October, 1989
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE Page 9
Take your next step'
The second annual National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11, is being co-sponsored by a broad base of highly respected community leaders and organizations.
The goal of NCOD is to increase the visibility of the more than 20 million gay people in the United States. Last year's activities received positive media coverage throughout the country, including coverage in USA Today, CNN, National Public Radio, This Way Out, and "The Oprah Winfrey Show".
Oct. 11, the date of this annual event, commemorates the 1987 March on Washington for lesbian and gay rights. NCOD organizers invite individuals and organizations to become co-sponsors by making financial contributions to sup-
1
port the central office and by planning local activities in their communities.
"This is a grass roots campaign, and its success depends on the willingness of local groups to plan and carry out events that support people to take their next step in coming out," says NCOD chair, Dr. Rob Eichberg.
As coming out is a process and not a singular event, individuals are being asked to "take the next step" in their coming out processa step which may be very personal for some and very public for others. "Our power is awesome, and it's time we use it. NCOD is a chance to take the spirit and message of the March on Washington home to communities throughout the country,"
3 agencies receive WRAF grants
The Western Reserve AIDS Foundaon announced July grant awards totalLig $75,000.
Three grants will support direct serices and education for prevention of AIDS.
The announcement was made by A. 'eter Beebe, president of the foundation nd a private psychologist. Beebe said equests for proposals generated seven nquiries seeking a total of nearly $200,000.
The grants awarded were:
$20,000 to the Hospice Care Network in Cleveland, for hospice services for all AIDS patients. Hospice care will be provided in the home and might include nursing and pastoral care, bereavement counseling, legal assistance and social and other ancillary services.
$30,000 to the Health Issues Taskforce for the continuation and expansion of its minority outreach program.
• $25,000 to the Lorain County Urban League, for a proposal to collaborate with El Centro de Servicios Sociales. The joint effort will include door-todoor canvassing of Lorain County neighborhoods in outreach efforts for education, and work with the local YWCA to develop rap sessions for minority women. Also planned are programs at churches, clu and organizations in the black and Latino communities.
The Western Reserve AIDS Foundation is a non-profit fund-raising organization dedicated to supporting the development of programs and services for people with AIDS. It will fund its next round of grants this month.
Gay man wins first round with Big Brothers
A Washington, D.C. gay man has won i preliminary round in a discrimination complaint against Big Brothers of the National Capital Area, an agency that natches adult volunteers with boys in need of role models.
Big Brothers refused to allow Jeffrey Gould, an experienced health educator with a master's degree in counseling, to Volunteer with the agency and become a 'big brother," solely because he was gay.
In a significant development, the Disrict of Columbia Office of Human Rights (OHR), where Gould had filed a complaint, ruled that Big Brothers is not exempt from the D.C. Human Rights Act which bars discrimination on a number of grounds, including sexual orientation. OHR rejected Big Brothers' assertion hat, as a non-profit volunteer organization, it was not bound by the law and could freely discriminate. OHR held that Big Brothers is a "public accommodation" subject to the anti-discrimination laws that govern most establishments.
Jane Dolkart, a cooperating attorney with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which is representing Gould, noted that OHR's ruling, which states that Big Brothers is bound by the Human Rights Law, assured that Big Brothers' anti-gay discriminatory policy will now be examined in full. This is itself a civil rights victory.
গে
"This decision has implications far beyond this case," said Lambda attorney Evan Wolfson. "It represents a victory not only for gay men and lesbians who seek to be role models to underprivileged youth, but to all individuals who are told that because of their race, gender, or religion, they cannot participate in various organizations serving the community. Everyone should be protected against unfair discrimination, and everyone should be barred from discriminating."
Wolfson also said, “We are now going to prove the main lesson of this case: Gay people are fit to be role models, and to do what we do in millions of encounters every day as teachers, as social workers, as parents, as family members, as friends, and, for that matter, as Big Brothers-interact with and help children, our own and others'."
Gould applied to be a Big Brother in July 1988. The application materials he received asked specifically about his sexual orientation. Gould called and spoke to the acting executive director of the local organization, who assured him that Big Brothers did not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, and that, in fact, it would be illegal for them to do
SO.▼
Susan M. Weaver Attorney At Law Divorce
Bankruptcy
Wills General Practice
Cleveland, OH 44113
The Rockefeller Bldg. Suite 608
(216) 621-7200
says NCOD co-chair Jean O'Leary, executive director of National Gay Rights Advocates.
Joining the growing list of NCOD sponsors are Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the Metropolitan Community Churches; Jeff Levy and Urvashi Vaid with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; Vic Basile and Tim McFeeley of the Human Rights Campaign Fund; Tom Stoddard of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund; National Gay Rights Advocates; Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; Sally Fisher, founder of The AIDS Mastery; Pat Norman, co-chair of the 1987 March on Washington; Boston City Counselor, David Scondras; Jim
The American Civil Liberties Union
by Loretta Mikolaj The Cleveland ACLU office formally became the ACLU of Ohio Sept. 1.
With this change, the Cleveland ACLU Gay Rights Project is expected to become the Ohio ACLU Gay Rights Project (pending approval from the board of firectors).
This is significant for the project for several reasons. First, we will have the ability to do outreach to the rest of Ohio. One first step in achieving statewide legal protection for gays and lesbians is to develop statewide solidarity within our community.
Second, because we are now a part of the ACLU of Ohio, we have the ability to lobby our local, state and national legislators (something the tax status of the Cleveland ACLU has not permitted us to do).
Gould, who thought it was important for "role models" not to lie, answered the question honestly. A week later he received a mysterious letter warning him to expect a rejection letter from Big Brothers because of his sexual orientation. Two months later, after much delay, he did receive a rejection letter. When Gould contacted the organization, the director explained that they did not accept gay men as Big Brothers.
Thomas of the AIDS Resource Center in Dallas; The Pride Foundation of Seattle; Seattle Gays and Lesbians in Unity; The Experience in the cities of Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle; Torie Osborn of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center; The Flamingo Freedom Band of South Florida; writer Harvey Fierstein and comedian Robin Tyler; and veteran activists Morris Kight, Virginia Apuzzo, Eric Rofes, Vivian Shapiro, Susan McGreivy, Randy Miller, and Cleve Jones.
For more information, or to contribute to NCOD, write to: NCOD, Box 15524, Santa Fe, N.M. 87506, or call 505982-2558.
In other news, the project has developed a survey to compile statistics about the amount of harassment and violence against gay people in Cleveland. Once we have the statistics to show that this is a serious problem in this area, we can tell our lawmakers why we need protective legislation.
Finally, we are closely monitoring the Cleveland police harassment of gay men on the near West Side. At the time of this writing, two of the four men who had ACLU legal representation were acquitted of the charges against them. After the criminal trials are finished, the ACLU intends to meet with representatives of the police department to discuss the intolerability of such conduct on the part of the police.
The Ohio ACLU Gay Rights Project meets the third Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the Lesbian-Gay Community Center. All interested people are invited to attend. For further information, please call Loretta Mikolaj at 781-6276.
In response to the OHR refusal to exempt Big Brothers from the Human Rights Law, Jeffrey Gould stated, "I am glad that I will now have a chance to challenge the policy which keeps me from using my experience and interest to help a child in need. I want to be a Big Brother, and don't want to begin by teaching my little brother that it's okay to lie, okay to discriminate, okay to set yourself up as above the law."
BooksellerS
द
the people with a flair for bookselling
WESTWOOD TOWN CENTER 21611 CENTER RIDGE RD. ROCKY RIVER, OH 44116 (216) 333-7828 Monday-Saturday 10 to 10 pm Sunday
10 to 6 pm
PAVILION MALL 24031 CHAGRIN BLVD. BEACHWOOD, OH 44122 (216) 831-5035 Monday-Thursday 10 to 10 pm Friday & Saturday 10 to 12 midnight
Sunday
10 to 6 pm
SHAKER SQUARE 13214 SHAKER SQUARE CLEVELAND, OHIO 44120 (216) 751-9100
Monday-Saturday 10 to 10 pm Sunday
10 to 6 pm
Springhill Farm
LODGING* and DELUXE CABINS
*Smoke Free
Reservations Are Required
(614) 659-2364
SWIMMING
HOT TUB
REC ROOM HIKING 5704 Highpoint Road Glenford, Ohio 43739
SUSAN & KATHY OWNERS