NEWS

Black Forum held in Chicago

by Robert Schultz "We accomplished what we set out to do," said Alvan Quamina, the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum's executive director in assessing the four-day marathon open meeting at Chicago's Westin Hotel on Michigan Avenue, held over the President's Day weekend.

Board member Michael Piper of Detroit said there was a "reaffirmation of commitment to the organization" as a result of the weekend.

Nearly 225 people participated in some aspect of the 13th annual conference, designed to begin the process of healing in an organization plagued by problems over the past few years.

"Healing and Rebuilding: A Strategic Planning Homecoming" was the conference theme. The vital transformation that appears to be underway among the Forum's membership was the result of a process of self-examination and assessment that was the dominant agenda item. The structure of the Chicago conference lacked keynote speakers and workshops, thus making it radically different than any of its predecessors.

"The Forum is hemorrhaging," cried out Californian Roosevelt Mosby in the open board meeting that kicked off the conference. The Leadership Forum's board has dwindled to four members. Jubi Headley's resig-

nation was accepted at the opening board meeting. Headley, who was the organization's last paid executive director, and board chair for the past few months, resigned due to increased job responsibilities. Kenneth Reeves' term was completed as the conference opened. Brenda Crawford, of Oakland, Calif., is the new board chair. Crawford said the Forum's board is in a recruiting mode.

Debts of $60,000, due in large part from losses from the last two conferences, have compounded the Forum's woes. And further complicating matters is the internal financial chaos caused by the lack of attention to the fiscal details that are essential to prudent management. Quamina is engaged in recreating the financial paper trail of the past three years in order to file the necessary reports for taxes and other fiscal issues. For example, no one knows the amounts spent on the now-closed Washington office's phone bill. The good news is Quamina reported on the steps he is taking to address the record gap.

Quamina made a significant fundraising push over the past two months to insure that the Chicago conference did not plunge the organization deeper into debt. Quamina's efforts resulted in a conference that was underwritten in such a way that a slow crawl to solvency has begun. Faced with the prospect that a can-

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celed Chicago conference would be imprudent due to contractual obligations with the hotel, Quamina mustered an impressive package of resources worth $83,000 that assured the conference would go forth. The Centers for Disease Control, The Gill Foundation, the Chicago Department of Public HealthMOCHA 2000, Agouron, the African American AIDS Policy and Training Institute, and Du Pont were the conference's supporting underwriters.

Conference participants raised an additional $2,000 apart from registration fees in support of the Forum. The money raised by conference attendees is the first tangible sign of the organization's rebirth. Maurice Franklin, of New York City, and a former Forum board member, said he observed the people assembled taking responsibility for the health and wellness of the organization. Franklin hoped that the organization. would be better connected with the grassroots as a result of the weekend.

Crawford praised the incredible commitment of the body and noted the energy and pain that went into the process. The meeting sessions were facilitated by a group six people from the International Black Summit. Operating since 1991, the International Black Summit is a self-governing annual gathering of people of Black African descent who hold the

The Chicago Black Lesbians and Gays hosted a welcoming reception during last weekend's Forum conference. Pictured are some of the folks enjoying the event, at Star Gaze. Photo by Terri Klinsky

philosophy that community resides with the individual. In the spirit of self-examination and concrete assessment in measuring an individual's participation in the successes and failures of a community, the heterosexual facilitator's knowledge of the Black LBGT community was immediately challenged. This was only the second time the Black Summit facilitators had worked in a community outside of the summit. In the course of the confrontation and resolution, the group's music facilitator came out to the body and his colleagues. By the end of the weekend the facilitators' skills were praised. The facilitators' negotiation of a volatile confrontation about gay men's support of lesbian issues earned the respect of the gathering. The body's commitment to youth and transgender issues were closely examined.

At the Saturday night dinner banquet, openly gay Chicago cleric Rev. Thom Ford captured the spirit of tak-

ing personal responsibility for a community's fortunes that pervaded the conference when he said, "I exhort you not to go to the mountain top but to be the mountain top."

As the conference began, Wade Hanley, 27, of New York, expressed reservations that any progress was going to be made. "I don't want to be here 365 days from next week again talking the same stuff," Hanley said.

By the end of the conference, participants were holding themselves accountable and organizing themselves to take up the tasks to turn the Forum around. The group of people, who committed to crafting a vision statement based on the Forum membership's sentiments, were trading emails to tackle the work.

Dante King, 23, of Oakland, summarized participants' mood, saying, "I can contribute to the health of the organization."

Look for additional coverage in the April BLACKLINES, out March 29.

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OUTLINES Feb. 23, 2000

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