November 19, 2004
Serving the Caroiinas Since 1979
Volume 25, Number 24
C Liam Neeson Stars in “Kinsey”, p.10
Local: Gay Choruses to Sing Out, p.2
Gay Movement Charts Future at Creating Change
Surrender?
Never!
Creating Change
Keynote Speech
By Matt Foreman
Guest Contributor
I don't know about you, but in
the days leading up to the election
I was really optimistic and I kept
playing this fantasy in my mind. It
came, naturally for me anywav,
from the Wizard of Oz — it went
something like this, [photographic
image on screen]
Now, with the wicked witch
very much alive, 11 states adopt
ing anti-gay state constitutional
amendments, and foes, friends
and pundits blaming gay people
for Kerry's loss or demanding to
know why we engaged on mar
riage at all, I'm seeing another
scene from Oz... [photographic
image on screen here]
In reality, it’s not a bad analogy.
What do we do now? Surrender
and cower? Fight on? Or take a
new course?
Before giving my thoughts on
that, a few things need to be said.
First off, there's no putting lipstick
on this ugly pig. The Bush
Administration and its frontal
assault on our community will go
on for another four painful years.
Sadly, on November 2, fourteen
continued on page 17
First and largest post
election lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) gathering draws
more than 2,500
participants
The National Cay and Lesbian Task
Force (NGLTF) held its 17th Annual
Creating Change Conference
November 10-14 in St. Louis, MO.
This year's conference followed the
presidential election by eight days — as
intensely watched an election as most
of us will ever experience. LGBT equal
ity leaders gathered at Creating Change
to chart future resistance to four more
years of the most anti-gay administra
tion in history.
"Our movement needs to regroup
and buckle down," said Sue Hvde,
director of the Creating Change confer
ence.
"There's a lot to figure out."
It's tough when "the vast majority of
citizens in your state not only do not
understand you but take hostile steps to
change the constitution to take away
rights we never even had," Matt
Foreman, executive director of NGLTF,
said.
Foreman said the gay rights move
ment cannot retreat from working for
social and legal rights, though the battle
is "extremely uphill."
He and other organizers at the con
ference said they may not be able to
change political leaders, and they see
no point in talking to what they call
"Anti-Gay Inc." — to them, a right
wing, anti-gay leadership whose mis
sion is "to demonize us.”
Hyde said organizers believe the
state measures passed by voters will be
interpreted very broadly to prohibit
recognition of gay and lesbian relation
ships and families.
"Our movement has short-sightedly
focused its efforts in Washington, DC,
while the state and local organizations
who are on the ground changing hearts
and minds and winning the concrete
victories that move us forward have
been badly under-resourced," said Ian
Palmquist, co-executive director of
Equality NC.
"The hard lessons of this election
have made it clear that we have work to
do in every state."
"We have to engage our neighbors
Phyllis Lyon is presented with a birthday cake as her partner of more than 50
years, Del Martin, and Task Force staff Rodney McKenzie, Jason Cooper and
MO Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford look on. Photo by Linda Kliewer
and co-workers in a deep conversation
about our humanity, and the need to be
able to take care of our families," Hyde
said.
She said they also need to build
stronger relationships with other
groups working for social change.
Building Infrastructure
Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, lesbian
pioneer activists and together for more
than 50 years, were the featured open
ing night speakers and the recipients of
the Creating Change Award, which
read, "You spoke the unspeakable, you
wrote the unthinkable. You lived open
ly and proudly as a loving couple long
before a movement would stand with
you."
Lyon and Martin founded the leg
endary Daughters of Bilitis, published
the country's first lesbian magazine, The
Ladder, and served as the first openly
lesbian delegates to the White House
Conference on Aging in 1995.
The award was preceded by the
Women's Educational Media film, "One
Wedding and a Revolution."
Lyon and Martin told the crowd it
was only a matter of time before feder
al law recognizes the rights of gays and
lesbians, and added, "we must keep in
mind how hard we must work to create
change."
City of St. Louis Ward 18 Alderman
Terry Kennedy ignited the crowd in his
welcoming remarks by calling on the
commonality of traditionally marginal
ized community's struggles saving in
part, "The same mentality that will
bomb innocent people, will also dis
criminate against women and people of
color. They will discriminate based on
someone's sexual orientation or based
on economics. We must perceive a pro
gressive movement that does not allow
us to isolate each other."
Task Force board of directors co
chairs Beth Zemsky and Jeff Soref start
ed the conversation about our commu
nity thinking and taking action togeth
er.
Soref said in part, "We will not allow
them to drive a wedge between us or
deny our families rights — we must
think strategically to create and bring
about change."
Zemsky added, "The movement of
social change is about building infras
tructure — for life and for love, we are
not going back."
Task Force Executive Director Matt
Foreman made remarks honoring the
campaign leaders in attendance from
the eleven states that faced anti-gay bal
continued on page 13
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