Herstory is Better than History

StonewallAGAIN's Bisexual liaison, Br. Michael C. Oboza (ret) knows about Bisexual Erasure. After finding out that Chicago's Boystown police station had become a 2014 LGBT friendly apartment complex. Oboza quickly learned it once housed the 1960's Known Homosexual book, a documented picture record book that most police used to fill quotas and ruin lives. One of the arrested was Toni Armitage, a friend of Oboza and whom like him is also in 12 Step Recovery for 30 years. During their interview, Armitage had a difficult time seperating lesbian and gay, because "back in her day, it was not so specifically naming the different sexes... The common saying was, "We are gay."

"Beside having feelings for other girls in my childhood," Armitage begins sharing, "It wasn't until Reform school that I asked to go (rather than being placed in homes with nuns) were another girl called me lesbian, where I first heard the word. I knew then that's what I am.... I left Reform school when I was 16 and state emancipated. I went to the southside of Chicago to Lesbian bars. It was 1963 or 1965. There were no other places to meet other Lesbian and Gay people and there was no Lesbian and Gay youth groups or internet at that time."

"My first bar was Maxzine's. It was never raided. That I know of... I was first busted at Hyde Park Liquior, a Lesbian and straight bar. They only took the lesbians out. Like during a witch hunt. And we got arrested for just walking down the street with a zipper in the front of our pants. After that, we were forced to turn our pants around where the zipper would be in the back... It was C and C lounge, the biggest raid I had ever been in. We were 2 train car loads full. It was featued on WVON, a famous black radio station." Armitage continues, "I moved to the northside and went to The Why Not, a Female impersonater bar, but a lesbian hangout. It was mobed own and never raided."

"The police raided bars, restaurants, and house parties from 1964 to 1969. I was at Lesbian places that were raided like Bug House Square park, The Ritz resturant, Feast on a Bun resturant, and The 169 bar," Armitage pauses, "And The Century, a lesbian bar next to the Century theater in 1968. That bar was one of many bars where we had to pay more money than heterosexuals. When it was raided, some of us ran to jump out the back door and windows. That bar was raided so much that it only stayed open for about two weeks or so. In order to have fun and not get arrested or harrassed, we went to Calumet city every weekend. There were two Lesbian bars there."

During the interview, Armitage got emotional. She shared, "I was once dragged by my feet down a street by three heterosexual men. They shoved a steel rod into my back and beat me with it, because I am lesbian. I still got scares from all my beatings from back in my day." She then showed Oboza some of the scares. After that moment, during interview, Armitage named Oboza an Honorary lesbian.

"It seems like after the Stonewall riots in 1969, police stopped raiding the Lesbian bars in Chicago. Then the police waited until we came out of the bars, followed us, then arrested us. During the early 1970's when I went to school to later become the 5'th female Men's Barber stylist in Illinois, I opened a Men's Hair Styling shop in downtown Chicago," Armitage smiles, "It was 1977 or 1978, Mayor Jane Burne, the first female Chicago mayor publicly announced on t.v. to the police, "Leave the homosexuals alone." So, when we were arrested on the streets, outside Lesbian bars like Cie La Vie, Chez Ron (who also owned a carwash where only lesbians including myself worked to wash cars) Frog Pond, Lady Bug (a Lesbian bar in what is now called Boystown,) The MS (first northside Lesbian disco) Petunia's, C.K.'s, Augie's, and The Lost and Found; We would yell to the lesbian hating cops who arrested us, "Remember what Jane said, "Leave the homosexuals alone." Many of the lesbian hating cops often continued verbally abusing us. Their solution for us lesbians was "what we need is a good stiff dick" And said that about Mayor Jane Burne too."

"I am grateful you wrote the blog Michael," Armitage remembers, "But, I am not done, yet... Even in 1980, when my friend and I had tailored clothes and short hair. I parked my car in front of my apartment. When I got out of my car, the police assumed we were lesbians which we were and searched us, stold my friend's $100 bill out of her sock and then arrested us to the old Town Hall police station in Boystown where the captain even questioned the arresting officers, "What did they do?" But, we still had to post bond. There were four police stations that arrested us. On the southside, it was 63rd and Cottage Grove area.Then on the northside, there were Chicago and Clark area also Summerdale on Foster and Damen. The worst was Addison and Halsted, the old Town Hall police station in Boystown which is now condemned and part of the Lesbian and Gay apartments," Armitage laughing, "See if you can guess the name of the Lesbian and Gay apartments?" Armitage still laughing, "Give up? It's called TOWN HALL APARTMENTS.... We finally won! The joke is on them..." 

Armitage asked Oboza to please put in the blog, "After 1980's, Lesbian bars had buzzers on their door or female bouncers some with black belts in karate. This was to allow only lesbians and men that they knew to come into the bar. Reason be is that lesbian haters just came inside the bar to beat, sexually harrass, or try to rape us.... It happened.... Where gay men were assumed physically stronger than lesbians and where attacked outside of their Gay men bars. When all said and done, I want everyone to know that I had alot of fun, got well educated, and met alot of beautiful lesbians, gay men... And yes... There are some heterosexuals that are really great and think we are great too... My advice to lesbians today is to be grateful for those who died, were sexually harrassed, got beaten, arrested, and forced out of fear to stay in the closet to never be themselves...This not only happened in the recent past but also centuries ago... We should also have the utmost respect and gratitude for the Lesbian and Gay activists that fought for us to be as free as we are today and let these stories be known... Because it was never as easy as it is today."