gay people's
IR
June 1989
ON
NI
eleveland
Volume Public Library 2
JUN-5 1989
CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPT. PERIODICAL
Come on out
Clevelanders are planning to come out of their closets in great number on Sunday, June 18 in front of the LesbianGay Community Services Center on West 29th at Detroit. That day will mark the first annual Pride Celebration in Cleveland. The Pride Celebration will take place between 11:00 am and 8:00 pm. The cost is $3; more if you can, less if you can't. No one will be turned away because of the inability to pay. Door prizes will be awarded throughout the day. All attending will be eligible without purchasing a raffle ticket.
The day will be highlighted by guest speakers Renee McCoy of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays, and Craig Davidson, Executive Director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. McCoy, who is also a minister in the Metropolitan Community Church, will also preside over a commitment ceremony at noon that morning.
Local entertainment will light up the stage in the form of Lisa Rainsong and Gayle Pilot; the North Coast Men's Chorus, the North Coast Freedom Band, Dan Davis Mr Leather of 1988 and Mr. Gay Cleveland 1988. Rita Del Ray will also perform along with the Cleveland Country City Dancers. Many other acts are planned but have not yet committed.
Over 25 local business will be displaying their wares for community, dancing is planned and local political speakers will be sharing their views on lesbian-gay pride.
"We can't go back into the closet," said Drew Cari, co-chairperson of the event. "There is only one direction that
we must take. Part of the goal is to help prepare the Cleveland lesbian and gay. community for what we hope will be the uncloseted 1990's."
"For me, the most exciting part will be the commitment ceremony" said Martha Pontoni, co-chairperson. "This commitment ceremony is not just for couples. It is for anyone who defines themselves as a family. It is a ritual to show we can support and create our own family units. Even if they try to legislate against us, we can not be stopped.
"Now more than ever," Pontoni continued, "we need to show our strength as a community, both to ourselves and to others."
Pride '89 has been billed as an alcohol and chemical free event. Drew Cari explained why: "The decision not to serve alcohol was made by the entire commit-
Photo by Brian DeWitt
•
Soc
L E
Cleveland, Ohio
A Chronicle of the Lesbian & Gay Community
Dennis Chaney and Rita Del Rey emceed the show.
tee very early on in the planning of the Ohio cities celebrate Stonewall
event. We wanted to support all those who don't feel that alcohol has to be served at every major lesbian-gay event. Alcohol and drug abuse is a very serious problem in our community."
In conjunction with the Pride celebration, committee members Sue Schur and Doug Braun taped a segment of "In My Opinion" a public opinion spot on Channel 5. In it, they emphasized that Cleveland's community is proud and will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots along with the rest of the United States. The segments were aired five times in May, and will also be aired Wednesday, June 7 at 5:27 a.m. and Sunday, June 10 at 11:27 p.m. ▼
A different kind of theatre
Sappho and Aphrodite
Cleveland Public Theatre
June 8-25
by Daniel P.
Sappho and Aphrodite, at the Cleveland Public Theatre June 8-25, promises to be a very special theatrical event.
One reason for this promise is a different kind of high voltage created by two remarkable artists-Karen Malpede and Linda Eisensteincollaborating on the play. These two women are finally realizing the dream they've shared for several years by working together on this project. Another reason is that they have assembled an especially strong and experienced, cast, crew and artistic staff-"one of the strongest I've ever worked with," said Eisenstein. The
people involved with the play have worked together long enough that the fruits of their efforts have produced an abundant harvest.
0
Malpede wrote the script and is directing it. She's been a powerful voice in the theatre, eloquently and authoritatively proclaiming the rights of women to be-to be who they are, to be individual human beings who are women each true to her own self, to be complete as each fulfills her own destiny, unhampered by outside forces. Sappho and Aphrodite continues this proclamation it has already played in New York and London with great reviews.
Malpede's scholarly work is wellknown in theatrical and academic circles, and her performance experiences have established her as an artist on the cutting edge of what's being called the "New Age in the Theatre."
Privacy right mourned
A national organizing campaign is underway to commemorate the third anniversary, on June 30, 1989, of the Supreme Court's decision in Bowers v. Hardwick. The campaign, called the National Day of Mourning for the Right to Privacy, is organized by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Privacy Project and CRY OUT!, Pittsburgh's lesbian-gay action group.
