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VOLUME X9 . ISSUE 23
SINCE ±9BS
Q-Living:
Ifs vacaOon time!
March 2s . 2005
IV
Philadelphia to host 40th
anniversary of LGBT civil
rights movement
National celebration '40 Years, 40
Heroes' expected to attract record
attendance from across the country
by Dan Wagner
TWenty-eight national and international
LGBT executive directors, 105 non-profit
organizations and 30 statewide organiza
tions are joining together in Philadelphia at
Independence Hall on May I for “40 Years,
40 Heroes: The 40th Anniversary of the GLBT
Civil Rights Movement.”
“Our movement began when Frank
Kameny, Barbara Gittings and 38 other gay pio
neers were the first to openly demonstrate for
equality at Independence Hall and the Liberty
Bell on July 4, 1965,” recalls Sally Susman,
national co-chair of the 40th Anniversary
Celebration. “They are our Rosa Parks. They
refused the closet and demanded equal rights.”
“We take no credit for having the 40th
Anniversary Celebration at Independence
Hall and the Liberty Bell,” says Jonathan
Capehart, also a co-chair for the event. “This
was the iconic site chosen by gay pioneers. It
is thrilling 40 years later so many will be part
of the festivities.”
“Equality Forum 2005 will be the largest
gathering of national and international GLBT
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executive directors,” says Joe
Farrell, Equality Forum’s chair
person for their board of direc
tors. “We are delighted that these
leaders are playing an active role
in this national celebration.”
The national celebration on
May 1 is On the concluding day
of Equality Forum 2005, which
kicks off April 25 and continues
to May I. The week-long forum
has over 70 programs, parties
and special events. There is no
registration fee and all substan
tive programs, including the
national celebration, are free.
“Never in the history of the
movement have more national
and international executive
directors, non-profit organiza
tions and statewide GLBT organ
izations joined together,” says
Mal5blm Lazin, executive direc
tor of Equality Forum. “The national celebra
tion will be a historic event and a statement of
our solidarity.”
The national celebration includes a salute
of gay pioneers and heroes, as well as enter
tainers such as Kate Clinton and Cyndi Lauper.
“Cyndi Lauper’s music and message
Protesters demonstrate for gay and lesbian rights in front
of Independence Hall on July 4, 1965.
appeal to every generation of the GLBT com
munity,” says Lazin. “We love her music,
from ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ and ‘TVue
Colors’ to her more recent hits. But Cyndi is
more than a gay icon. She has been a major
straight ally in the struggle for GLBT rights,
seeMOVEMBNTon20
North and South
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Next Issue;
Gays and the Holocaust
Chapel Hill opposes
marriage amendment
Town council also looks to repeal DOMA and wants to
include sexual orientation in hate crimes law
by David Moore
Q-Notes staff
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The small North
Carolina town of Chapel Hill has proven that
metropolitan centers with high population
figures or massive square miles are not lim
ited to open minds and embracing hearts.
Support for an amendment to the state
constitution banning same-sex marriages
has come from Democratic Gov. Mike Easley
and commissions in Mecklenburg, Gaston
and Beaufort Counties. Chap)el Hill’s town
council, however, unanimously voted
against support for the amendment in a in contrast to the
meeting held during the first week of March, governor and several
The eight-to-nothing vote also backed the Cwnty
repeal of North Carolina’s Dfense of Marriage SiTvo^*”*'
Act (DOMA) and sought passage of a bill to unanimously to con-
make sexual orienta- demn the state's mar-
tion a protected cat- see CHAPEL on 5 rioge amendment.
D.C. mayor's lesbian
aide murdered
Wanda Alston failed to show up for work, neighbor
charged with murder
by Donald Miller
LGBT activist Wanda Alston's
work impacted gays and les
bians across the nation.
Longtime LGBT activist Wanda
Alston, the liaison to the gay com
munity for Washington, D.C.,
Mayor Anthony A. Williams and a
prominent Democratic Party
activist, was found murdered in her
northeast D.C. home March 16.
Alston was found by her partner
Stacey Long, who was called by city
officials when they became con
cerned that Alston had not shown
up for work or for an important
meeting and had not called to
explain her absence. Police said
there was no sign of forced entry.
News reports indicate Alston
was discovered still alive but uncon
scious in a large pool of blood. She was later
pronounced dead at the scene by a member see ACTIVIST on 20