GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 17, 1993

EDITORIAL

Separate and not equal

For many years now, one of the biggest obstacles to Cleveland's lesbian and gay community really being cohesive and moving forward has been the lack of people of color in leadership positions, or even involved in any of the established institutions.

There are certainly gay men and lesbians of color in this community, because we see them in bars, at social functions, and on the

street, but never at our committee meetings.

When one or two non lily-white people would show up, they would then be worked

to death in our enthusiasm to have some kind of multi-cultural leadership.

How do we get more women involved? How do we get more people of color in-

ty. It is hard work. Tempers will flare, feelings will be hurt, people will feel left out, or singled out for criticism. But it is all worth the work.

In reality, it isn't our fault and it isn't your fault. If we can stop the blaming and just agree that the situation has to change, may-

No one group can exclude another based on difference. We must come

volved? How do we make our organization together based on

(newspaper, board of directors, etc.) more attractive to the people of color who live here? These are questions this community has struggled with for many, many years.

And there are no easy solutions to this monumental problem. As a community we keep making efforts like the Lambda Lead-

our sameness while at the same time sharing our

ership council, the short-lived Racism Fodifferences.

rum. and the recently held Fishbowl meeting, but personalities on both sides keep throwing the movement off track. Anger and resentment inflame the issues. No one likes to be called racist, and no one likes to be excluded by what they feel are racist attitudes.

What are the answers? We don't know, but we want to continue encouraging everyone to keep looking and working towards the goal of ending racism in our communi-

be something will. For all of our differences we have a common bond: we are all lesbian or gay. That bond must mean something. No one group can exclude another based on difference. We must come together based on our sameness while at the same time sharing our differences, African-American culture is so rich and exciting, it would be wonderful for white lesbians and gay men

to have the opportunity to soak more of it up, rather then putting it in its own separatist

room.

We are never going to end racism, just as we are never going to end homophobia. But like homophobia, racism is lessened when you know, work with, and acknowledge someone who is a different color than you.

The solution is not to force people of color to enjoy the institutions whites have established, nor is the solution to tear down those institutions because they do not serve people of color. Maybe the solution is to find a middle ground and allow people to make the choices that best fit for themselves.

If there is something lacking for you in this community, the community's responsibility is not to fill that lack, but rather to support you while you create what you need. That is possible in this community.

Also remember, it is not only lesbians and gay men who are struggling with this issue. Look at the city of Cleveland as a whole, one of the more racially divided cities in the country. So it is not only a queer problem. But somehow, queers have to come up with a solution because we need our whole community together. We can't afford to let the demons of racism split us up.

We must applaud any effort that gets us closer to the goal. Keep moving forward, keep questioning, keep changing and we as a community will be stronger in the end, even if it feels like the seams are coming apart now.

COMMUNITY FORUM

An AIDS fundraiser, not a rodeo

To the Editors:

In response to the letters written in your August 20 issue, "No Country Music at the Rodeo" and September 3 "Dancin' Was Nothing But Broken Promises" it is abundantly clear to me that the authors, Ron Gray and Ted W. Scalia, had a completely different agenda for their day than that of the organizers of this event.

First and foremost, let's clear up the misconception that this in fact was a "Rodeo," rather than a theme for an event. An event not only complete with contemporary country music, but with street decorations, food, activities and items for sale that were all centered around the theme, "Rodeo." The street and all the trimmings were done for the same reason people use balloons at a child's birthday party, to get people in a good mood. Nothing more or less was intended.

Dancin' in the Streets marked its ninth anniversary this year, and as one of the organizers for the past several years, I can tell you without hesitation that the event and the entertainment for the event was organized in the same way it has always been, in advance! Long after the entertainment schedule was complete, the Cleveland City Country Dancers called and asked to perform. So, we re-arranged things to make room for them, and that was that. Like all of our entertainers that day, I am sure that some time and effort went into preparing for the event, and for that we are grateful. So grateful in fact that we gave them a booth to promote themselves long after there were no more available.

It was unfortunate, however unforseeable, that it decided to rain that day. As a direct result of the impending showers, we had to make adjustments to the entertainment schedule in an effort to get the acts with electronic equipment on stage and off before their equipment was damaged. That and only that is the reason for cutting the

second number on no less than four of the performers that entertained us that day. Mr. Gray may read into it anything he likes, but there was nothing more to it.

