Photo by Louis Liotta/ New York Post Archives. Dick Leitsch, president of the Mattachine Society of New York, at Mattachine’s office at 1133 Broadway off Madison Square Park, December 30, 1965. He was an out and proud sexual adventurer who wasn’t shy about saying that what got him into the movement in the early 1960s was his pursuit of sex with men, not the fight for gay rights. I think that my own discomfort with embracing the sexual liberation part of the movement, which I memorably encountered with Hal Call, definitely colored my view of Dick. I’d read about Dick in my research as one of the old guard, the pre-Stonewall “accommodationists” who were more focused on fitting in and getting along than trying to upend the apple cart.Īnd I brought my judgments, too (which I recorded in my post-interview notes and address in my introduction to this episode).
When I first met Dick Leitsch in 1989, I had a lot of preconceived notions about the one-time president of the Mattachine Society of New York. Episode Notesįrom Eric Marcus: There’s a lot to be said for gaining 30 years of perspective. Dick Leitsch, president of the Mattachine Society of New York, speaks to the press about his group's Sip-In demonstration in protest of New York liquor laws that prevented serving gay customers, New York City, April 21, 1966.