The Supreme Court in Hardwick pheld Georgia's sodomy law declaring that the constitutional right to privacy did not extend to sexual conduct beween gay men and lesbians. Twenty-five
Continued on Page 5
states and the District of Columbia still have anti-gay sodomy laws in place.
"The National Day of Mourning is a grassroots education and action campaign designed to focus gay and lesbian. energy on the importance of repealing sodomy laws, which render us criminal in half the states in this country," said Sue Hyde, Director of the NGLTF Privacy Project, which works for the repeal of sodomy laws. "We want to support and energize activists working in states with sodomy laws, as well as to encourage those of us living in 'free' states to stay involved." Continued on Page 6
by Martha Pontoni
Cleveland won't be the only place in Ohio celebrating the 20th anniversary of Stonewall. Both Columbus and Cincinnati will also hold elaborate celebrations.
This year Stonewall Union of Columbus will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots with 11 of celebration, arts, politics, sports and fun
June 15-25.
A march and rally at the Statehouse will be held Sunday, June 25. Keynote speaker will be Karen Thompson, who recently won the right to see her injured partner, Sharon Kowalski, through a long court struggle supported by lesbians and gays nationwide.
A first-ever street fair, Gayfest I, will be held after the rally at Bicentennial Park. Food and beverages will be available, and there will be live musicians and DJs providing dance music.
Entertainment that week will include Robin Flower on Saturday, June 24 and
Maxine Feldman on June 22.
More detailed information on Columbus's events was not available at press time. For more information please call Stonewall Union at 614-299-7764. "Cincinnati Comes Out" is the theme of the celebration for our southern brothers and sisters. A parade and rally will take place on Saturday, June 10 starting at 11:30 a.m. Keynote speakers include Sue Hyde of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Privacy Project, and James Creadle, Director of Minority Affairs of Rutgers University. Activities on Sunday, June 11 include a brunch, community picnic and concert, and a city-wide bartenders' talent show. This year's Pride events are being sponsored by the Greater Cincinnati Gay and Lesbian Coalition. For more information about Cincinnati's events please call 513381-4746 ▼
Gay sergeant reinstated
by Lou Chibbaro Jr.
A federal appeals court Wednesday ordered the Army to reinstate openly gay Sgt. Perry Watkins into active duty, but refused to affirm an earlier ruling forcing the military to end its blanket ban on all gays.
The ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled seven to four that the Army could not forcibly discharge Watkins because of his homosexuality, based on the narrow grounds that Army officials had drafted Watkins and had repeatedly re-enlisted him over a 14 year period while knowing he was gay.
The majority decision, written by Judge Harry Pregerson, states, "This is a case where equity cries out and demands that the Army be [prevented] from refusing to re-enlist Watkins on the basis of his homosexuality."
But the seven judges joining in the majority refused to affirm a February 1988 ruling by a three-judge panel of the same court, which held that gays enjoyed the same constitutional protections against discrimination by the military as racial minorities. That ruling, issued by justices appointed by former President Jimmy Carter, was vacated last October when the full appeals court agreed to a
request by the Army to rehear the case. Gay rights attorney Leonard Graff called Wednesday's decision a modest, but important, victory for gay rights because it forces the Army to reinstate Watkins, enabling him to disprove the military's claim that gays are incompatible to military service.
Watkins was drafted in 1967 during the Vietnam War and served until 1981, when he was denied re-enlistment. He received the highest possible performance ratings for his work and was highly praised by his commanding officers while stationed in the U.S. and Korea.
Court records show the Army drafted Watkins despite the fact that he checked a box on a pre-induction form stating that he had "homosexual tendencies." Records also show that Watkins was openly gay throughout his years in the Army yet received permission to re-enlist for three additional terms.
During Army investigations into his background in 1979 and 1981, Watkins affirmed he was gay but declined to say whether he engaged in sodomy. When the Army began investigating him, its rules held that only proof of homosexual conduct, such as sodomy, could be used for forcible discharge, not a statement of homosexual orientation.
Continued on Page 5