gay people's
ULL VLL
SOCI
HI R ONI
Volume 5 Issue 5
November 1989
Cleveland
E
Cleveland, Ohio
An Independent Chronicle of the Lesbian & Gay Community
Mike White for mayor
by Martha Pontoni
At the June Gay Pride festival in Cleveland it was determined that close to 70 percent of the attendees were City of Cleveland residents. With that in mind, the Chronicle ventured to find out what the two mayoral candidates could or would do for the lesbian and gay men who live in the city.
Both men were asked four questions pertaining to our community. While George Forbes' campaign manager Pat Blackman was initially enthusiastic about receiving our endorsement, our calls where not returned by the appropriate people. This could only lead us to believe that the rest of the campaign staff didn't think our endorsement meant very much in the way of votes.
Mike White
After two weeks of constant phone calls, one well placed call by a friend of the Chronicle got us a return call from the White campaign with our questions answered.
It is on the basis of those answers that we endorse Mike White for the mayor of Cleveland. Not only will White bring change to Cleveland, he seems to be the best chance we as a community have to get our voices heard, and our needs meet.
White favors the inclusion of the words "sexual orientation" in city ordinances banning discrimination. This could mean and end to legal discrimination against lesbians and gays in housing, employment, and public accomodation.
White also said he would not discriminate against an openly lesbian or gay man in his administration. He would not hire anyone solely because they were
"Fag Bashers" arrested
by Martha Pontoni
The 1st District Cleveland Police arrested one juvenile and suspect at least six more in the recent rash of "fag bashings" on West 115th Street and Clifton.
Lt. Marty Flask reports that one of the bashers would lure à victim to a spot where the others would then jump the man, rob and beat him.
The Cleveland Police have had only two reports filed about the bashings but suspect there maybe more incidences and are urging any gay man who may have been a victim to come forward. "If anyone else has been a victim in a similar matter it will help us in this case."
If you have been a victim or have any information please call The 1st District Detective Bureau of Juvenile Crimes at 623-5118 and ask for Detectives Patton or Parkinson. If you have been bashed and need help in making a report or wish to report information anonymously, call Aubrey Wertheim at the Center at 5221999 or the Chronicle and someone will help you.
lesbian or gay, just as he would not hire someone solely because they were black. But he also would not exclude someone because they were openly lesbian or gay.
When asked about a domestic partners ordinance in Cleveland, similar to the one in San Francisco which gives unmarried couples a chance to register as a family and receive benefits as such, White replied that it was under consideration.
Michael White is also a pro-choice candidate. This is the ultimate requirement for any candidate anyone in the lesbian and gay community supports. If women's abortion rights are stripped, enforced HIV testing will not be far behind, along with quarantines and other things the government will do once they have control of our bodies. If wearing a tattoo sounds farfetched, remember that it happened once already.
The Chronicle, being a paper dedicated to feminist principles, was concerned over the allegations of White being a wife-beater. Tom Andrzejewski, White's communications consultant assured us that the allegations were totally false. He says that White's second wife was on drugs, which sounds like blaming the victim. But there is no evidence that any beating took place. White's other wives have denied the allegations. While in the Ohio Senete White was the main sponsor of the spousal-rape bill, which makes rape by a woman's husband illegal.
When asked what a endorsement by the lesbian and gay press meant to the campaign, Andrzejewski replied, "Fine wonderful, any endorsement by any one who happens to be a voter is great."
This endorsement is not the picking of the lesser of two evils. It is the sincere wish for a change in the government of the city of Cleveland. It is a sincere wish for an administration which will be responsive to our needs as a community. If White wins, it will be an end to the dark ages of cronyism and a balance of power that only benefits George Forbes. If Forbes wins we will always be second class citizens without a voice. We already know that. But if White wins, there is a chance that we will finally be heard. ▼
Photo by Pat Young
Even as the visitors walked amoung the Quilt, volunteers added panels the NAMES project had just been sent, so that the display could be seen display could be seen next to those who had died in the first days of the epidemic.
NAMES Quilt
by Bob Boone
At 10:00 a.m. on Friday, October 6, volunteers of the NAMES Project began unfolding the almost eleven thousand panels that make up the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The cloth spread across the Ellipse in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. and displayed the names of many of the over 61,000 Americans who have died from AIDS.
As the thousands of visitors walked among the panels of the Quilt, names of people who have been lost to AIDS were
read by their lovers and friends and family members. In the center of the Quilt were panels where visitors could write messages and express the feelings that the filed of names evoked. Even as the visitors walked among the Quilt, volunteers added panels that the NAMES Project had just been sent, so that the display could be seen next to those who had died in the first days of the epidemic. At dusk, volunteers folded the sections of the Quilt and loaded them into boxes to be stored until being reopened SaturContinued on Page 4
U4ia bars lesbians (again)
by Martha Pontoni
U4ia nightclub has again decided to restrict the entrance of women to the club by instituting a "dress code" on Saturday nights which requires women to wear skirts and dresses.
The Chronicle was first made aware of the policy changes by Bynnna Fish, owner of Bluefish Productions and a member of the committee which is bringing Heartstrings, a play to benefit AIDS organizations, to Cleveland.
On Saturday night October 21, Fish was supposed to work on publicity for Heartstrings at U4ia. The club was holding a pre-show party and Fish was to sell tickets to the party and the show. She was informed that she would have to wear a skirt to be able to enter the club.
"I can't go to promote an AIDS benefit, because I'm a lesbian and a women who wears pants," commented Fish when she contacted the Chronicle. "This is unacceptable. They will allow men in drag to enter, but not women in drag."
When the Chronicle contacted U4ia
manager Rob Farinacci, he confirmed that the dress code had indeed been reinstated. He insisted that the relaxing the dress code was the worst thing the club had ever done.
"Dropping the dress code created massive problems," Farinacci said. "We listened to you guys, and we were wrong. It [relaxing the code] created so much shit around here that we are still climbing out."
When asked to elaborate, Farinacci declined, saying he did not want to go on record about why women in pants are bad for his club. Restoring the dress code was "best overall for the club," Farinacci insisted.
He also insisted that he did not lie to the Chronicle when he reported that the club had dropped the dress code. Farinacci says he listened to the Chronicle and other community leaders, but the new policy hadn't worked.
Callers to the Chronicle have expressed interest in filing a lawsuit against the club for sex discrimination, organizing actions to disrupt business, and other forms of protest.
A call to the Cleveland police department has revealed that U4ia can refuse to serve someone who doesn't comply with the dress code but they cannot bar them from entering. When confronted with this, U4ia management said that their own security guards would remove anyone who was not in compliance with the dress code. ▼
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editorials
Letters
Just Jocks
We Are Everywhere
Homosexuals
Anonymous
Classifieds
Book Review Grace Jones Review Bits & Pieces Personals
Charlie's Calender Resource Directory
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