Evander Smith

Evander Smith was an openly gay San Francisco lawyer who gained national attention for his efforts to legally block San Francisco police from harassing attendees of a fund-raising ball held by the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, an early homophile organization, on January 1, 1965.

Police harassment at California Hall

On the eve of January 1, 1965, several homophile organizations in San Francisco, California - including the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, the Society for Individual Rights, the Daughters of Bilitis, and the Mattachine Society - held a fund-raising ball for their mutual benefit at the California Hall.

Anti-war efforts

Smith went on to protest the Vietnam War and was one of a group of signatories to a full-page ad calling on the San Francisco City Council to pass a resolution calling for an end to the war.

Legacy

Season 2, episode 9 of the podcast “Making Gay History” is about Smith and Herb Donaldson.