Jack Evans and George Harris — The Historians

(GayWebSource.com – Gay Media & Press Network) – Posted by Doug Magditch – HisBigD.com

“Both George and I, from the beginning of our relationship, have wanted to make a difference.” – Jack Evans

Jack Evans and George Harris have been together longer than most of us have been alive. When they met, in 1961, both had already lost a job for being gay. Harris worked for the CIA, but after an investigation into his background, he was dismissed and sent back to the military. The army was less kind. Harris went to jail. At the time, the army considered homosexuals a ‘severe security risk.’

Evans lost his job at, get this, Neiman Marcus. He managed the men’s department at the Houston store, the first Neiman Marcus outside of Dallas. His boss told him the company believed a homosexual could be blackmailed to steal from the company.

“I was crushed. I was devastated. Being in Neiman Marcus in my small, west Texas town, was like being in Hollywood. It was a wonderful experience for a small-town boy,” said Evans.

Both ended up in Dallas, in the hopes of finding a more accepting community.

“When I first came here, the gay scene was so fractured and scared that… we were running scared. All the police where too scared to go into south and west Dallas, where the crime was. They wanted to chase queers around Reverchon,” said Harris.

For the first two decades, the couple says the LGBT community stayed that way. The couple mostly avoided the few bars known for attracting gay customers.

“Basically, we were all scared to death, you know, that we would be arrested. We tried to stay out of the bars,” said Harris.

Eventually, something did bring the community together, though it wasn’t the kind of unifier that anyone wants to brag about now.

“What I think that really brought the community together was the AIDS crisis. Guys were falling. We were going to funerals every week. The women in the community saw a need and they stepped forward. It really brought the community together. We’ve never had problems with gays and lesbians like other big cities have. You know, they can’t get anything done for fighting. We have a great deal of love and respect for each other here and we get a lot accomplished. That’s why you see so many politicians come to Dallas to court the gay vote,” said Harris.

Evans and Harris quickly became outspoken leaders of the Dallas LGBT community. In 1991, the couple organized a regular ‘power lunch,’ for a few of the gay businessmen in the community. As it grew, it organized into the Stonewall Professional Business Association, which became the GLBT Chamber of Commerce in 2005. http://glbtchamber.org/

“We’re very proud of that,” said Evans.

In 2013, Dallas hosted the 10th annual National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce‘s convention.

Now, they’re focused on their young history project, The Dallas Way. It was born the same year Evans and Harris celebrated their 50th anniversary, by the way. It’s mission is to “gather, store, organize, and present the complete GLBT history of Dallas, Texas.”

“I’m just afraid that some of the young people don’t know what we had to sacrifice to get where we are. They need to know that we worked in the trenches and tried to get our citizenship, really, and to be a part of this community. They need to know that,” said Harris.

The organization is working with the library at the University of North Texas to archive everything it collects. Along with major contributions from the Resource Center Dallas and the Dallas Voice, UNT is working on an extensive LGBT collection.

“They have a very large department up there that’s going to digitize all this. We’ve given them everything, all the collections, that we were able to pull together,” said Harris.

It’s a collection that the men hope can serve as to educate future generations on the struggles they went through.

“So much work has gone, and sweat, blood and tears have gone into trying to get our rights and our proper position in society. So many sacrifices have been made. It’s amazing that we are where we are,” said Harris.

….And the struggles that are yet to come. Evans and Harris remain, technically, bachelors. They’re waiting on Texas to allow them to celebrate their decades of love and commitment with a wedding.

“We want to get married in the state of Texas. And we want our minister at North Haven Methodist Church to marry us. RIght now, the Methodist Church won’t allow that and, right now, the state of Texas won’t allow it. So, time’s running out on us. We’ve gotta get busy, if we’re going to accomplish that,” said Harris.

I’ve promised Evans and Harris that I will cover their wedding the day that happens.

Here is my full interview with the couple: