GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE MARCH 24, 1995

COMMUNITY GROUPS

Think back to the time of disco and Jerry Ford

by Joan E. Organ

Take a moment, and think to where you were, and what you were doing, on May 8, 1975. Hint: May 8 that year fell on a Thursday.

Were you preparing for a weekend of cruising the mall, or were you thinking about who you might meet at Gloria's, the Cadillac, Little Ted's, or the Orchid? Were you planning your summer camping experiences with that special woman from the first Women's Variety Show? Were the first National Women's Music festival and the first Michigan Womyn's Music Festival part of your itinerary? Were you involved in the Cleveland Women's Coun-

cil, or were you involved in the planning stages of a women's land collective, or were you part of the What She Wants collective, or were you involved in all of the above?

Now, take a moment, and remember with me three people: Michael Madigan, Arthur G. MacDonald, and E.A. Ericksen, who on May 8, 1975, signed their names and listed their addresses so that a

As stated in the Articles of Incorporation, the purposes for which "said corporation" was formed are: “1) to provide endowment fund-

LESBIAN GAY

Community Service Center

not-for-profit organization could be incorporated in Cleveland: the Gay Educational and Awareness Resources Foundation, or GEAR Foundation.

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ing for qualifying homophile organizations, people, and events; 2) to collect and dispense material concerning sexuality, and sexual orientation; 3) to provide facilities for the homophile community, of a positive nature, in

the areas of mental health,

physical health, and social alternatives." Are you aware that these three people, these three purposes, and this acronym note the historic beginnings of what we know today as the Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center of Greater Cleveland?

In celebration of that historic May 8, 1975 date, the Western Reserve Historical Society, home of the Northeast Ohio Lesbian and Gay Archives, together with the Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center are hosting a 20th anniversary celebration of the Center's incorporation on Monday, May 8, at the Society. Many, many collections from the Lesbian-Gay Archives, collections that are currently closed, collections that will ultimately be open only to the serious academic researcher, will be on

display. Do you remember the Cleveland lesbian-gay monthly High Gear? Have you ever seen an issue? Would you like to see them again, and more?

Most importantly, are you interested in being part of and contributing to the celebration of our history as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered Northeastern Ohioans? If so, join us on this historic date, May 8,

1995.

A 6:00 p.m. champagne dinner will be held at the Historical Society before the 7:30 p.m. program. The Western Reserve Historical Society's Kermit Pike and John Grabowski will be the featured speakers at the evening's events. Cost for dinner (6:00 7:30 p.m.) and program (7:30 9:30 p.m.) is $50. Pre-registration cost for the 7:30-9:30 p.m. program is $10.00 and cost at the door is $15.00. The Society is at 10825 East Blvd., in Cleveland's University Circle area.

For more information, please call Joan Organ at 216-397-9733 or Tom Isabel at 216-561-8990.

Joan Organ, a doctoral candidate in social policy at Case Western Reserve University, has served on the board of the Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center since 1992.

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Building consensus in political parties

by Richard M. Oldrieve

Four weeks ago, I invited readers of this column to join a newly forming chapter of the Democratic Leadership Council. I described my vision of a local DLC chapter that formulates policies through a process of inclusiveness and consensus.

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a suburban mayor, several activists, two Sierra Club committee chairs, a Cuyahoga County Democratic Party officer, a B'nai B'rith officer, and three or four heavy hitters from organized labor. One financier announced his name and drew a collective "oooh!"

Not all was bliss, as some founding members of the DLC questioned the appearance of liberalism in a group espousing fiscal

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conservatism. Several columns could be filled and never adequately explain why Democrats and democracy need to strike a balance between these seemingly irreconciable alternatives.

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Three weeks ago I met with the John Farina, president of the Log Cabin Club, to try to jump start a similar effort on the Republican side. Farina was interested, but he told me he might not have time since he might soon throw his own hat into the political ring. So Republicans, please be patient, and be prepared to get out the vote on Farina's behalf. Democrats, rejoice, because the gay and lesbian community turned out in force for a March 13 chapter meeting of the DLC. The meeting introductions were awe-inspiring, as ten or so men and women— including Eric Resnick who is running for Congress in Canton-stood up and announced their affiliation with various gay and lesbian organizations. Other attendees included a Cleveland school board member,

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Instead, I'll describe how people at the March DLC meeting experienced the moderating power of diversity and consensus. As part of an exercise, we each made a list of what we believed to be the three most important issues facing Ohio. Sitting at my computer terminal, I might have written something different, but sitting next to an AFLCIO leader I proceeded to list education, civil rights/anti-discrimination, and “jobs.”

Similarly, the labor leader felt the presence of three Stonewall members and listed civil rights/anti-discrimination as one of his choices. Not surprisingly, at the table with two Sierra Club members, the table's consensus choices included the environment.

Politicians face this tension of balancing constituencies on a daily basis, and I believe it will be extremely healthy for voters to experience this pressure too. So, if you are interested in developing positive policies, please come. For now we will continue to meet on the second Monday of each month at the Archwood United Church of Christ, 2800 Archwood Ave, off Pearl three blocks south of I-71 in Cleveland.

As a final word, I must point out that the meeting had another obvious problem. Bill Henderson and I succeeded in filling the room with women and members of the gay and lesbian community. But unfortunately we failed in our efforts to recruit Hispanic, African, Asian, or Native Americans. So please, help spread the word-because the ultimate good for our community is for all communities to be represented.

For more information, call Bill Henderson at 216-651-2341, or Richard Oldrieve at 216-892-1994.