NEWS HIGH
CEAR
1977 GEAR
Vol.3 A Publication of theGEAR Foundation Issue 10
HIGH GEAR journal is a publication of the Gay Educational and Awareness Resources (G.E.A.R.) Foundation of Cleveland, Ohio. It is distributed free of charge in any establishment and with any organization that will permit distribution. We are non-profit publication, and all proceeds not used to pay printing costs and service fees are set aside for the Gay HotlineSwitchboard (216)-321-6632, the G.E.A.R. Foundation which sponsors the Cleveland Gay Community Center and other Ohio gay organizations.
The presence of the name or picture or other representation of an organization, place of business or person(s) in HIGH GEAR is not necessarily indicative of the sexual orientation of such organizations, businesses or persons.
We welcome all contributions of written materials, art work, or photography by members of the gay community. All materials submitted for publication are subject to editorialization. We cannot guarantee the return of materials submitted for publication, whether used by HIGH GEAR or not, unless they are accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envolope.
All HIGH GEAR staff are volunteers. Anyone interested in working on the staff of HIGH GEAR should inquire by calling (216) 321-6632 or by writing to HIGH GEAR STAFF, P.O. Box 6177, Cleveland, Ohio 44101.
Businesses or organizations wishing to advertise in HIGH GEAR may obtain advertising rate sheets and other information by writing to the above address.
Ine deadline for HIGH GEAR publication dates is as follows:
Advertising by the 30th of every month, camera ready and composition ads. Written material by the 5th of every month. News items until publication.
HIGH GEAR is printed the second Thursday of every month and available at bars, baths, universities, businesses and elsewhere thereafter.
HIGH GEAR is copyrighted under federal law. Reproduction is granted to all other gay publications so long as credit is given to HIGH GEAR. All HIGH GEAR work is original unless otherwise noted.
STAFF
Coordinating Editors.
Editorial Assistants
Business Managers.
John Nosek, Leon Stevens Bob Kovach, Anthony Scafaro Dan McGuire, Jim Moore
Advertising Collective.Michael Dubecki, Danny Miecznijowski, Matt Phillips, John Wagenhals and Steve Jobe Photography.
Art Director.
....Bob Kovach, Al Morrill, Matt Phillips .......Rudi Haaken
News.............John Nosek with a little help from some friends Features and Reviews
.....David Akers,
Max McLarty, Mitchell Menegu, Leslie Sheward and others Lay-Out Staff..
.....All of the
the above plus Jerry Bores, Byron Ditmar, Paul Shetler, Bill Smith, Cliff Wendall, Paul Zimmerman. Circulation.....
Districution
.12,000 plus Akron, Athens,
Barberton, Berea, Bowling Green, Brooklyn, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Cleveland Hts., Columbus, Dayton, Fairview Park, Lakewood, Lima, Lorain, Mansfield, Middleburgh Hts., Oberlin, Painesville, Parma, Parma Hts., Piqua, Rockbridge, Rocky River, Sandusky, Shaker Hts., Springfield, Steubenville, Toledo, Warren, Youngstown and points beyond.
LAMBDA RESTS
Radio Free Lambda, Cleveland's gay radio program, will be on vacation during the month of August. During that month the staff will be involved in recording interviews and other material for the fall. People interested in offering
ideas or help are asked to write Radio Free Lambda c/o WRUWFM 11200 Bellflower Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.
Lambda will continue through July and then return the first Monday of September.
HIGH GEAR/JULY 1977
WHY TWO MARCHES?
Plans for this year's Gay Pride Day festivities began in late May when the G.E.A.R. Foundation invited members of the Gay Caucus of YAWF, Dignity and MCC to attend a meeting to organize a Cleveland Gay Pride parade and rally. At the initial meeting G.E.A.R. offered to provide monies for the parade organization and requested that a Gay Pride Day Committee be formed representing all four groups.
Martha Watson of YAWF was entrusted with publicity and signpainting. She agreed to contact Dan Richmond of MCC to ask him to join the committee and obtain a parade street permit for June 25.
Rounding out the CGPDC were Fran Dostal, Dan McGuire and Stan Brown. The group met informally in early June to firm up committee persons' responsibilities.
On June 8 High Gear contacted Ms. Watson for information on the march for a news story. Told that the parade would take place June 25 on a pre-designated route, High Gear published that date in its lead story of the June 10th issue.
On June 13 a rally organized by Ozzie Hagopian of the West Ninth Street Baths was held at the New Dimension. Attended by about 100 people, the gathering provided opportunity for gays to ventilate their anger at the Dade County ordinance repeal and to plan local strategies. Representatives from MCC, G.E.A.R., Dignity and YAWF were present. Judging by the speeches at the rally by persons from these four organizations and others, it still appeared that June 25 was the operative date for a march.
This assumption was nela by local gay groups until June 21. On that date G.E.A.R. Foundation members discovered at their monthly meeting that Dan Richmond was unable to obtain a street permit for June 25 and
instead opted for July 9. Richmond was told that the city could not grant a permit for June 25 because the VFW was marching down Euclid Avenue at 10 A.M. that day, a mammoth rock concert was being held at Municipal Stadium, and several block parties all combined to substantially deplete available police supervision.
The July 9th parade organizers, concerned that marchers would be vulnerable to harassment or even arrest without a parade permit, sent information out to the bars and gay groups that the June 25th march was cancelled. This lead to extensive confusion because meanwhile, the Gay Caucus of YAWF issued a statement that they would go ahead with the originally scheduled march, claiming that legally, people can demonstrate on the sidewalk so long as they do not obstruct pedstrian traffic and obey street signals. Alluding to past precedents, YAWF said there would be little harassment and marshals would be available in case of any confrontations.
Thrown in between the two parade factions, the G.E.A.R. Board of Directors initially decided to support the June 25 march, only under the conditions that it would not interfere with the VFW parade and would be legally sound. Some G.E.A.R. members also expressed the concern that because of the wide publicity and Gay Pride Day leafletting already done for the June 25 date, it would be impossible to cancel the march as many isolated gays could not be efficiently contacted about the change in plans.
Two days later on June 23, at an emergency meeting, the G.E.A.R. Board voted to rescind their support of the June 25 march. This was done
because of a pervasive concern that the marchers would not have police
PARADE PERMIT
PAGE 2
protection. Some G.E.A.R. members agreed to attend the march to inform people there would not be any police protection. And though the Foundation withdrew official support, individuals of the Foundation were free to march if they wished.
EDITORIAL
It is easy to assume that any major gay activist event in the city of Cleveland is sponsored by G.E.A.R., since the Foundation provides a community center, a hotline and a newspaper. This, however, is not the case. Neither Gay Pride March this year had an "official" endorsement of G.E.A.R., because the Board of Directors felt to support one march and not the other would have a divisive effect on an already polarized community.
seem
Cries that G.E.A.R. has been taken over by the Communists are as ludicrous as they are damaging to the group's efforts to provide a constructive voice for the local gay community. And allegations that G.E.A.R. acted irresponsibly warranted only in that the G.E.A.R. Foundation should have handled the Gay Pride March itself rather than relying on other organizations to help coordinate the activities as part of a coalition with no specific coordinator. Indeed, more careful planning is in order.
That's how the newspaper staff sees it, and we sincerely have tried to present the above information objectively. With Anita Bryant's forces still running rampant, we cannot afford to divide our community over the now past issue of two marches, neither of which caused any harm to participants or observers. So far as we're concerned, the marchers provided two opportunities to keep the gay rights issue in the public eye, and that's certainly not bad.
APPROVED FOR 1978 MARCH
·
CLEVELAND The Gay Education and Awareness Resources Foundation (G.E.A.R.) has announced it already has secured a parade permit for next year's Gay Pride March for Sunday, June 25, 1978. Next year's parade will commence at 1:30 p.m. at E. 24th St. and Euclid Avenue. Participants will march westward on Euclid Avenue (in the street) to Public Square where a rally will be held in the Tom L. Johnson quadrant.
Acting Cleveland Police Chief Gallagher, the traffic commissioner and the office of the safety director at City Hall have signed 1978 permit and will
make preparations for its enactment next year.
G.E.A.R. selected June 25, 1978 as the parade date to coincide with the rest of the nation's gay pride marches and has notified the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee of its plans. CSLDC works in conjuction with the National Gay Task Force and acts as a nation-wide clearinghouse for Gay Pride parades. CSLDC, in turn, will distribute information nationally on Cleveland's 1978 Gay Pride festivities.
G.E.A.R., which sponsored neither gay pride march this year, took the initiative to obtain the 1978 permit a year in ad
vance "to avoid the confusion over the date(s) of this year's gay pride march(es)," The G.E.A.R. Board of Trustees agreed to coordinate the 1978 march with other gay groups and work closely with the bars and baths to gain as expansive participation as possible.
G.E.A.R. will begin planning sessions for 1978 Gay Pride in December of this year, with the hope of implementing a full week's roster (June 18-25) of activities to include an arts and crafts show, musical entertainment, a picnic and a street fair, culminating in the Sunday, June 25, 1978 Gay Pride Parade: