Mattachine Society
Colfax & Race

Created By: Ryan
Sponsored By: Root Hearted Yoga

Gay rights activist Harry Hay, along with his associates, held the first meeting of what would become the Mattachine Society in Los Angeles, in 1950. At the time, the small group was semi-satirically called the “Society of Fools”. The group later changed its name to the “Mattachine Society”. This name came from tales of a medieval French group that held masked meetings where members felt free to criticize rulers of the time.

As the Mattachine Society grew, it branched out into chapters throughout the nation. Members of Denver’s professional community, including professionals such as lawyer Wendell Sayers, made up a significant portion of the Society’s numbers. However, many were closeted and used pseudonyms when writing for the Society’s publications.

The Denver chapter held the larger Mattachine Society conference in 1959, in Denver’s Albany Hotel. This meeting was unprecedented, as members of the society were speaking publicly and using their real names.

The proceedings were eventually marked by the presence of Denver’s Vice Squad, members of which were sitting in the audience, taking names. Some members of the Denver chapter were later arrested for charges such as the possession of pornography. The aftermath of the 1959 meeting effectively ended the Denver chapter’s activity.

Nationwide, by 1961, the Mattachine Society had largely splintered into independent chapters. As the 1960s progressed, many emerging LGBTQ activists saw the Society as overly traditional. Though the Mattachine Society eventually faded by the 1970s, its early activism paved the way for later groups and movements.