William B. Kelley
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. Early life Kelley was born in 1942 and grew up in Dunkin County near Kennett, Missouri. He had known from high school that he was gay, and he spent as much time as he could trying to learn about being gay in his local library. Kelley also said that being from a de facto segregated town and growing up during the McCarthy Era made him interested in civil rights, and that he was a member of the ACLU while he was in high school. Kelley said that he used to write letters to the editor against segregation. He attended the University of Chicago starting in 1959 for undergraduate studies. He said that he wanted to move to this new environment to test if he was really gay, or if it was just due to his high school. He decided he was indeed gay, and would go to the Rare Books Room at the University of Chicago to read "gay books." He said that the first "gay book" he remembered reading there was The Homosexual in America. It was two more years after his move to Chicago that the state legalized same-sex sexual activity. Personal life Kelley's parents divorced when he was in college. His mother became a recluse later in her life, and claimed that other women in her small town disliked her because of her son's gayness. His father told Kelley that he did not accept his "lifestyle," but accepted his partner Chen Ooi and let the couple come visit him and stay in his house. Kelley met his partner Chen Ooi at Cheeks, a gay bar in Chicago, in July 1979. The couple was together until Kelley's death in 2015. Kelley said in an interview for younger activists that Ooi was an important part in his activism, as he both encouraged and challenged him. Both Kelley and Ooi were involved in volunteerism throughout their lives, for gay rights issues and Asian immigration issues. A collection at the Gerber/Hart Archives is currently named after Kelley and Ooi. Gay activism 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