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Published Every Two Weeks On Recycled Paper • Volume 14, Number 9 • September 18, 1999 • FREE
GLBTs of color join for Unity Fest
111
New PSAs feature Judy Shepard
by Anabel Evora
Special to Q-Notes
WASHINGTON, DC—The Human
Rights Campaign Foundation has released two
new public service announcements (PSAs)
aimed at curbing anti-gay violence and promot
ing a greater understanding of gay issues. The
30-second spots which feature Judy. Shepard,
the mother of slain Wyoming college student
Matthew Shepard, were unveiled in Los Ange
les at a September 9 luncheon in her honor.
Last October, Matthew Shepard was savagely
attacked and left to die, tied to a wooden fence
in sub-zero temperatures. Law enforcement
officials have said that the two men subse
quently arrested and charged with the murder
acknowledged that they targeted the 5’ 2” stu
dent because they knew he was gay.
In the new ads, Judy Shepard speaks about
the love she and others felt for her son and urges
viewers to “choose to understand.”
In the spot entitled “Parenthood,” Shepard
says, “In a perfect world, because your child is
gay, you don’t worry about their safety. You just
worry about them being happy. I loved Matt
just the way he was.”
Produced in cooperation with the Matthew
Shepard Foundation, the ads will be distrib
uted to every network affiliate and cable op
erator in the United States that uses public ser
vice announcements. The spots will begin ar
riving at stations the week of September 20 and
should begin airing in October on those out
lets that choose to promote the campaign.
“Judy Shepard’s message of unconditional
love and support for her son is something that
the entire country should hear,” said Elizabeth
Birch, executive director of the Human Rights
-Campaign. “Her strength and courage in the
face of unimaginable personal tragedy serves as
an inspiration to all of us. She has emerged as a
powerful voice for fairness in this country.”
“The theme ‘choose to understand’ was de
signed to inspire genuine reflection about what
motivates animus toward gay people and sug
gest that it is time to dismantle it,” said David
M. Smith, HRC’s communications director and
senior strategist, who oversaw the project at
HRC. “It is our sincere hope that this campaign
will encourage greater understanding and heal-
• »
mg.
A team of advertising professionals as
sembled by ad executive Josh Kilmer-Purcell of
New York produced the spots. The team in
cluded award-winning directors Chris Reiss and
Amy Hill who most recently directed a public
service announcement for the Academy of Der
matology highlighting the dangers of skin can
cer. Other team members included Laura Fegley
who, along with Purcell, served as creative di
rector. Dominic Ferro and Kelley Fagan served
as co-executive producers. ▼
AIDS death decline wanes; new
infections continue unabated
by Wanda Pico
Special to Q-Notes
WASHINGTON, DC—New data released
by the Centers for Disease Control and Pre
vention (CDC) showing a 50 percent drop in
the rate of decline of AIDS deaths confirms the
weaknesses of current AIDS treatments as well
as the need for better health care access. Ac
cording to the CDC, from 1997 to 1998, AIDS
deaths dropped by 20 percent, half of the 42
percent drop from 1996 to 1997. This repre
sents the lowest decline in AIDS deaths of the
protease drug era.
“Our worst fears have become a tragic real
ity,” said Steven Fisher, director of communi
cations at AIDS Action, the nation’s leading
community-based AIDS organization. “For the
first time, our concerns about current AIDS
treatments are confirmed by a leading epidemic
indicator. AIDS drugs don’t work for everyone
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
DURHAM, NC—According to organizers,
final plans are in place for the second annual
Unity Fest ’99, North Carolina’s GLBT Pride
weekend for people of color “in the life.”
The event is scheduled for the weekend of
September 24-26 in Durham and sponsored
by Out in Black magazine, a Raleigh-based pub
lication produced by and serving GLBTs of
color. The goal of the festival is to “celebrate
the existence of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
Transgender People of Color.”
John D. Hardy, publisher of Out in Black
and the leading force behind Unity Fest ’99,
added, “Unity Fest ’99 will provide an excel
lent opportunity for other communities to ex
perience the full richness and diversity of our
communities and build bridges of understand
ing. We are going to have lots of fun, talk about
some issues concerning our community, solve
some problems, learn some new stuff, do some
networking, show mad love and support for
each other, show off our talents, eat, party and
pray together...like family.”
Scheduled offerings (many of them to be
hosted by J & L’s Restaurant & Bar, 2627
Hillsborough Rd.) begin Friday, September 24
at 6:00pm with a Greet and Meet Reception
and continue with a Community Organization
Resource Fair; A Celebration of Life I featur
ing national recording artist Dani; and the
Unity Fest ’99 Kick Off Dance Party.
Saturday’s events start at noon with Empow
erment Sessions; workshops follow at 2:00pm.
A Celebration of Life II reception with a com
munity service awards presentation, guest
speaker and entertainment begins at 6:00pm.
