page_title: William B. Kelley
section_title: Gay activism
hierarchical_section_title: William B. Kelley / Gay activism
caption_attribution_description: I didn't know there was a Gay and Lesbian Hall Of Fame.
context_page_description: William B. Kelley was a gay activist and lawyer from Chicago, Illinois. Many laud him as an important figure in gaining rights for gay people in the United States, as he was actively involved in gay activism for 50 years.
context_section_description: Kelley became involved with gay activism in 1965, after he had learned of a 1964 raid on a gay bar where the police had arrested over 100 men and 6 women, and then published the arrested parties' names and home addresses. With several others, Kelley became interested in founding a chapter of the Mattachine Society in Chicago, which became Mattachine Midwest. He was an active member and wrote for the organization's newsletter. After this he began to come out at college. He came out "to the world" in 1966 on a radio broadcast that went out around all of the Midwestern United States. He was involved with the Mattachine Society until 1970.
  In 1966, Kelley helped organize the  first national gay and lesbian conference in the United States, the North American Conference of Homophile Organizations.
  After he left the Mattachine Society in 1970, Kelley formed an organization called Homosexuals Organized for Political Education, or HOPE. Shortly after he became involved with the Chicago Gay Alliance, until it ended in 1973.
  In 1973, Kelley helped create the Chicago Gay Crusader, a periodical about gay issues in Chicago and the United States. During this time he also co-chaired the group Illinois Gays for Legislative action. Later in the same decade Kelley also co-chaired the Illinois Gay Rights Task Force.
  In 1977 Kelley attended the first meeting with the White House about LGBT issues. Kelley presented a paper at this meeting about issues that gay organizations had with procuring tax exemptions.
  Kelley was recognized by the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1991. Kelley also wrote a letter to the editor of the Chicago Reader supporting the controversial Hall of Fame.
caption: Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame Pride float in Pride 2013. Kelley was an inaugural inductee to the Hall of Fame.
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