AUGUST 18, 1995 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 11

SPEAK OUT

Hiding in the shadows while standing in the spotlight

by Eric Resnick

I never got the opportunity to look into Arthur Kropp's eyes or to shake his hand. Until I became a candidate for U.S. Congress, I knew little about him except for my first impression, which occurred years ago. I remember then seeing him on TV exposing the agenda of Jerry Falwell on one of the Sunday morning talk shows. Needless to say, I was impressed. I became a supporter of People for the American Way and my files contain more than a few clippings and comments from Arthur Kropp. who served as its president.

When I became a candidate, I learned that Arthur Kropp lived in Wooster and attended the College of Wooster. In fact, he moved to Washington from Wooster when he became president of People for the American Way. He maintained many friendships with people in Wooster.

Since Wooster is in the congressional district I am running in, I was thrilled to learn this and I immediately wrote a letter to him telling him who I am, including my gay activism, who our mutual friends are, and asking for his help and advice getting around the Washington scene. Not long after, my answering machine took a call from his secretary indicating that Kropp was out of the office due to illness, but he was pleased to get my letter and wanted to meet me when I came to Washington. I soon got a personal letter from him saying the same thing. As time passed, so did a few more notes, calls, and faxes.

By the end of May, it was clear that I was going to make a trip to Washington, D.C. in June, so I called to set up my meeting with Arthur Kropp. I was completely unaware that the illness standing in the way of our meeting was AIDS. Like most others, I thought it was cancer. But the meeting was set and I showed up at People for the American Way at 3:00 on June 7.

Arthur Kropp was not there due to illness. (What turned out to be his last time in his office was the Monday morning before my arrival.) But I had a very productive meeting in his office with two of his top aides, all of us unaware that five days later, Arthur Kropp would no longer be with us.

The next week, as I sat in the doctor's office thumbing through Time magazine, Art's picture and the notice of his death jumped off the page at me. I felt like I had just been punched in the gut! It got worse when I read further to find out the true cause of death was AIDS. The first thing I did when I got home was called the People For office and talked to Peter Montgomery, whom I had met with when I was there, for about a half hour.

Peter told me that only a few people knew the truth because Art wanted it that way. Peter also told me about Art's personal struggles trying to reconcile his life with the importance of his work. Peter also talked about Art's perceptions and fears. Not surprisingly, they sounded like the ones expressed by most closeted people. I began to feel a sense of sadness and betrayal. The sadness came from the realization that Art

and his lover Chris Bobowski went through their tragic ordeal alone and without the support of our community. The betrayal came from my learning that one of the greatest liberal activists of all time was gay, and he wouldn't give us the chance to claim him or celebrate his life and his work with the same pride we give to others of his stature.

Some time has passed and more truth has surfaced. Claims have been made that Kropp steered People for the American Way clear of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues for fear of personal exposure. Other liberal activists have expressed disdain, claiming that everyone suspected Art's homosexuality anyway. There were some shocked people in Wooster. I'm sure People for the American Way will reflect on the matter and chart a course of future action accordingly. Kropp's loved ones are grieving in the face of it all.

The GLBT community has once again been broadsided with the realities of queers in the closet who hold positions of power and influence. It becomes more difficult to credit Arthur Kropp with his due through our contempt for his self-imposed closet door. Yet, most of us who are out now have been behind that same door at times. Arthur Kropp is another not-so-subtle reminder that many of our best and brightest still live with oppression and fears. Kropp's legacy humbles some of us who are out, visible, and sometimes arrogant about it.

The question, "Do we remember Arthur Kropp as a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy'?" may not be answered for a while. But his death and the circumstances surrounding it should serve as another rallying cry for our movement to become more steadfast in our basic principles of visibility and battling homophobia in all forms, from outside our community and from within. We must continue to support and participate in affirming programs like National Coming Out Day, lesbian-gay youth groups, Pride events, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and the others.

Remembering Arthur Kropp means struggling with the idea that some of our brothers and sisters go through life working to justify the lie they are living. All of us that can must reaffirm our commitment to reaching out to GLBT youth and to strengthening our community centers and our visible presence in the political arena. We must work to ensure that forthcoming activists and people with power are out and supported with regard to their honesty.

People for the American Way has established an endowment program to fund the Arthur J. Kropp Fellowship program, which will support youth who intern at People for the American Way learning how to be activists fighting for a fairer, more inclusive America. Our community should remember the contributions made by Arthur Kropp and People for the American Way and learn from the reality of this situation so we do not have painful issues clouding the memories of closeted leaders who may be following.

The best way to memorialize Arthur Kropp is to reflect and learn, then work harder to achieve the ideals he championed.

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