Chuck Rowland

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Born in Gary, South Dakota, in 1917, Chuck Rowland knew that he was homosexual by the time he was ten years old. He felt from a young age that there should be a gay rights movement just like there were civil rights movements for other identity groups.

After the U.S. entered World War II, Rowland was drafted into the Army and served until 1946. He never served overseas but stayed stateside, and although Army official policy did not admit gay people, Rowland met many other servicemen who were gay.

After the war, Rowland became an organizer, first with the American Veterans Committee and then, briefly, with the Communist Party. In 1950, he formed the Mattachine Foundation (which later became the Mattachine Society) with a small group of homosexual men including his then-boyfriend Bob Hull. The society attempted to stay small and diffuse at first, out of fear of McCarthy era anti-Communist politics, but it had grown to over 2000 members by 1953 thanks, in part, to active support of a man named Dale Jenning's when he was accused of soliciting a public officer. 

During the 1950s, the society fractured along political lines, with some members wanting it to be less "activist" and more fraternal while others wanted it to take a more active role in advocacy for Homosexuals as a minority group deserving of public recognition and civil rights. Speaking on behalf of the "activist" contingent, Rowland said, "“The time will come when we will march arm in arm, ten abreast down Hollywood Boulevard proclaiming our pride in our homosexuality.” Many members found that idea shocking. 

Following his evection from the society due to his Communist background, Rowland went through a difficult period in the 1960s, but he ultimately became a high school teacher and earned a masters's degree in theater from the University of Minnesota in 1968. He spent the 1970s and 1980s devoted to theater, founding the Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles in 1982 dedicated to the production of gay and lesbian plays. 

Rowland died in Duluth, Minnesota, on December 20, 1990 before he could see his dream of a gay rights movement rooted in pride and openness fully realized. Nevertheless, he is considered an inspiration by many who advocate on behalf of civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community.