Skinheads convicted in gay beating

Two Washington, D.C. selfproclaimed Skinhead gang members were convicted by a unanimous jury for assault with intent to kill and armed robbery in the September 1988 beating of a D.C. gay man. The convictions of the Skinheads, Mark Hyder and David McCall, came after a four-day trial in D.C. Superior Court. One of the Skinheads indicted in the attack, Richard Grimes, has fled the jurisdiction and was not tried.

The beating occurred in the early morning hours of September 17, 1988, when Rodney Johnson was walking home from his job at a Georgetown restaurant. As Johnson took a shortcut through a parking lot adjacent to the "P Street Beach," an area known to be frequented by gay men, he was suddenly confronted by several youths with baseball bats who appeared to be lying in wait. Several of the youths, who were later identified as Skinheads, viciously beat Johnson while shouting "die, faggot, die." They then robbed Johnson of his money and wallet, and left him for dead.

Though Johnson was able to crawl away to find help, he suffered a concussion, collapsed lung, broken finger, and a fractured skull, ribs, and shoulder in the attack.

The criminal convictions come just two months after Johnson filed a multimillion dollar civil lawsuit against eight members of the Skinhead gang who had

Letters

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literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

There were several problems with the Helms language. The Helms amendment was not limited to just funding for the arts, although funding for two controversial exhibits, sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, was what gave rise to the language. In fact, it applied to the entire appropriations bill, including funding for the National Parks and Forests, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and a myriad of other agencies which would have had to appoint, in effect, a government censor to monitor compliance with the language.

More troublesome, however, was that the Helms language had no accountability. It merely said that no funds could be used to promote, disseminate or produce obscene or indecent materials, etc., but did not say who would judge what works fell in the banned categories, or what, if any, the penalties would be for doing so. There was effectively no enforcement mechanism.

In the language ultimately agreed to, however, we addressed those problems as well as established a framework for permanently addressing the issue. Appropriations bills are for one year only; however, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment

engaged in a weekend of beatings and robberies of gay men in the Dupont Circle area of D.C., including the attack on Johnson. The lawsuit claims that the Skinheads violated Johnson's civil and constitutional rights by conspiring to attack him solely because he is gay. The case is the first of its kind ever filed by a gay person against members of a Skinhead gang.

Commenting on the guilty verdicts, Johnson stated, "These convictions reaffirm my faith in the jury system and fellow human beings. In finding this kind of group violence to be loathsome, the jury looked at me not only as a gay man, but as a person. I am grateful that this part is over."

Though they were minors at the time of the beating, Hyder and McCall were tried as adults. Both will be sentenced on January 5, and will be held without bond until that time. Authorities will continue their search for Grimes.

With the criminal convictions behind them, Johnson and his lawyers plan to move forward with their civil case, which is based predominantly on conspiracy claims as well as civil assault and battery. "There are many more Skinheads out there who are legally responsible for Rod's beating and who must be held accountable," said Linda Delaney of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Johnson's co-counsel. "Though we are happy with the criminal convictions, it is still only partial justice."

for the Humanities are scheduled to be reauthorized next year. The creation of an Independent Commission to review the Endowments grant making procedures and to consider whether the standard for publicly funded art will provide useful information for addressing this problem on a permanent basis during next year's debate on the reauthorization.

Moreover, the language makes it clear that the Endowments are ultimately responsible for monitoring the content of the work they fund. Further, the standard has some basis in law because it was drawn in part from the 1973 Miller v. California Supreme Court decision on obscenity, where the court attempted to spell out some guidelines.

As for funding, $171,255,000 was provided for the NEA for fiscal year 1990, slightly more than $2 million over last year's level and only $100,000 less than the House-passed level.

Ralph Regula Member of Congress 16th District, Ohio

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Address letters to the Chronicle, P.O. Box 5426, Cleveland, Ohio, 44101.

January, 1990 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Page 13

Lesbian conference plans moving along

The interim task committee met in October in Atlanta to further define the membership of the steering committee that will guide the National Lesbian Conference planning process. This group of fourteen lesbians was empowered to make decisions, until the full steering committee can be seated, by the 175 lesbians who gathered in Portland, Oregon in July for the second national planning meeting for the conference, which is scheduled for April 24-28, 1991 in Atlanta.

The fifty states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and British Columbia have been divided into ten regions. Each region shall have four planning members on the steering committee. Regions were created by considering existing networks, lesbian population and travel distances. Each region is responsible for contributing one third of all monies raised in the National Office, which is presently located in Albany, although there are plans to move it to Atlanta. An immediate fundraising assignment is for each region to send two $250 installments to the National Office, at P.O. Box 3057, Albany, New York 12203, on December 1, and January 1.

The interim task committee also developed a list of national organization to approach for the ten steering committee seats reserved for them.

Previous national planning meetings in Durham, N. Carolina, and Portland, had specified that fifty per cent of the steering committee should be lesbians of color and twenty per cent should be lesbians with disabilities. The interim task

committee also addressed the inclusion of other constituency voices on the steering committee. Ten seats had previously been allocated for constituencies. Three planners, to include at least one lesbian of color, will be old lesbians, defined by that caucus as lesbians over the age of fifty who are anti-ageism activists. The remaining seven seats will be decided at the next interim task meeting.

Materials are being developed to assist local and regional organizers with planning. For example, a fundraising packet, including strategies, is being prepared by Carol Cohen for Detroit, who shares a seat on the interim task committee with her co-chair of the Fundraising Committee, Joyce Hunter of New York City. Similarly, in consultation with Mary Frances Platt, of Belchertown, Mass., Barb Bechdol of Chicago is creating a disability awareness and information packet. In addition, a fact sheet will be sent to the over 8000 lesbians on the NLC national mailing list.

Regional planners will be chosen at regional meetings which are being organized before the next large national planning meeting. The first steering committee session is scheduled for Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday, April 27, 1990. The third national planning meeting, to which lesbians from around the country are invited, will be held in Kansas City the same weekend. The interim task committee will meet a second time in Atlanta the first weekend in February.

For more information about the conference or to get involved, contact Michelle Crone with the national office at 508-463-1051. ▼

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