Friend recalls Arthur Evans, gay rights leader and York native http://www.yorkdispatch.com/news/ci_18952897
GREG GROSS The York Dispatch Updated: 09/22/2011 When Arthur Evans saw what he perceived to be injustice, he sought to change it. Evans, a leader in the gay rights movement, gained notoriety after the 1969 protest of a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, in New York City's Greenwich Village. But before Evans was a leader in a movement that has made leaps and bounds the past 50 years, he was just a boy from York. Evans died Sept. 11 of a heart attack in his San Francisco home. He was 68. Activism: While not present at the 1969 protest, Evans was able to bundle the energy of gay men and women and their supporters to gain momentum to end the open discrimination against gays, said Hal Offen, who was Evans' friend for 40 years. "(Evans) was brilliant at many things," Offen said. "He had a keen sense for justice." Many years ago, a company openly refused to issue life insurance policies to gay men and women because the company claimed homosexuals were more likely to kill each other for the insurance money, Offen said. Things like that were what motivated Evans to change how things were. And change did come. A number of states now allow gay marriages. Nine days after Evans' death, the federal government ended its "don't ask, don't tell" policy, allowing gay members of the armed forces to serve openly. Such things amaze Offen. "Our lives were not supposed to be as wonderful as they turned out to be," he said. "I, for sure, never expected to see gay marriage in my lifetime." It was men like Evans who made that possible. Life led: Apart from activism, Evans was also an author and a scholar. He attended Brown University and Columbia University. He penned "Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture" and "Critique of Patriarchal Reason" and also translated ancient Greek and Latin to English. Diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm last year, Evans refused surgery and instead opted to live out the rest of his life the way he wanted, Offen said. Offen said he asked Evans what he wanted to do as death closed in. Evans replied that he wanted to stick to his routine and continue his writing and activism. "I saw him every week. We played chess together. He had dinner at my house," Offen said. As executor of Evans' will, Offen handled two packages that came to Evans' apartment a few days ago. Both contained books. One was in Latin, the other in ancient Greek. That brought a smile to Offen's face, because he knew written words brought such joy to Evans. Offen said he'll miss his friend. But, he added, he knows Evans led a full life and helped bring about some of the greatest advances in gay rights. "I never lose sight of how fortunate I am to be in this place and time," Offen said. - - Reach Greg Gross at 505-5434 or ggr...@yorkdispatch.com. . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to sixties-l@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to sixties-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en.