It was mentioned in these letters that the two dancing groups were to perform in the second set of the day. True, however after having a mind-blowing four minutes maliciously stolen from them in the first set, they got angry, packed up their boots and went home.

All of that said, let's get to the real issue here and the reason that I would take the time to respond to such a self-serving letter.

The reason that I and a dozen or more others gave up every Wednesday night from February till August was not to put on an amateur hour for self-involved country dancers. It was to raise much needed money to help thousands of people that are affected by the deadly disease AIDS.

The only vehicle we have are events like Dancin' in the Streets, and although monies raised by this event are not yet saving lives, perhaps someday they will. Until then, we will do whatever it takes to make the vast majority of people in our community come out one Sunday a year, to open their hearts and their wallets so that we may continue to help our brothers and sisters have a better life while coping with the disease. That, Mr. Gray, was why we did what we did that day. If you and the members of your group do not wish to participate that is your right.

Mr. Gray stated in his letter, and I quote, "There would have still been hours for disco and at least we (Cleveland City Country Dancers) would have done some dancin' in the street, which I thought was the idea behind the whole thing." At the risk of sounding redundant, the idea behind the whole thing was to raise money for people with AIDS. Doin' some dancin' in the streets is just one of the benefits of being involved in such an unselfish show of giving.

As the chairperson of Dancin' 93, I am honored and privileged to have organized this event. In a year when the economy is bottoming out, we were able to raise more money for this cause than in any year past.

That is due in large part to the endless hours of commitment offered by this committee and by people like Melissa Ross and Bobby Korenowsky, who organized the entertainment that day, without benefit of compensation and with no other motivation but to try to satisfy the needs of 6,000 people who were kind enough to show up and help us out in our efforts.

When it began to rain and people started to leave the street we asked them to stay, because without them there we could not raise the monies needed to continue the work being done by Health Issues Taskforce. We wrongly assumed that everyone on the street wanted to do just that. Apparently there were some groups on the street that day who have no interest in people with AIDS, only in people with cowboy boots.

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Volume 9, Issue 6

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thousands of people suffering with AIDS, and to them we promised to make as much progress in the fight against this plague as is humanly possible through an event like Dancin.' That is a promise that we kept a thousand times over.

Joe Artle, Chairperson Dancin' in the Streets '93

We were on that street to raise money These things happen

while we entertained, not the reverse, and to that end I will take full responsibility for Melissa and the other people who may have unintentionally offended these two groups. I urged Melissa to hold the crowd, and if that meant adjusting the entertainment to satisfy the people who were there for the right reasons, than I am guilty as charged. Because we did what we did, Dancin' in the Streets accomplished what it set out to do, so we thank Melissa Ross for her unselfish support, it could not have happened without her.

In closing I thank the thousands of people that attended Dancin' 93 for there generous support of Health Issues Taskforce, and I assure you all that the tradition of providing you with a great time in exchange for your generosity will continue until the need to fight AIDS is washed from our memory.

In response to Mr. Gray and any other members of the Cleveland City Country Dancers that feel the same way that he does, I can only say that I hope you never need the benefits from an event like Dancin' in the Streets, but if you ever do, I'm sure that they will be available to you. In regard to Dancin' being "nothing but broken promises," I submit that the only promise that we as organizers of this event made was to the

To the Editors:

Recent issues of the Chronicle have carried letters concerning August's Dancin' in the Streets. These letters reflect a broader sense of dissatisfaction among country western dancers and their organizations about (1) an inadequate incorporation of country western music into the event's entertainment, and (2) poor treatment of Cleveland City Country Dancers and Rainbow Wranglers by event organizers. On behalf of the Taskforce, I would like to respond briefly to these issues.

Dancin' in the Streets is organized entirely by a committee of 15-20 volunteers, who worked for over six months to put on what turned out to be a tremendously successful event. I know that members of the committee made a sincere effort to incorporate country western music into the day's entertainment: by asking all DJs to play some CW music as part of their sets, and by scheduling CW performances. In fact, there was a much greater effort to incorporate music reflecting the theme at this year's Dancin' than had ever been made in the past. This was done in recognition of the

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