Paving the Way for LGBTQ+ Students
When Vincent McCoy ’75 responded to a newspaper ad for a small, private meeting of Northwestern’s Gay Liberation Front, he never imagined it would lead to him becoming an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ students. McCoy became the first Black president of the Gay Liberation Front, helping to grow Northwestern’s inaugural gay rights advocacy group and expand its visibility on campus.
Over time, the Gay Liberation Front went through several name changes to better reflect its inclusive nature—eventually landing on their current name, Rainbow Alliance, in 2002. The group also opened the door for the formation of more LGBTQ+ organizations who have shaped the experiences of generations of Northwestern students. Through the advocacy of these groups the University has created more resources for LGBTQ+ students, such as the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, which recently marked its 20th anniversary by moving to a new expanded location.
McCoy was able to observe this evolution firsthand while working at Northwestern as a technical support specialist in the University Libraries. This month, he was honored for celebrating his 50th anniversary as a staff member. In this interview, McCoy shared what the University was like during his time as a student, how he advocated for gay rights on the Evanston campus, and how the LGBTQ+ student experience has evolved over the decades.
What was Northwestern like when you got to campus in 1970?
In 1970, many of us were flower children. Getting involved in social activism was probably in our basic DNA.
I knew just a little bit about the 1968 Black student takeover of the Bursar’s Office that greatly improved things for all Black students on campus. I took my relatively easy time on campus completely for granted. I didn’t learn the full story of the Bursar’s Office takeover until I attended the 50th anniversary commemoration on campus in 2018.
How did you first get involved in the Gay Liberation Front?
One day I was reading the Daily Northwestern during class when I spotted a tiny classified ad announcing a Gay Liberation meeting. The word “Gay” seemed to jump off the page at me. I was sure everyone around me in my lecture class in Fisk Hall Auditorium could tell what I was up to! I snapped my paper shut so quickly I tore off a corner of it. My heart was pounding. The ad itself was very cryptic and just gave a phone number to call. We didn’t have email or cell phones in 1971, so I had to search for a phone booth where I could make my call in private.
In the spring of 1971, I went to my first Gay Liberation meeting in a student apartment at the North Shore Hotel on Chicago Avenue. I could hear young male voices talking as I stood in the hallway, trying to summon the courage to knock on the door. When I finally did knock, the door was immediately swung open by a thin white guy, around my age, wearing wire rim glasses. He just smiled at me and quickly ushered me inside.
Guys were sitting around on the floor having a very animated discussion on the logistics of going to a gay rights demonstration in Washington, DC, that weekend. I could barely speak. Just being in a room full of so many young, gay men—just like me—was overwhelming.
Were you out of the closet at this point?
I had already come out to my two straight roommates, who were very supportive. Most of the other guys in my dorm also knew I was gay. In the ’70s, college students were generally less judgmental and were open to having new experiences and considering new ideas. The motto for my generation was, “Do your own thing.” We were determined to be different from our parents.
You were the second president of Gay Liberation Front at Northwestern. What was that like?
I became the president of the NU Gay Liberation Front when the previous officers were graduating, and we needed someone to keep the group going. There was no election. The former president just handed over the club ledger and checkbook, I stopped by the student activities office in Norris to sign a signature card, and presto—I was the new president. I was 19 years old.
I definitely had some ideas for changes I wanted to make. While I understood the reasons for the secrecy about the location of our meetings, it always bothered me. Plus, I lived on campus in a dorm, so I had no place to host a meeting off campus. By necessity I brought our meetings to campus, holding them in meeting rooms in the brand-new Norris University Center. The Daily Northwestern was the way all student groups announced their meetings, but now I could include the details—day, time, and location—right in the ad.
I also made myself more visible as an openly gay man on campus by doing firesides and rap sessions on gay issues around campus. In my junior year, I appeared on a WTTW TV talk show called Solid Black with three other gay college students from the University of Chicago. It was a call-in show, and there were some callers from Northwestern with specific questions for me. After that, I received several handwritten letters from viewers, thanking me for being on the show. I was living in a small men’s dorm on North Campus, and the guys in my dorm told me they watched the show together in our dorm’s TV lounge. That was quite unexpected and made me feel really good.
I was regularly quoted in the Daily Northwestern, so I was often recognized on campus walking down Sheridan Road. Sometimes homophobic remarks were made as I passed by. But I never feared for my safety. For me, being recognized just meant I was doing my job.
How have groups like the Gay Liberation Front shaped the experience of LGBTQ+ students at Northwestern today?
I have never forgotten that I was able to educate campus about gay issues only because of my predecessors. The men who created the NU Gay Liberation Front had the courage to march and demand our rights. I stand upon their shoulders, and they have my utmost respect and gratitude.
I am very proud of the continuous line of undergraduate gay organizations at Northwestern that started with the Gay Liberation Front and extend to today’s Rainbow Alliance. There are many more affinity groups now for LGTBQ+ students, faculty, and staff at Northwestern.
We never dreamed in 1970 there would one day be a graduation celebration especially for LGBTQ students called Lavender Graduation (Editor’s Note: Lavender Graduation encompasses the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, and ally communities from Northwestern). I went to my first Lavender Graduation in 2019 when a friend invited me. Seeing all those joyful, proud LGBTQ students celebrating with their families and friends brought tears to my eyes. It was like a dream come true and a culmination of what we started in the ’70s.
I also met Rev. Wayne MacPherson ’76 at Northwestern at a Gay Liberation Front meeting when we were both undergrads, and we have been together for more than 50 years now.
Learn more about the Northwestern University Pride Alumni Club (NUPAC) and find ways you can get involved.