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. 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.

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. After this he began to come out at college.

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. During this time he also co-chaired the group Illinois Gays for Legislative action. Kelley presented a paper at this meeting about issues that gay organizations had with procuring tax exemptions.

Legal career In 1976, Kelley began working as a legal assistant for Chuck Renslow.