberation, Anon
Folder 42.
"Gay Flames Pamphlets #1-13 (Including Carl Whitman's pre-Stonewall Gay Manifesto,composed while Whitman picketed the States Line with CHF)
Folder 43.
Berkeley Barb: Photocopies of Articles, 1969
Folder 44.
Berkeley Barb: Photocopies of Articles, 1970
Folder 45.
Berkeley Barb: Photocopies of Articles, 1971
Folder 46.
Berkeley Tribe: Photocopies of Articles, 1969-1970
Folder 47.
Photocopies of Articles from Various Sources. 1968-1970
Folder 49.
Berkeley Tribe, Berkeley Barb: Original Clips Containing photographs
Folder *50.
Various oversize materials including leaflets, pamphlets, letters, and newsletters.
Folder *51.
Court Appeal from "State vs [Pat] Brown", who was arrested and convicted for obscenity and disturbing the peace by chanting
"Suck Cock...Beat the Draft" at a rally in front of the States Line Steamship Company on 1/19/70.
Folder *52.
Speech by Charles P. Thorpe, given at National Students Gay Liberation Front Conference held at the SIR Center on 8/21/70.
