Sodomy Racism

In 1912 Portland, Oregon, a number of men had been arrested for crimes ranging from so-called indecent acts to sodomy and some face trial. Some 68 were known to have been involved when all was said and done, but most never faced any courtroom. In 1918, two men who met at the San Francisco YMCA held private parties for gay men and offered rooms for gay men to have sex in private. The why and its sponsors became the target of working class newspapers.