A Poetry Slam open to all GLBTs of color and
a party called Until Unity Fest ’99 with guest
DJs and exotic male entertainment round out
the night.
Sunday is “Family Day” and should include
a Church Service at Imani MCC in Durham; a
Community Picnic with vendor marketplace;
and close with a non-drinking party at a pri
vate residence.
While the educational aspects of the gath
ering are important, organizers want partici
pants to enjoy themselves, too. “It is our hope
to build bridges between our people and to gain
an understanding and appreciation of our dif
ferences. [But] as you can see, we are planning
for this to be a fun experience with something
for everyone,” explained Hardy.
For more information on Unity Fest ’99
including a complete list of events, their loca
tions and admission costs, contact John D.
Hardy at (919) 873-3025 or email
OutNBIack@aol.com. T
Second investigative hearing
held in murder of gay soldier
and aren’t a cure for anyone.”
Winnie Stachelberg, political director for the
Human Rights Campaign, added, “The statis
tics underscore the reality that the HIV/AIDS
epidemic remains a public health emergency
and they highlight the importance of putting
public health interest ahead of short-term po
litical goals.”
To ensure reversal of this new trend, AIDS
Action is urging better access to treatment from
the under- and uninsured as well as a stronger
commitment to research and fair pricing from
the pharmaceutical industry. The slowing death
decline also underscores the need for stopping
new HIV infections in the first place.
While AIDS deaths dropped 42 percent in
1997 and 20 percent in 1998, the numbers for
people of color are even more troublesome.
AIDS deaths dropped from 35 percent in 1997
See INFECTIONS on page 10
by Dan Van Mourik
Q-Notes Staff
FORT CAMPBELL, KY—A second hear
ing into the circumstances surrounding the
death of Pfc. Barry L. Winchell, 21, recently
concluded in Fort Campbell. The Article 32
hearing, similar to a civilian grand jury, was
convened to hear testimony regarding the in
volvement of Spec. Justin R. Fisher, 25, who is
charged as an accomplice in the assault on
Winchell, his roommate at Fort Campbell.
Fisher is also accused of acting as an accessory
after the fact, making false statements to Army
investigators and obstructing the investigation.
Winchell was bludgeoned with a baseball bat
in his barracks early on July 5 and died the next
day at a hospital in Nashville, TN.
Spec. Carlos Rodriguez testified during the
first day of the hearing that Pvt. Calvin N.
Glover, charged with pre
meditated murder, told
Rodriquez soon after the kill
ing that the idea for the at
tack came from Fisher.
During testimony, Fisher
and Winchell were said to of
ten be at odds; Fisher having
once had a physical alterca
tion with Winchell that sent
Winchell to the hospital. Fisher is both the per
son who told others in the unit that Winchell
was gay and the person who introduced him to
a Nashville gay bar. According to testimony,
Fisher also taunted Glover for having lost a
fistfight to Winchell, a gay man, on July 3.
Staff Sgt. Bradley Hardin, the last of eight
witnesses, described how Winchell was so badly
beaten that he gurgled on his own blood, strug
gling to breathe while unconscious. “He had
raccoon eyes, and both eyes were black.”
Hardin said he was on duty the morning of
July 5 and rushed to the scene outside
Winchell’s barracks to find him near death af
ter being struck several times with a wooden
bat. Blood coated the cot where Winchell was
sleeping, as well as his comforter and the walls.
Hardin said he first realized something was
wrong when he heard Fisher yelling, “Oh, God,
help me, I think he’s dying.”
Hardin said he rushed to Winchell’s barracks
and saw Fisher covered in blood, holding
Winchell under his arms and trying to drag him
down a flight of stairs to get help. Hardin said
Winchell was bleeding from his left ear.
Hardin and another soldier tried to stop the
bleeding by applying pressure and placing a field
dressing on the wound.
In Fisher’s defense, other soldiers testified
he was running around the barracks, scream
ing for help and asking people to hope that
Winchell would pull through.
Military trial counselors, similar to prosecu
tors, say the killing occurred two days after a
drunken Glover, 18, picked a fight with
Winchell at a July 3 party at Fort Campbell.
Hardin said he first realized
something was wrong when he
heard Fisher yelling, "Oh, God,
help me, I think he's dying"
Members of Glover’s defense counsel say
much of the Army’s case against their client rests
on Fisher’s accusatory testimony against Glover.
The presiding officer at Fisher’s hearing.
Major Lee Miller, will make a written report to
2nd Brigade commander Colonel Robert
Caslen, who in conjunction with Fort Campbell
commander Major General Robert Clark will
determine the next step for both Fisher and
Glover. They can decide to dismiss the charges,
recommend administrative action or convene
a court martial, either on the charges as pre
sented or as modified by the commanders.
Neither the Army nor Winchell’s family have
commented on the dead soldier’s sexuality.
Witnesses at Glover’s hearing testified that
Winchell was ridiculed about being gay. T