Clark Philip Polak (15 October 1937 – 18 September 1980) was an American businessman, publisher, journalist, and

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

activist. Polak was from a Jewish, middle-class family in Philadelphia. He was the youngest son of Arthur Marcus Polak and Ann Polak. After withdrawing from Pennsylvania State University, Polak became the owner of Frankford Personnel and Northeast Advertising Service. He was an active and outspoken member of the gay community in Philadelphia, and was the second president of the Philadelphia-based

homophile Terms used to describe homosexuality have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the mid-19th century. In English, some terms in widespread use have been sodomite, Achillean, Sapphic, Uranian, homophile, lesbian, ...

organization called the Janus Society. In 1964, he created and edited ''

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

'' magazine, a low-budget early gay-interest periodical. On April 25, 1965, over 150 people were denied service at Dewey's, a local coffee shop and diner in Philadelphia. Those denied service were variously described at the time as “homosexuals,” “masculine women,” “feminine men,” and “persons wearing non-conformist clothing.” Three teenagers (reported by the Janus Society and ''Drum'' to be two males and one female) staged a sit-in that day. After restaurant managers contacted police, the three were arrested. In the process of offering legal support for the teens, Polak was also arrested. Demonstrations took place outside the establishment over the next five days with 1500 flyers being distributed by the Janus Society and its supporters. Three people staged a second sit-in on May 2, 1965. The police were again called, but refused to make arrests this time. The Janus Society said the protests were successful in preventing further arrests and the action was deemed “the first sit-in of its kind in the history of the United States” by ''Drum'' magazine. Polak argued for the importance of gay

sexual liberation The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the United States and the developed world from the ...

, which had been avoided in the struggle for

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

. In 1969, after he was indicted by a

federal grand jury Grand juries in the United States are groups of citizens empowered by United States federal or state law to conduct legal proceedings, chiefly investigating potential criminal conduct and determining whether criminal charges should be brought ...

on 18 counts of publishing and distributing obscene material, Polak ceased publication of ''Drum'' and moved to Los Angeles, where he became a real estate investor and art collector. He also wrote a series of articles in the ''Los Angeles Free Press'' between January 1974 and January 1975. In 1980, Polak committed suicide in Los Angeles.

References

External links

Clark P. Polak Papers

ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries is the oldest existing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organization in the United States and one of the largest repositories of LGBT materials ...

, University of Southern California Libraries American LGBT businesspeople Political activists from Pennsylvania Writers from Philadelphia 1937 births 1980 suicides 20th-century American writers Journalists from Pennsylvania Activists from Philadelphia 20th-century American journalists American male journalists American LGBT rights activists American LGBT journalists 20th-century LGBT people Suicides in California {{US-journalist-1930s-stub