12
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
JUNE 10, 1994
SPEAK OUT
Examining oppression-an enlightening workshop
by Keith Sutton
I wasn't sure what to expect. Stonewall Cleveland had spent considerable time discussing and investigating ways in which its members could participate in some sort of diversity training, so the group could better welcome and meet the needs of more people, specifically women and people of color. The group sponsored a session for members May 9.
Honestly, I was skeptical. No, perhaps more fearful than skeptical. I wanted to participate in a workshop that would facili-
tate my education and help enhance my personal behavior. I think that's why most of us were there. Yet, I knew I couldn't be open to new and challenging ideas if I didn't feel safe from reckless accusations.
Mistinguette Smith-Malone, the facilitator, laid the ground rules. Two of these were Confidentiality and Respect. With these, combined with her thoughtful delivery of each new exercise, she created and maintained a safe environment for participants to take risks and share their individual levels of awareness.
The content of the workshop began with
Coming Out...
...starts with the decision to transform YOUR life...
...to choose what is natural over what is conventional for others. This has been done many times by many peoples...who combined their insights and altered the world around them! All civil rights movements began from the "coming out" of an INDIVIDUAL, like you...a citizen who refused any longer to be seen by majority's eyes as a stigmatized American...
America began as a civil rights movement! Take your place in this long tradition of conquering fear..."come out" for your natural rights to personal LIBERTY AND EQUALITY!
JOIN US!
Stand Up...with Stonewall Speak Up...with OUTVoice
Be Out... with PRIDE
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each participant sharing and taking their first risk of disclosure. Then we established a common language by defining oppression and many of the “isms.” Smith-Malone was quick to reference the resources from which she drew her material.
Our first exercise was more difficult than perhaps most of us expected. Our task was to define the unearned privileges that each oppressor group benefits from. For until we each actively reject the unearned privileges that we as members of oppressor groups receive, we are not yet Allies of those who would end racism, classism, sexism and the
rest.
Our final two exercises were both mentally and visually stimulating. We each placed ourselves along continuums of awareness. Some more aware than others of how it feels to be a target of oppression . . . or to be the oppressor.
Before our workshop ended, it had become clear to us as individuals and as members of Stonewall that were not all alike. That the group was compromised of individuals who could facilitate further enhancements to our awareness. And others who can help us recall how difficult the first steps of awareness can be. These expansive resources can improve Stonewall Cleveland's ability to communicate with diverse populations.
It was a giant leap forward. As individuals we grew. An an organization we advanced. We must continue our efforts. And, we thank Mistinguette Smith-Malone and each participant for helping make the process worthwhile. ♡
Keith Sutton is past president of Stonewall Cleveland.
Legal protections for marchers
Continued from page 11
the reflect the fact that the law is slow to address many divisions in society. But they are realities, and well worth considering before you march.
But the news is not all bad.
[Cleveland, this spring, joined a growing list of cities, including Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Pittsburgh, with municipal ordinances prohibiting anti-gay discrimination in both public and private employment, housing, and other areas.]
State and federal employees may be surprised to learn that they enjoy far greater freedom from discrimination than those in the private sector. Federal Civil Service Directives first promulgated in 1973 prohibit federal agencies from finding "a person unsuitable for federal employment merely because that person is a homosexual" and further prohibit employers from assuming that a gay person would be an embarrassment to the Federal Service. Later federal directives prohibit job discrimination on criteria unrelated to job performance. An Ohio executive order issued in 1983 contains similar language with respect to state agencies.
At least one federal court has recognized that the U.S. Constitution itself protects gay men and lesbians from job discrimination based on sexual orientation. In two decisions seventeen years apart (1969 and 1986), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia denied the federal government the right to discharge an employee simply on the basis of sexual orientation. The court reasoned that the constitution places limits on the reasons the government may advance terminating an employee, and found that any discharge not reasonably related to job performance was a violation of the right to due process of law. Though its decisions have no direct impact on Ohio law, the D.C. Circuit is an influential and respected court, the opinions of which often herald future developments in the law.
Overall, those working in state and federal agencies have greater protection against job discrimination than those in the private sector. Two notes of caution: first, widely varying Results involving public school
teachers and administrators make it unwise to generalize or speculate upon how various courts might react to lifestyle-based discrimination in those settings. second; First Amendment and employment discrimination law are subtle areas.
While this article is an overview of the sorts of issues encountered in cases involving free speech and workplace bias, it is not legal advice and is no substitute for legal advice. If you feel you have been the victim of discrimination, seek the advice of a lawyer knowledgeable in these areas, who can apply this complex body of law to the particular facts of your case.
Advice for fighting the right
Continued from page 11
ministers. It will be up to black lesbians and gays to come forward and refute the ugliness that is being spread in our communities. But white lesbians and gays cannot expect to throw blacks out onto the front lines and leave us. There is a reason it's called coalition building.
We need to find ways to really talk to each other. Whites must find out what the needs of blacks are. Blacks must acknowledge that within our community our needs will be different. And whites must respect that.
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For some white gays and lesbians, those inroads into the black community will be easy to make. They have fought with us on our issues and they continue to listen. For others, this will be uncharted ground.
As we go about trying to reach out to each other, I would like my lesbian-gay community to remember this about my AfricanAmerican community: We are not just survivors. We are a verystrong and resilient people, and that goes to the bone, to deep inside the genes. Approach us as you would your future, because that is who we are. ✓
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