SERVING WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA’S LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDERED COMMUNITY
C.L.O.S.E.R CELEBRATES ZOTH ANNIVERSARY
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE, CLOS
ER CELEBRATES 20 YEARS
by Laura Brower
Asheville, N.C. (November 28, 1999)
Asheville's oldest gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgendered organization, CLOS
ER just celebrated its 20th year, and
about 120 members of the community
gathered on November 16 to honor the
occasion. Needless to say, we (the
board) were thrilled that so many
joined us on a Tuesday night. The food
was abundant and delicious; Cantaria
performed two beautiful songs. CLOS
ER President Michele Mamone deliv
ered the obligatory speech; and
Asheville City Council member,
Barbara Fields, was the keynote speak
er. More than a special evening, how
ever, this anniversary has been a wel
come opportunity to re-examine
CLOSER's mission and purpose in the
community. I would like to share some
of these thoughts with you, hoping that
they will spark a welcome discussion
9
Nancy Baker, Awarded ,The
Humanitarian Award
about these issues. Asheville has
changed dramatically over the last
decades, as has the climate for gay, les
bian, bisexual and transgendered peo
ple. While it is remarkable that CLOS
ER has continued to meet steadily every
Tuesday, every week (an At a recent
board retreat, we asked ourselves, why
do we keep coming back to CLOSER?
Simple enough question: the people.
All Souls' Cathedral Parish Hall pro
vides a safe, alcohol-free environment
to meet new friends, young and old,
and a space where you are appreciated
and accepted, no matter what your his
tory. Granted, the board is not exactly a
random sample.
Why is this important? Because no mat
ter your state of mind - lonely and
depressed or simply eager to get
involved - there is somewhere you can
go for a good giggle every Tuesday.
Whether you need to bounce an idea off
of someone, or a whole group, there's a
chair waiting for you. That's twenty
years worth of staying power. Programs
provide a welcome forum for delving
into issues relevant to all of us, whether
directly or indirectly. Recent programs
have allowed us to explore questions
such as gay parenting, the coming out
process, parents of gay children and
their role as advocates, the staggering
number of homeless gay teenagers.
Speaking for myself, there has never
been Tuesday night when I haven't
CLOSER continued on page 12
The C.L.O.SE.R. Board -, Louis Ramsey, Pete Tolleson, Loyd
Kinnett, Jeffery Blackwell, Michele Manone, Laura Brower,
Joan Marshall. Not pictured Steve Henderson.
NEW REPORT ON RISING
TIDE OF ANTI-GAY BIGOTRY
PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY
FOUNDATION LAUNCHES CAM
PAIGN TO REACH STATE LEGISLA
TORS, SCHOOLS
"Since Matthew Shepard's death, we
have been asking ourselves, as a nation,
'How have we arrived at such a place,
where someone could commit such a
heinous, heartless crime?' The answer,
as this book reveals, is that we start
down this path whenever we deny peo
ple their basic human rights and digni
ty. The hostile climate that lesbians and
gay men face - with its powerful
undertow of partisan rhetoric, public
and corporate policy -- fosters hate by
validating and perpetuating discrimi
nation," said Carole Shields, President
of People For the American Way
Foundation.
PFAW Foundation has received sup
port from the Gill Foundation, a lead
ing philanthropic foundation focusing
on justice and equality issues, to estab
lish the "Hostile Climate Campaign,"
an aggressive program for distributing
the report to state policy-makers and
Hostile continued on page 7