“Our songs are the stories of our lives”: Two men remember gay liberation on campus; part 2

“This whole desire to throw off the structures of the system [...] that was repressive in so many different ways was in the air, and gay rights were a part of that.” In 1970, Maher Ahmad and Bill Dry founded the Gay Liberation Front — Northwestern’s first gay rights advocacy group. The group hosted the first gay dance on campus, held demonstrations in the city and boycotted bars that had racist policies. Just a few years later, Vince McCoy would become the first black president of the Gay Liberation Front. Fifty years later, the two men recount their time with the Gay Liberation Front in this two-part series. Part 2.